July 2023 will see the long awaited return of the much loved event, The Willow Festival, held again on it’s traditional and original home at the Embankment in Peterborough.
The three day live music extravaganza last took place in Peterborough in 2014 and was host to a footfall of approximately 50,000 people.

The festival is designed to appeal to lovers of live music from all age groups and walks of life, and to promote live music in general, but with a specific focus on upcoming, unsigned and new original music. It aims to encourage young and old to either take up playing a musical instrument as a life skill, support live music and it’s venues and to promote existing bands and artists to the music industry and the wider public.

The Willow Festival is a multi-genre event and caters for live music performance of everything from jazz fusion to DIY punk. So whatever type of live music a person may like, there should be plenty for them to watch and enjoy.

Many may also attend just to revel in the festival vibe and to socialise, as the festival has been an annual community gathering in the past, and will be again for years to come, offering much more than just live music to families and the populace.

The scale of The Willow Festival in 2023 will be no different than in past years, with the event showcasing 176 live acts across seven impressive stage areas, with further attractions in support such as a craft market, alternative shopping experience, world food vendors, fun fair and music industry and technical workshops.

As well as providing what was originally and still is an almost unprecedented platform for live new music and songwriters, The Willow Festival aims to lift Peterborough as a city and help with it being an attractive place to live, work and play, which will become even more important as the city’s new university grows and it aims to flourish here.