About Worcester Music Festival

The Festival

Worcester Music Festival returns from 12th to 14th September, filling the city with three days of live music and community spirit.

Taking place across more than 20 venues, this non-profit festival brings together around 250 performances and music workshops, all in support of emerging artists and a different local charity each year. For 2025, the festival will be supporting Worcester Snoezelen, who provide a range of person-centred multisensory activities for people with disabilities and additional needs.

Worcester Music Festival is entirely run by volunteers, united by a passion for live music and our local community. Every moment throughout the weekend is powered by people who have given their time to make live music accessible, while uniting the city in support of vital local causes.

With live music across the city, from pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes to historic buildings, record shops, on the streets and even in tattoo studios, the festival is absolutely FREE to attend. Our team of promoters put on hundreds of gigs, showcasing some of the best, new and emerging artists from all over the UK.

The festival also celebrates photography, inviting amateur photographers of any age or experience to enter the annual photography competition. Experienced gig photographers hand-select the Top 20 to showcase at our yearly cheque-presentation ceremony, and the Top 3 will go home with exclusive prizes.

To date, almost £74,000 has been raised for charity by Worcester Music Festival in its eleven-year history, and the 2024 charity was Hereford & Worcester MND Association.

The Music

Worcester boasts a thriving music scene that encompasses every genre conceivable, making Worcester Music Festival the prime opportunity for music lovers to discover new, upcoming talent.

Showcasing every genre imaginable – from rock, indie, metal, punk, psychedelic, pop and DJs to folk, jazz, blues, reggae, hip hop, country and acoustic acts – the festival has evolved to become a beacon for some of the best new and underground acts from across the UK.

Bands that have played our festival include Peace, God Damn, Das Sexy Clap, Jon Gomm, Xova, Virgil and the Accelerators, Jason Bowld, This Wicked Tongue, Nigel Clark, Guthrie Govan, The Stiff Joints, No Cars, Feet, and many, many more.

With over 1,000 artists applying for a slot each year, the 2025 line-up promises to be even better than ever, and organisers are looking forward to showcasing the next wave of upcoming talent.

The Charity

Since Worcester Music Festival began in 2008, festival-goers have generously donated almost £74,000 to 21 local charities.

Every year, the festival chooses to support a different local cause, raising money over the course of the musical weekend, which, in 2025, will take place from 12th to 14th September in Worcester’s vibrant city centre. This year's charity is Worcester Snoezelen, a leisure therapy centre that provides a range of person-centred multisensory activities designed to empower individuals, bring joy, and support alternative communication

The Fans

Tempted to check the festival out? Here’s what our fans say…

“Worcester Music Festival is live music by the people, for the people. With incredible line-ups and amazing events in venues scattered around this historic city, it should be in every music festival-goer’s diary.”
– Jon Gomm

“If you want to live, eat and breathe all kinds of music over a single weekend, Worcester Music Festival is for you. It’s a one-of-a-kind festival experience, an incredible ecosphere of live music.”
– Jason Bowld (Pitchshifter, PWEI, Killing Joke, Axewound, Bill Bailey)

“This is a great festival with an amazing amount of artists giving up their time for free. It’s a chance to spend the weekend exploring a wide range of musical creativity, while taking in the many splendours of the city.”
– Nigel Clark (Dodgy)

The City

Just 17 miles south of Birmingham, Worcester is easy to reach by public transport, and if you want to stay over, it has plenty of accommodation to suit every budget.

Worcester also boasts a host of fantastic restaurants and watering holes.

Get Organised

With so much to choose from, you can keep track of what you want to see and where performances clash with the festival’s online personal guide tool.

Stay up-to-date with this year’s line-up on @Worcsmusicfest on Instagram and Facebook.