As of our last Bobstock Live Music and Beer Festival in 2024, K.C.Giggs have disbanded after a fabulous 11 years of live music at our Community Centre. We all need a break, and hopefully some new muso’s from the village will take up the mantel with new ideas to promote live music in the village and raise funds for our Community Centre and Great Meadow.
The history of Bobstock
The first two Bobstocks in 2010 and 2011 were held in my garden, under 35 quids worth of Halford’s gazebo. I invited Kedington’s musical elite and as many family and friends as I could. There were some blinding performances, many fuelled by Magpie Pete’s famous homebrew. It was all acoustic then, no PAs or amps, just music in the raw. Highly enjoyable stuff. Then in 2012 came Cotton Hall in Rectory Road, with a rambling 10 acre garden, belonging to Neil and Helen Carson. They’d experienced the dubious wonders of Bobstock 2011 and kindly offered their spacious back garden as an alternative venue. I jumped at the chance.
Not only were the surroundings delightful, I could plug in! Actual proper bands and that! A result if ever there was one. Thankfully, neighbour Nick offered to do the sound. Any kit I didn’t have I borrowed: drum kit, amps, slightly bigger gazebos. The evening ended with a blistering barn dance hosted by local stalwarts the mighty Quaff, and a firework display!
In 2013 disaster loomed – Cotton Hall was not available for that year’s Bobstock. So I resigned myself to the slightly regressive move of staging it in my garden again. I needn’t have worried – the king of the knee slide, Ross Van de Zande, came to the rescue. He approached the KCA to see if we could hold Bobstock, along with a beer festival, in the Community Centre to see out the summer holidays, and K.C.Giggs was formed to promote live music in the village. Thanks to the talents and efforts of this small group of volunteer music enthusiasts, Bobstock Live Music and Beer Festival has become a resoundingly successful event that’s open to all. So in a slightly circuitous way, Ketton eventually got the music festival it deserved!
Bob Dellar
Bobstock Live Music and Beer Festival 2023
What a fabulous day with everyone enjoying the good weather on the Great Meadow – the vibe was good natured and happy. The talented bands and singers were all well received and supported with many positive posts on village FB groups. We raised just over £1,700 – another great achievement for our Community Centre. Bobstock would like to thank the team who set up and took down the marquee; the Lions for cooking and serving BBQ food all afternoon up to 8.00pm. They said they very much enjoyed doing the event and a donation has been made to them. Also, the talented professional team who made who made it happen: Bob Dellar on bands and a fabulous performance on stage with Stone Cold Stumble, Nick Browning amazing sound engineer, Alan Barney epic on lights and effects, and Viv my right hand lady and design of promotional material, along with the fantastic bar staff volunteers and especially Jo Hammond and all the Hammond family who were there all day polite and happy throughout, serving, stocking and ensuring everyone had a great event. Now the sad bit – Bobstock will be taking a year out, as we need to regroup and discuss the future for Bobstock.
Bobstock Live Music and Beer Festival 2022
Finally, after two years of lockdowns and uncertainty we were able to hold our extraordinary beer and live music event to complete the KCA’s summer activities. Another great success, great local beer, cider, wine and evening gin bar, and new this year, snacks from independent bakery Small Town in Clare and tasty burgers plus more from Temperley’s Food Truck. The bands were amazing and everyone enjoyed the wide range of musical talent. New for 2022, DJ Draft Punk completed the night in his crazy style with banging dance music mixes. We raised just under £1,700 for our Community Centre – a Bobstock record. Thanks to everyone who came along, enjoyed good beer and fabulous live music in the heart of our village. Special thanks to sound man Nick Browning, lights man Alan Barney, all the hardworking volunteer bar staff, and of course the main man Bob – who plays the meanest harmonica! See you in 2023.
Bobstock Live Music and Beer Festival 2019
Another amazing event to end the summer of 2019, this time with our new acoustic outdoor stage which was a big success. What could be better than listening to good music while picnicking on the Great Meadow. This year we raised a fantastic £1,600 for our Community Centre and future music events. Thanks to everyone who came, enjoyed and made it another very successful gig!
Check back here for further information for Bobstock 2020!
Bobstock Live Music and Beer Festival 2018 – a great day of live music, real ales, food and sunshine
When you have a recipe of good weather, brilliant bands, tasty, quaffable beers, great food, ciders and soft drinks, you only have to add some tireless, willing volunteers and you have a triumph of enjoyment and community spirit.
You will be pleased to know that this year’s proceeds resulted in just over £1,500 towards the upkeep of the Community Centre and Great Meadow, and future music events.
Next year Bobstock will be 10 years old, so make sure to save the date – Saturday 31 August 2019 – at the Community Centre from 1.00pm–11.30pm. Further details to follow, check out the Events page.
See performances from some our great Bobstock 2018 bands available now on YouTube, thanks to Matthew Upton.
If you would like to get involved with Bobstock, either as a performer or volunteer, please contact Bob Dellar.
Bobstock Live Music and Beer Festival 2017 – another successful event
The eclectic mix of bands and performers provided a high standard of entertainment throughout the day, with something for everyone. Once again, we had a fantastic selection of real ales, ciders, and gourmet food, and good weather to enjoy the music from the Great Meadow during the afternoon.
This year’s proceeds totalled just over £1,300 which will go towards the upkeep of the Community Centre and Great Meadow, and towards future music events
See all the action on Kedington News Bobstock Special ’17. Thanks to Mathew Upton for videoing the event.