There's a lot to say about the Whitby Musicport Global Music Festival. It has multi-dimensional appeal and attracts some of the most innovative and interesting acts from around the world, the UK and the local area.

   Musicport...

• is held every year at the start of October half-term in the cosy surroundings of the Whitby Pavilion, nestled in a huge cleft on the town's West Cliff

• was originally planned as a one-off celebration for the Millenium, brought to life as an annual event by popular opinion & support and has thrived for 20 years without a miss. Until this year, their 21st...

• serves a mostly local audience from Yorkshire & Teesside

• has hosted literally hundreds of internationally-renowned touring artists

• has a well-deserved reputation for advancing talent both locally and internationally

• has a devoted audience which has grown year on year

• includes great arts & crafts activities for children all day throughout the weekend, culminating in a grand festival parade on Sunday evening

• is agreed by many to be the most friendly and inclusive of music festivals; small enough for there to be a fabulous rapport between audience and performers and somewhere you'll frequently spot the artists out & about enjoying the sights & sounds

• benefits from a superb indoor facility in a stunning clifftop location with panoramic sea & coastal views

• has FIVE atmospheric indoor live stages including what must be one of the most electrifying acoustic stages in the country in the Old Victorian Theatre

• has great indoor market stalls and open-door events in locations around Whitby as well as fab festival food vans and the wonderful, wonderful Bob's BlundaBus bar - a great place to meet the bands after hours. Not to mention the famous fish'n'chips at every turn. I said...

• is held a the beginning of the Autumn Half-Term holidays in a town renowned for its very reasonable guest-house and property rents AND the festival continues through the ensuing week with a series of individual gigs featuring weekend artists at village pubs and halls around the area

• is not just music – there's comedy, film, spoken word, theatre, choral singing, yoga & Tai Chi, cookery, eye-popping beach art and, of course, any self-respecting DJ's spiritual home – the non-stop relay DJ Hub, run by the Hub Head Honcho Dewi Llwyd Evans, aka DJ Flyffilyfbbl (work it out :) ) and handily situated close to the bar & cafe, also enjoying fabulous views of coast & harbour by day and by night

• is an event where you may well form lasting friendships with total strangers – it's that kind of festival

The Main Stage with stalls & seating

Scenes from the festival

Eliza Carthy & Band play to a packed house

The Whitby Musicport Festival Online Weekend will take place on 24th/25th October between 5pm and Midnight. Here's the latest (20/10) from Festival Organisers Jim & Sue McLaughlin:

“In the absence of the actual 2020 festival this year we are presenting 2 evenings online to celebrate Musicport's 21st anniversary on 24th and 25th October this year .
"The evenings will comprise live acts and DJs at  HPSS Studios  in Hull, a couple of live streamed performances from afar, archive footage from previous festivals plus pre-recorded contributions from some of our favourite artists all brought together on the weekend."
Live performance times:

Saturday 24th October

6:30 PM

Fowl - Live from Whitby Brewery

7:00 PM

Cassandre Balbar - Live from the Studio

9:00 PM

Martin & Eliza Carthy - Live from Whitby Brewery

10:15 PM

Simon Wood - Live from the Studio

11:00 PM

Nashville Electro Service - Live from the Studio

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Sunday 25th October

6:00 PM

Katie Spencer - Live from the Studio

7:15 PM

Rikki Thomas-Martinez - Live from the Studio

9:10 PM

Paul Armfield - Live link from Home

10:10 PM

The Hut People - Live from the Studio

DJs include:
<<Drummie Dave>> (Atkin)......

<<Liz Collier>>......

<<WOMAN>> (aka Rose Iredale)..

<<Skank Marvin>> (aka Gary Ward) .....     

<<DJ fflyffilyfbbyl>>....

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Songlines Magazine are generously giving everyone who visits the on-line event a free download of the current magazine & CD.

Benjamin Zephaniah & The Revolutionary Minds, Musicport 2017

 - Check out an enormous YouTube archive of bands and artists performing live at Whitby Musicport Global Music + Arts Festival

10 tracks by artists who have played at Musicport Festival

The DJ Hub, Bar & Cafe by day

You can donate to Musicport via their JustGiving page.