Stockport indie group, Blossoms remembered Viola Beach in a memorial gig – Viola Beach: A Celebration – at Warrington Parr Hall on 2 April.
Joining Blossoms were The Kooks, The Zutons, The Coral, and Courteeners. There were also performances by the likes of Warm up Dayman, Eliza and the Bear, Hidden Charms, Vryll Society, The Stawberries, and Psyblings.
Featured on Digital Spy, frontman Tom Ogden spoke to BBC news:
“When we found out the details, it was horrible. We didn’t say a word to each other.
It’s unheard of in history. It’s so devastating and shocking. You know they would have been having the time of their lives.
Ogden continued:
“We were getting closer as the tour went on. It happened before all the big gigs. They’d done about two weeks. It was such a shame we didn’t get to know them better.”
“There are just no words for what happened. It’s something we’ll never forget – it could have been us.
“They were such a good a band, and it’s just a shame this is how people have ended up hearing them.”
Blossoms are building themselves up to be an important act for British music. Since their release of their Blown Rose EP, Blossoms have been constantly adding new material for a highly anticipated debut album later this year.
They have been very busy touring the UK and Europe and this continues:
6/4 – Le Trinnon – Paris, France
8/4 – Melweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands
9/4 – Luxor – Cologne, Germany
10/4 – Knust – Hamburg, Germany
The Stockport group then return to the UK:
30/4 – Live at Leeds – Leeds
1/5 – Festevol – Liverpool
19-21/5 – The Great Escape – Brighton
10/6 – Isle of Wight Festival – Newport
11/6 – The Parklife Weekender – Manchester
12/6 – Field Day – London
18/6 – Best Kept Secret Festival – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands
18/6 – Northside Festival – Aarhus, Denmark
22-26/6 – Glastonbury Festival – Pilton
Blossoms’ festival season continues into July:
28-31/7 – Kendal Calling – Kendal
29-31/7 – Standon Calling – Standon
10-14/8 – Broadmasters Festival – Cornwall
20-21/8 – Summer Sonic – Tokyo, Japan
26-28/8 – Reading Festival – Reading
28/8 – Leeds Festival – Bramham Park
1-4/9 – Festival Number 6 – Portmeirion
2-4/9 – Electric Picnic – Stradbally, Ireland
Widely in the news, Viola Beach’s four members and their manager tragically died in a car crash in Stockholm, Sweden back in February.
Before the memorial gig, fans united in a conga as a celebration of the lives of Viola Beach.
Featured on the BBC, Oli, a friend of the band said:
“In a few years’ time they would have been selling out arenas and winning awards,”
“For this to be happening is a great way to say goodbye.”
