As Dereham prepares to welcome back the Blues Festival on Wednesday, July 10, with the music filling venues across the town over five days, tickets for the Norfolk Blues Society’s (NBS) Big Gig are now on sale.
Dereham Memorial Hall will host The Big Gig on May 25 featuring Mississippi MacDonald and Santiago and The Soulmovers - acting as a teaser for the festival.
The event continues to grow, and this year 124 bands have applied to take part, when the festival only needs about 60.
Mississippi Macdonald was invited to last year’s event and is now a patron of the Norfolk Blues Society.
As patron, the band is hosting the show which features Brazilian-based act, Santiago and the Soulmovers, who caught the eye of several society members.
Dan Earp, NBS chairman said: “Within a couple of minutes of hearing them warming up, it was obvious how exceptionally good they were, and I just had to go and see the full set. They didn’t disappoint, they were just brilliant and blew me away.
"The Big Gig is a sensational opportunity to see two live acts that have got it."
Last year saw the introduction of an acoustic blues busking event in Ellenor Fenn Garden, which will be on again in 2024 - with more to come for this year’s outing.
Tickets to The Big Gig are £17 and are now available to the general public from Ticketsource.
One of the special events to celebrate the 10th Festival in 12 years will be a chance to witness a live audience with Mississippi MacDonald hosted by Ross Stewart which will be held on Friday, July 12 at the Orion Cinema.
Tickets will be available soon for that and other events via the Norfolk Blues Society Website.
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