A Kington charity music festival is likely to receive a £500 financial boost from the town council

A Kington charity music festival is likely to receive a £500 financial boost from the town council.

Smokefest has a new venue this year at Kington Football Club on Saturday, June 27, following a break last year.

The one-day inclusive, family friendly festival provides affordable local entertainment for residents of all ages, helping to strengthen community spirit and reduce social isolation in the town.

This year, funds raised will support the We are Farming Minds charity, directly benefiting farming families and rural residents connected to and local to Kington.

Smokefest contacted Kington Town Council recently to ask for a £500 grant to help secure a safe, professional quality stage setup, ensuring the event runs smoothly and maintains a high standard for performers and attendees.

They said the total cost of the event is about £4,700 including costs for the bands, stage hire, stage staff, PA system hire, security, advertising and so on.

The event will be organised by Andy 'Smokey' Davies, his son Liam Davies, sound man and The Barebacks bass guitar player and friend Alan Dixon.

They said 12 to 15 volunteers will also be helping with the event and they said they are gaining sponsorship from local businesses and private individuals.

In their grant application they said: “Due to severe weather in 2023 and 2024 attendance was lower than expected and the shortfall in costs was covered personally by the organisers to ensure that the full intended donations still went to the chosen charities.

“As a volunteer-led event, this is not sustainable long term.

In light of this we decided to take a year off to review and strengthen our plans. During this time, we explored a new venue within Kington town centre in order to increase natural footfall, improve accessibility and create a more financially sustainable and successful event for the future.

“We hope to create an enjoyable event for our town, give local bands and musicians a great opportunity to perform on stage and to have raised money for our chosen charity.”

They said if the town council could not give a grant the event would still go ahead but they would need to reduce production elements and scale back certain aspects to remain financially viable.

Councillors said the application had arrived late, and was out of sequence with the grant application process in that grants usually go to the grant committee which makes a recommendation to the full council.

Members said the money could be taken out of this year’s budget.

The council agreed in principle to give a £500 grant subject to suitable bank account arrangements being made available.

Tickets for Smokefest are £15 per person and 16’s and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult. ID may be required.

Smokefest 2026 tickets are now available online from https://www.ticketebo.co.uk/smokefest2026/smokefest-2026