Beat-Herder: Ribble Valley festival wins at inaugural Nordoff and Robbins Northern Music Awards

The four-day Ribble Valley festival picked up the crown at Manchester’s iconic Albert Hall triumphing over Stockport’s Moovin Festival, Kendal Calling, Salford’s Sounds From The Other City, and Sheffield’s Tramlines.

In a social media post, organisers said: “Big thanks and love to everyone that voted for us. If you know then you know and if you're thinking of which festival to be at this summer then we'll see you in July!”

The Northern Music Awards have been created by the UK’s largest music therapy charity Nordoff and Robbins to raise awareness of their transformative work and fundraise for more music therapy provision throughout the region.

Beat-Herder will celebrate its 17th anniversary when its returns to the East Lancashire countryside on Thursday, July 18.

The legendary gathering is known for its vibrant energy, diverse musical line-up, hedonistic joy, and commitment to its free party roots boasts 20+ jaw-dropping stages, world-class DJs, live acts, comedians, and surprises. From pulsating beats to soul-stirring melodies and mesmerising performances, a Beat-Herder line-up is a real family affair with iconic acts spanning the music spectrum, celebrating all that is great about the fiercely independent festival.

Headlining is legendary British duo Leftfield, one of electronic music’s all-time greatest acts, alongside dance giant Orbital, whose dazzling light show and unorthodox anthems like ‘Chime’ are perfect summer crowd-pleasers. Giants of reggae, The Wailers, are set to perform timeless songs from Bob Marley's extensive repertoire, while this year, revellers can also expect to spot some well-known and much-loved faces, including Happy Mondays’ Bez with a DJ set in the Factory, TV-personalities-turned-DJs Dick & Dom on the main stage, and Woody Cook, who has been making a name for himself, following in the footsteps of his superstar DJ Dad, Fatboy Slim.

There’s also an electrifying line-up in the Toil Trees, the beating heartland of the festival in the woods, featuring DJ and producer Denis Sulta, music legends K-Klass, minimal Detroit techno DJ Floorplan, hypnotic, minimal grooves from SOSA, soulful South Yorkshire talent Mella Dee, infectious tech from East End Dubs, influential house DJ Heidi, and respected electro-house DJs and producers, D.O.D.

For more info, head over to www.beatherder.co.uk.