WAKEmanFEST is the brainchild of Rob Ayling from Gonzo Multimedia and was conceived as a three day event that would revolve around people Rick Wakeman has worked with spanning over 40 years in the music industry and his own band, The English Rock Ensemble. The festival will run Friday 30th October, Saturday 31st October and Sunday 1st November.
The event will be held at the legendary Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire. The venue started life as a roller skating rink, but began to attract musical acts in the 1950’s. The venue’s golden age came after it was rebuilt in 1964 following a fire. The rink remained but the Starlight Rooms opened and the biggest names in pop headed to the east of England, which includes Yes, The Kinks, Small Faces, Elton John, T.Rex and Jimi Hendrix to name a few.
Says Rick, “I wanted to create a festival I would want to go to myself. We have chosen as the venue for this 3 day event, The Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire because of its amazing history. I remember playing there many times over the years, especially with YES. We are also hoping to organising various hotel deals for people to book into as well. It all starts on the Friday with a full day Saturday and a very special charity day on the Sunday which finishes around 5pm so everybody can head off home”.
As of June 1st, WAKEmanFEST is lining up like this…
Friday October 30th
Registration from 2:00pm
Video room open showing RW and related DVDs.
5:30pm – 6:00pm – Q&A with Cadbury Sisters
6:30pm – 7:00pm – Q&A with The 3 (or possibly 4) Wakeman’s.
Evening performance:
7:30 – 8:15pm – The Cadbury Sisters.
9:00 – 11:00pm – Wakeman Cubed.
Saturday October 31st
Video room running all day
VIP room open all day
2:00pm – 3:00pm – Q&A with cast of Sir Henry of Rawlinson’s End.
4.30pm – 5:00pm – Q&A with Rick & The English Rock Ensemble
5.30pm – 6.00pm – Q&A with The Electric Strawbs.
Evening performance:
6:30pm – 7:30pm – Sir Henry of Rawlinson’s End.(Rick Wakeman guesting)
8:00pm – 9:00pm – Strawbs (with Rick Wakeman guesting at end)
10:00pm – 11:30pm – English Rock Ensemble
Sunday November 1st
11:30am – Reception before buffet lunch
Midday – 2:00pm – lunch and table magic
During lunch – Three games people for people to play with all proceeds to the Grand Order of Water Rats plus an auction.
Entertainment:
2:00pm – 2:30pm – The Philharmonic Skiffle Orchestra
2:35pm – 3:00pm – Magician !
3:05pm – 3:45pm – Kevin Orkian
4:00pm – 5:00pm – Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble – Chrissie Hammond also making a guest appearance.
Says Rick, “The Cadbury Sisters supported me on my last tour and were absolutely amazing. Everybody simply loved them.
“The Electric Strawbs of course will be very special as I will be joining them for 2 pieces. The Hangman and the Papist and also Where is this Dream of our Youth…and I will be using an original Hammond L100 similar to the one I used on the original recording at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
“Sir Henry of Rawlinson’s End is that wonderful piece written by the late Viv Stanshall who I worked with. Mike Livesley does an amazing version which I join in with every year at the Bloomsbury Theatre. His entire 11 piece band (plus me) will be performing it.
“The London Philharmonic Skiffle Orchestra are heavily connected to the Water Rats who will benefit from the Sunday which will be a great day of entertainment. High Energy Music & Comedy.
“Kevin Orkian is a music and comedy genius and also a Water Rat, hence his appearance which is not to be missed!
“All in all, it is going to be a really fun weekend and also the launch of the new book company HaGaTaS and there will be readings going on in adjoining rooms as well, so something happening all the time. We plan this to be an annual event and really hope people will enjoy themselves…expect an early visit from father Xmas as well!”
