Hopwood & Heywood March 2022

Stage change for Rochdale
Feel Good Festival
Ongoing refurbishment of Rochdale Town Hall and major improvement works
around the town hall square will mean a change for this summer’s Rochdale Feel
Good Festival. The main stage will move 400 metres, to Hopwood Hall College.
Indoor stages in town centre venues will remain the same, with only the main stage relocating
for 2022 while major work on The Esplanade and town hall square is completed.
Capacity for the main stage area will be reduced to around 5,000 at the St Mary’s Gate
site said councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and co-operation at
Rochdale Borough Council: “After a forced two year break due to the pandemic we
wanted to make sure the festival returns this year but obviously with all the town hall
work underway we’ve had to find a new home for the main stage before it returns to
what will be a fabulous brand new events space. Hopwood Hall College have been
a supporter of this event for a number of years and I would like to thank them for
accommodating us and look forward to working with them. The site is very close to the
town centre and within a short walk of our other festival venues.”
While entry to indoor stages in venues will be free, entry to the main stage, headlined
by The Fratellis is ticketed, with £7 tickets on sale, so festival goers are being advised
to book early added Sue: “Rochdale Feel Good Festival attracts visitors from across
Greater Manchester, the north of England and beyond, so after a long wait its welcome
return is going to be popular, but with our reduced capacity we are urging fans not
to leave buying tickets until the last minute as the main stage area won’t be able to
welcome as many of you as usual.”
Julia Heap, the college’s principal and CEO said: “We’re delighted to be supporting this
summer’s Rochdale Feel Good Festival. Our Rochdale campus has extensive parking
facilities which will make a great events space for the festival that’s accessible for all.
We’re really looking forward to welcoming what looks to be a brilliant line-up of acts that
everyone can enjoy.”
On Saturday 13 August headliners The Fratellis will be joined by northern soul band
The Northern Soultrain, Manchester singer/songwriter Abbie Ozard, rock band HAiG,
multi-talented musician Aziz Ibrahim, alternative dance band ENTT, indie/folk duo
Firewoodisland, DJ Dave Sweetmore and a local battle of the bands winner, a full
programme of entertainment across indoor venues to be announced plus quality
food and drink.
Tickets (£7) for the main stage are available at
www.rochdalefeelgoodfestival.co.uk and you can book in person
at Touchstones Rochdale, Heywood Civic Centre and Middleton Arena.
The festival is funded by the council together with ticket sales and sponsorship from local
businesses. If you would like to get involved with the festival, email events@rochdale.gov.uk
For festival updates on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/feelgoodfestival
or connect with @FeelGoodFest on Twitter.
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