Set on the United Downs Raceway, the stock and banger car racing track in St Day, REDRUTH, Cornwall, from 19 – 21 July, ‘Bangers & Mash Up’, has been designed specifically for the everyday Cornish folk and has been created by organisers for Glastonbury, Boomtown, Shambala and Port Eliot, to name but a few.

With finance from key backers such as the Arts Council, Cornwall Council, Feast and a Crowdfunder, and with the support of Emily Eavis from Glastonbury, ‘Bangers & Mash-Up’ is a truly independent event, with a mission to introduce ‘fairism’ into festivals. ‘Bangers & Mash-Up’ is dedicated to putting the festival goer, and their festival experience, at the heart of everything, rather than squeezing them for every penny.

Bringing fantastic art, music and workshops together in a beautiful, hidden corner of the Cornwall, this July ‘Bangers & Mash-Up’ will give everyone the opportunity to experience everything on offer, showcasing incredible local talent, without charging everyone a fortune. Locally sourced high quality food will be properly priced and a plethora of free workshops, run by local professionals, will be taking place all weekend, meaning everyone has the chance to join in, gain new skills, and be inspired and awakened creatively.

Performers and workshop leaders include Falmouth University and Upcycle Kernow. Further happenings and key performers will include Laid Blak, Black Water County, 3 Daft Monkeys, Bagas Crowd, Red River Singers Black Eyed Nancy etc. The organisers are also working with local old people’s homes to bring over 1,000 pensioners, or as they are calling them, the ‘Village People’, to the event so they can join in with a good old fashioned sing-along and be offered a FREE Cornish Cream Tea and tea or coffee.

Three years in the making, ‘Bangers & Mash-Up’ is the brainchild of ‘Binrat’ and ‘Niddy’, both regular and experienced artists and crew across a range of leading UK festivalsfrom Glastonbury to Boomtown and Shambala to Port Eliot.

Binrat says, “As artists at some of the UK’s most inspiring festivals and events, we get to experience all the wonder and we get to see hundreds of thousands of adults and kids feeling the deep joy, creativity and freedom of the UK’s most marvellous happenings. But then we come home to Cornwall, and all around us are friends and family who think we’re so lucky to have been able to have done this. They’re struggling to get by on low or minimum wages, and could never afford the time off, let alone the money, to go to any of these festivals.”

Niddy continues, “It’s not just the £165+ average cost of a ticket. It’s the extortionate prices for food, drink and other things once you get into the festival. So we’re determined to change that with ‘Bangers & Mash-Up’. We are not bank rolled by investors, or mammoth grants. We’re working with much appreciated backers including Cornwall Council, Feast and the Arts Council and together, we’re building an amazing event for ordinary people, where the entry price doesn’t ‘reject’ those real, hardworking people and their families. The Cornish motto is ‘for One and All’ and that’s exactly who ‘Bangers & Mash-Up’ is for.”

Jack Morrison of Feast says, “The team at ‘Bangers & Mash-Up’ are pouring their hearts and souls into their dream of bringing a genuinely affordable festival to the poorest part of the UK. They are striving hard to make Bangers & Mash Up raw and brilliant and wonderful; a Cornish event with a capital ‘C’ celebrating local people’s skills. It’s all about involvement, engagement and taking part and is likely to be the first-ever festival for lots of people.”

Jack continues, “We all know that the most amazing events happen around us every year, but most Cornish people can’t afford them. Bangers & Mash Up is a fiver to get in. I think this is an absolute beauty to support because it’s drawing on local talent with local bands and local artists, and it truly is something for One and All.”

Tickets are available for each day of Bangers & Mash Up at £5 per adult or child over 3 years, www.bangersandmashup.org/buy-tickets/

The Festival is at the United Downs Raceway on Friday 19th, Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st July 2019.