Park closes as Live at York Museum Gardens set to begin

The gates of one of York’s best used parks are currently locked whilst the heatwave rages on and preparations get underway for Live at York Museum Gardens – a music festival led by Futuresound Group.

Live at York Museum Gardens returns from Thursday, July 9, to Saturday, July 11, followed by the York Comedy Festival at the venue on Sunday, July 12.

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This year’s festival opens its doors at 5pm with a sold-out headline performance from synth-pop duo Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who will be joined by Heaven 17 and China Crisis as well as rising star singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.

Taking the Friday night slot – also at 5 – is Mercy Prize nominated artists Self Esteem, supported by  by London-based indie group the Big Moon, South African “future ghetto funk” pioneer Moonchild Sanelly and Nigeria-born now Sweden-based spoken word artist and musician Joshua Idehen.

Super Furry Animals will close the music festival on the Saturday from 4pm, with indie musician Baxter Dury, indie-pop’s Los Campesinos!, Nottingham-based alt-country band Divorce and Welsh Music Prize nominees Pys Melyn.

A notice on the gates of Museum Gardens (Image: Ben Hardy)

On the Sunday, York Comedy Festival will see performances from Russell Howard, Ross Noble, Joanne McNally and more from 3pm.

Rachel Hill, project manager at Futuresound, said the group is “so proud of how Live at York Museum Gardens has grown”.

She said: “We’re looking forward to seeing the changes we’ve made to the site this year, ensuring that everyone enjoys their time in such a beautiful space.

“None of this would have been possible without the continued collaboration, trust and support of the team at York Museums Trust; the opportunity to put together such an incredible bill for the summer makes us excited for the future of our partnership.”