By Isle of Wight Observer
‘All Wight Now’ celebrates the 50th Anniversaries of the original Isle of Wight Festivals of 1968, 1969 and 1970 – the music, the memories and the legacy.
Conceived as a project to commemorate these legendary Festivals, All Wight Now plans a series of 3 annual events over the next 3 years. The name, All Wight Now, recalls the title of one of the biggest hits of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival: ‘All Right Now’ by Free.
Festival veterans, fans of 1960s music and those drawn by the cultural and musical legacy of those heady times should put Saturday 1st September 2018 in their diaries. This year’s event will celebrate the original Festival, “The Great South Coast Bank Holiday Pop Festivity”, which took place near Godshill in 1968 on the same weekend 50 years ago.
For this inaugural event, we are delighted to announce a performance by The Ashley Hutchings Trio. Founder of Fairport Convention, who played at the 1968 Isle of Wight Festival, Ashley will bring both his music and his unique reminiscences of that time. Bob Dylan said of him (in September 2015): “Ashley Hutchings is the single most important figure in the history of English folk-rock.” Further line-up announcements for September’s event will follow soon.
The venue for All Wight Now 2018 is The Cow at Tapnell Farm, a stunning rural location in the West Wight with unrivalled views overlooking the site of the legendary 1970 IW Festival.
On learning of the plans, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull (who appeared just before Jimi Hendrix on the last night of the 1970 Festival) sent this message of support:
“…Now, 50 years later, there is to be a reawakening of those few heady days so long ago which ended the Summer Of Love in the UK. Join the nostalgic and informative celebration of that little corner of the Isle of Wight, then and now.”
Andy Knight, Chairman of the All Wight Now Group, said: “As a veteran of the 1970 Festival I thought it would be great to see something happen to celebrate that event. I set up a Facebook page to see whether others would be interested and was amazed at the level of response. From the contacts I made, our Group came together and the idea to celebrate all three of the original events came into being.”
Roger Simmonds, Trustee at Dimbola Museum & Galleries (current home of the Isle of Wight Festivals exhibition) said: “We have been in touch with many of those who were involved in the original Festivals to help us create events that will allow both those who were there to reunite and those who want to find out more about the original Festivals to come and experience the music and memories of 1968, 1969 and 1970. We will have artists who were part of the original line-ups as well as talks and displays that will rekindle the spirit of some of the greatest Festivals that were ever staged.”
All Wight Now 2018 event details:
Date: Saturday 1st September 2018, 7pm – midnight
Venue: The Cow, Tapnell Farm, Newport Road, Yarmouth IW PO41 0YJ
Ticket price: £18.00 + booking fee
For tickets and further information go to: www.allwightnow.com
