I had the wonderful opportunity to once again photograph Community Festival for the 3rd year running since its debut back in 2022, it was one of the most anticipated local gigs as it had been building up and planned since 2021 - founder Mark Terry is an avid gig goer of over 30 years and impressed by the camaraderie amongst bands and artist across the West Midlands, he decided to create an all day festival and name it Community, with the proceeds going to Samaritans.
It was the pandemic that inspired Mark to put on his own festival, after the blow of events of all kinds being cancelled globally and artists not being able to get out and showcase their talents live. Most bands and artists took to social media platforms to put out their music and stream live sessions, which provided entertainment and online interaction for fans of the bands.
Soon an online community of musicians developed and collaborations happened, the local scene became friends and started to grow more. Without social media, Community wouldn't have been likely as it enabled Mark to build relationships with musicians and bands who he may never had chance to speak with at a live show.
And so Community became a thing and Mark signed up 8 local bands and musicians to play live at Newhampton Arts Centre based in Wolverhampton in January of 2022. But the ongoing pandemic forced Mark to postpone the event until the July of '22 where it took place in the New Horizons tent outside of Newhampton Arts Centre. The day was a great success with local bands making their mark on Wolverhampton, enticing new fans and listeners and solidified friendships with people who, up until that moment, had only spoken online.
Now in its third year, Mark has put Community on the Midlands map as a staple annual event, with Wider Community shows extending to Birmingham and Manchester and an acoustic evening with 3 of the original Community bands singers.
So, here are my shots from Community 2024:
Please click on images to enlarge:
All images are my own.
© Brogan Jay Photography 2024
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