Medway’s 2025 City of Culture bid and Rochester Castle Concerts put homegrown Medway music talent centre stage.
Medway’s musicians are being given the chance to perform alongside the likes of UB40, The Libertines and Soul II Soul. Medway’s UK City of Culture 2025 bid and Rochester Castle Concerts are offering ‘Medway 2025 Homegrown Sets’ at this summer’s events.
With the area preparing to submit its bid, now is the time to demonstrate why Medway should be UK City of Culture in 2025. With this in mind, local talent is invited to perform at one of Medway’s biggest summer events to show just why Medway deserves its moment in the national spotlight.
Local artists who think they have what it takes to warm up audiences at Rochester Castle Concerts this July are encouraged to post a sample of their work on the event’s Facebook page.
Successful applicants will be awarded one of a limited number of ‘Medway 2025 Homegrown Set’ slots this summer. These local musicians will be billed alongside stellar headliners and special guests including UB40, The Libertines and Soul II Soul.
The sets being offered as part of this collaboration between Rochester Castle Concerts and Medway’s 2025 UK City of Culture bid will showcase emerging talent from across Medway. In the year Medway prepares its bid for submission, the programme of sets from up-and-coming artists in the castle grounds makes a statement about how the contemporary and historic complement one another in Medway and the area’s potential as a cultural destination.
Medway has such incredible and diverse music talent
Michael Oyar, Medway hip-hop artist and Medway 2025 Trustee, comments: “Medway has such incredible and diverse music talent and we are raring to flex our creative muscles in front of live audiences once more as Medway prepares to submit its 2025 bid. The ‘Medway 2025 Homegrown Sets’ at Rochester Castle Concerts are about making a statement that Medway deserves its place on the national stage. As a Medway 2025 Trustee I see the huge opportunity Medway has to change our reputation, create opportunities for local people and show off what we can do and what our message is to the rest of the UK! We want to give locals a moment to be proud of.”
The Medway music scene is brilliant and creative
Adrian Gibson, organiser of Rochester Castle Concerts, comments: "The concerts are a big part of Medway’s summer calendar and we cannot wait to welcome people back to the castle grounds for some lively events. We are huge supporters of Medway’s ambition to be UK City of Culture in 2025. We’ve seen the local area come alive during our concerts, so just imagine what things could be like with a year-long programme of cultural events across the whole of Medway! Like Medway 2025, we are passionate about elevating the huge amount of local talent out there and this is how the homegrown sets came about. We know that the musicians selected to support our headliners and special guests will truly pack a punch at this summer’s events and really open audience’s eyes to how brilliant and creative the Medway music scene is.”