With now over £11,500 in the charity pot for Hospice at Home West Cumbria, Cumbria’s second Virtual Festival has been hailed as a massive success by event organisers and all the talented artists that took part in the two-day extravaganza on 23rd and 34th May which has seen the online videos being viewed more than 136,000 times.
After the huge success of the first “Cumbria’s Virtual Festival”, organisers Liam Moorhouse, James Cowan and Stuart Fleming decided to hold a second event stretching the two days and adding a further 12 entertainers to the line-up.
Amy Morton returned to the virtual stage to kick off the festival on Saturday with a range of songs to suite everyone’s taste.
The Saturday line-up also included sets from singer and guitarist Luke Matear, popular Cumbrian and Benidorm entertainer; Rue Slater and Nicky Wild from Workington. Rue commented that he was “proud to have been a part of a brilliant weekend of entertainment which was for such a great cause.”
Miss Pearl also returned to the virtual stage with yet another fantastic performance. Afterwards, Miss Pearl said: “I’ve loved every minute, massive thank you to James, Stuart and Liam for letting me be a part of it. It’s been so great to see all the other acts perform, what a talented bunch.”
Also returning to the line-up was Egremont’s own “Big D” who entertained viewers with his larger than life performance with a mixture of modern day songs, some oldies and even a clubland mix. After his performance, Darren said: “I was proud to be part of this wonderful event with all my fabulous fellow entertainer friends and am truly humbled that we helped to raise such an unbelievable amount for Hospice at Home.”
Newcomer to the festival was Megan Smith from Whitehaven. Megan wowed viewers with her vocal skills during her set which included a mass range of different genres.
Making their second appearances were Logan Paul Murphy, Miss Dee and Robert Wright as Rod Stewart. All of which gave amazing performances. Logan said he “loved being a part of both festivals”, while Robert stated that he enjoyed a “fantastic couple of days of entertainment” then proceeded to praise everyone involved in the event.
Entertainer Samantha McGarrigle performed from her home in Newton Aycliffe as she put on her popular show: “The Ultimate Shania Twain Experience” which proved extremely popular with everyone that watched her flawless performance.
As day one of Cumbria’s Virtual Festival drew to a close, viewers were treat to a live vinyl disco from Stanwix resident DJ; Brad Freeman which included a massive range of dance hits from the 80’s and 90’s
Day two of Cumbria’s Virtual Festival didn’t disappoint either.
Carlisle performer Jen Donelly kicked off the second day of the festival with an upbeat performance second to none. Jen said after her performance; “It was an honour to be part of such a fantastic event. I’ve met some amazing people and I’m happy we could all keep people smiling through a virtual festival whilst raising money for a great charity.”
More newcomers to the virtual stage were Mikey T from Penrith, Michael T Ogilvie and Acoustic act The Arguments. Mikey said: “I’m proud to have been involved in such an excellent weekend of entertainment with so many great people.”
Michael T Ogilvie also performed his latest single “Suddenly” during his outstanding live performance from his home in Carlisle.
Entertainers Graham and Audrey Straughton who front the popular duo Heartline also returned to the virtual stage to perform a wide range of songs to keep viewers entertained. Heartline usually perform at Stanwix which is currently closed, so they were more than happy to be involved in the virtual festival.
Steve Byrne and Jenia also returned to the virtual stage with performances that will be remembered for a long time to come. Steve said that he “was honoured to be a part of the virtual festival with so many talented people”.
Duo, High Dynamics also made a debut performance at the festival. Usually, you can find them entertaining on cruise ships around the world, but viewers of the festival were lucky enough to be able to see them perform from their own home on the Sunday.
Newcomers Nicky B and Alana gave outstanding performances during Sunday evening. Nicky, who is a frontline care worker and has also just recently recovered from Covid-19 said: “I’m very proud to have been a part of this, our music brought our community closer and I hope the feel good factor the festival created has a lasting effect.”
Alana who is also a front line worker as a nurse for Hospice at Home West Cumbria came out of musical retirement for one day and left viewers in awe and realising she hasn’t lost her amazing vocal ability. After her performance, Alana said: “It’s meant so much to so many different people – the charity, who have taken a massive financial hit, Us – being able to put our talents together and break the boredom by doing something to help, and the general public – who need something to get involved with to know they’re not alone as we’re all in it together and it’s okay to have a blast even in this current scary climate!”
As the final day of the festival drew to a close, organiser Liam Moorhouse took to the virtual stage to perform a number of hits including show songs, pop and Whitney Houston. Liam appeared differently from how he normally appears on stage after shaving his hair off live on Facebook after raising an additional £500 for Hopsice at Home West Cumbria.
Bringing the festival to a close was left to organiser Stuart Fleming who is also West Cumbrian comedy drag act, Stella the Fella. Stella kept the audience entertained with comedy and songs until 10pm, before the total amount raised was announced.
Liam said: “We set out to raise £500 for Hospice at Home: and now we’ve raised over £11,500. This is beyond anything myself, James and Stuart could ever have imagined. We are so grateful to all the acts who have taken part, and also we’re so grateful to everyone who tuned in, donated and partied with us in the virtual festival fields. We couldn’t have done it without you. We have no intention to stop fundraising just yet so keep an eye on our Facebook page for more information.”
James said: “It has been a pleasure being involved in organising this second event and to also be working with the fantastic acts that have performed over the weekend free of charge which has made the event so successful. We really appreciate the time that they have all given. If I could also just add my thanks to everyone that has donated to Hospice at Home West Cumbria and helped us reach this amazing amount. We are now working on an idea for another fundraiser for Hospice at Home West Cumbria and will hopefully have more details very soon.”
Stuart said: “It has been a pleasure being involved in the organising of the festival, as well as performing on the Sunday night. All of the acts that performed over the weekend went down brilliantly with the viewers and the generosity of the people that donated during the weekend has been amazing.”