Southsea’s Live at The Bandstand season kicks off with weekend of great music in the sunshine

With one particularly noticeable difference to previous years - the event was held at Castle Field rather than at The Bandstand - the popular free music festivities kicked off with a busy Saturday and Sunday.

Today saw around 700 people attend the event, which was organised by music promoters neu waves, the weekly night for emerging music at The Loft in Southsea.

Sam Leadbeater, neu waves co-founder, said that today has been ‘really good’.

He added: ‘Lots of people having a lovely time and the music’s been really good. People have responded really positively. It’s been a lovely afternoon.

‘We run a weekly night so this is an afternoon showcase of some of the stuff we do on a weekly basis so we are reaching people we wouldn’t usually reach.

‘It’s been really enjoyable and seemingly well received. I think people are enjoying getting out in the sun and being social.’

Following this weekend, there will be live music from 1pm to 4pm every weekend day up until July 31, before returning on September 17 and 18, with the season finale on September 24.

The season will also be going ‘on tour’ with events promised for the north of the city for the first time too.

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Each day’s bill is put together by a wide array of local promoters and music-related organisations, with Saturday’s event being presented by Salsa Solent Dance Academy.

Sam hopes that today’s festivities will encourage music lovers to attend the weekly events held at The Loft.

He said: ‘We’ve spoken to a few people who are really enthusiastic, and it’s nice to be able to reach out beyond the Thursday night and show what we do.

‘We want to celebrate artists in the city and bring artists to the city. That’s entirely what we did with our line-up today.

‘Hopefully it might have raised the profile and brought it to the attention of more people, and hopefully everyone’s enjoyed the music we put on today.’

The move from The Bandstand is due to the ongoing coastal defence works, which are being completed across Southsea seafront.