A popular music festival is set to return to Shirley for a second year in a row.

The Shirley Fringe was organised by business owners in Shirley Road last year to showcase live music as performers were hosted by bars and restaurants, including Clockwork Bar, Santo Lounge, and Cozy Seven.

Following the success of last year’s event, that saw idea quickly turn into reality after Shirley was excluded from annual city-wide music event, Music in the City, organisers have confirmed it will return in September 2025.

In a statement, Mark Fay, owner of Clockwork Bar and co-organiser of The Shirley Fringe, said: “In July of 2024, Emma and I, dreamt up the concept of a festival based in Shirley called The Shirley Fringe, the idea being that we bring music and the arts to Shirley, whilst raising money for a local charity.

“The timescales we had to work within were extremely challenging, as we only had six weeks from inception to the event.

“We were therefore limited by the number of local businesses that we could approach, however, those that joined in with Clockwork Bar embraced the concept and an amazing weekend of music was had by all, with thousands of pounds raised for charity.

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“After the success of last year’s charity event, we’re opening up The Shirley Fringe to all businesses and venues in Shirley.

“We have given ourselves more than five months of planning this year, so are determined to make this years' event much bigger and more inclusive for everyone.”

A planning meeting is set to take place next week to determine the scale of this year’s event, that is scheduled to take place from Friday, September 5, until Sunday, September 7.

Mark added: “At this stage we are asking businesses and venues that would be interesting in participating to attend the planning meeting on Wednesday, April 2, at 11am within Clockwork Bar.

“We will be approaching artists and performers at a later date. The idea of the planning meeting is that businesses and the community come together to devise a bigger and better festival across the whole of Shirley.

“Any businesses or venues that want to be involved are welcome to come along and help kick start another fabulous weekend raising money for charity.”