RivFest

Pacific to perform at RivFest festival to remember Viola Beach

by Northern Life

Indie rock band, Pacific, hailing from Cheshire are among the line-up playing at this year’s music RivFest, the annual music festival set up by the family of the late Viola Beach guitarist River Reeves.

Fast rising through the ranks of the UK music scene, Pacific are one of the most hotly tipped acts of the moment. They are a fresh and alternative indie band and have already been picking up big props from the likes of Mark Radcliffe on BBC 6 Music and have had big success with their earliest releases. Huw Steven’s of BBC Radio 1 picked it up their debut single before eighty more stations also got in on the action.

With their music being referred to as “outstanding” by tastemakers in the know, BBC Introducing have long been big fans of this outfit and as such they have played in the studio and featured on live streams there a number of times. The band have performed with the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen and Maximo Park, Starsailor but RivFest is one of their biggest shows to date. Pacific are releasing their new single, ‘Life In Short’ on September 15th 2017. Pacific are supporting the festival and charity in memory of Viola Beaches’ short but amazing lives.

RivFest will take place on Saturday 2 September at Priestley College in Warrington, the home town of the band who died in a tragic car accident last year. All four members of the band attended Priestley College.

The four members of Viola Beach – Reeves, Kris Leonard, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin – and their manager Craig Tarry were all killed when their car left a bridge in Sweden in February 2016.

Tickets for the event are on sale now via a variety of methods at www.riverreevesfoundation.org/rivfest-2017

Organisers say that for every ticket sold, £1 will be donated to the We Love Manchester campaign set up by the British Red Cross and Manchester City Council in support of victims of the recent terrorist attack in the city.

Proceeds will also go to The River Reeves Foundation, which will be working with bus company Arriva NW to build over the coming years a school to school bus fleet that will include a recording studio bus, animation bus, theatre bus, dance bus, and a creative arts bus as well as single decker buses providing mental health support for youngsters across Warrington’s schools as part of the Future in Mind initiative.

The buses will tour schools and provide inspiration to youngsters, many from disadvantaged backgrounds as well as wider support for those struggling to access mental health support.

Following their tribute to Viola Beach at Glastonbury in 2016, Coldplay have been passionate advocates of the charity and are lending their support to the bus project and other ambitious plans the charity has.

Coldplay will have their images over the buses and have issued the following statement to encourage people to buy a ticket and attend this year’s RivFest17: ‘If you live anywhere near Warrington, please buy a ticket for Rivfest17 on Saturday 2nd September. It’s a fantastic line up, a top day out and a wonderful cause – raising money to realise the dreams of upcoming local talent, all in memory of the great River Reeves.’