This is Leicestershire --From summery reggae to full-on rock, the best of Leicestershire's musical talent was showcased at the Simon Says festival at the weekend. About 2,200 attended the sold-out event at De Montfort Hall on Saturday, with hundreds of those turning up on the day to buy their tickets. A further 1,200 turned up yesterday.
The two-day festival was put on as part of the venue's centenary celebrations, and also as a replacement for Summer Sundae.
Reggae-ska act By The Rivers stole the show on Saturday, playing to a packed crowd on the main stage indoors.
Drummer Jordan Birtles said: "It was amazing, coming from Leicester it's a stage we've always wanted to play on. It was just amazing, it's all we've been talking about since.
"It's had some real legends on there. We really enjoyed the set, and it was nice to be back in Leicester. We weren't expecting it to be such a big crowd, it was unbelievable.
"We travelled back from a festival in Herefordshire yesterday so didn't get the chance to see many acts before, which was a shame because there were a lot of acts we wanted to see.
"We caught a bit of Uncle Frank and saw The Paradimes as well – they absolutely smashed it.
"We also saw a bit of The Young Knives, Kirkland Turn and Grace Petrie."
Singer-songwriter Jersey Budd also played on the main stage on Saturday.
"It was magical and great to be back at De Montfort Hall," he said.
"It's the pinnacle for any artist in Leicester. I got to see By The Rivers as well, they were great. Great sound and good energy.
"I was there with my mum and dad and my fiancée, so it was nice spending time with them. I became a dad seven weeks ago, to baby Isla, so this was my first full band show since she was born.
"She's not seen me play yet. Give her a year or two until she starts coming with her headphones on!"
Rock acts Skam and Chrome Molly also went down well on the outdoor stage on Saturday night.
Yesterday was a more laid-back affair, with acoustic, jazz and blues bands entertaining crowds of about 1,200.
De Montfort Hall manager Antony Flint hailed the event a big success.
"I'm really pleased, it sold out both days," he said. "Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was a really nice atmosphere and it was all about Leicester – all local bands and traders."
Antony said they were hit by the huge number of people turning up in the space of a couple of hours on Saturday, leading to long queues at the bars.
"There was a couple of hours where we had more people in than the bars could cope with," he admitted.
The acts for Simon Says were coordinated by music promoters from city venues Firebug, The Musician and The Donkey.
The event was put on instead of Summer Sundae, a festival which had run at the hall for more than 10 years.
Antony said a decision had not been made yet on what would happen next year. "Whether we can do something like this again, we'll have to think about," he said. "It also depends on any Summer Sundae decisions. We'll be discussing that over the next few months."
Festival-goers said they had enjoyed the event.
Among them was Rosa Chandler, nine, of Clarendon Park, who said: "I really like it and it's even more fun because my friends are here. There's really good stalls here."
Casey O'Callaghan, also nine, of the same area, said: "It's very entertaining. I liked Uncle Frank – I just enjoy his songs and what he does.
Emma Deacon, 31, said: "It's really chilled out with good music. David Wyatt was really good on the acoustic stage. I like the mixture of ska bands and acoustic, there's a real mix."
Abigail Wilkinson, eight, of Clarendon Park, said: "I like playing with my friends. I liked By The Rivers, I like their music" while Libby Jackson, nine, of Clarendon Park, said: "It's really good, they should have it on next year. I liked Uncle Frank – he was funny." Reported by This is 3 days ago.