Popular tourist destination The Grand Pier, known for its large variety of rides and attractions for all ages, celebrated great success recently with its first ever Summer Fest event.
Held on the 30th of June 2023, Summer Fest attendees enjoyed an evening of live music at the Pier with an incredibly talented local line-up consisting of The Lipinski Band, Eastertown, Senna Weeks and Weston College’s The Like-Minded Band.
The event provided an exceptional platform for local talent in Somerset to showcase their skills whilst entertaining an upbeat crowd of people from across the region.
The Pier’s commitment to supporting emerging artists has once again proven effective, as it continues to support the growth and success of aspiring local musicians.
One notable success story that highlights the Pier’s pivotal role in supporting the growth of talent is The Lipinski’s Band. In 2011, The Lipinski Band secured their breakthrough moment by performing on the main stage of The Grand Pier alongside the legendary Wurzels. Since then, The Lipinski’s Band has achieved great success in their career, with their music being positively received by the local audience.
Reflecting on their formative experience and the first Summer Fest event, Adam Lipinski, Band Member shared “Back in 2011, The Grand Pier offered us a huge opportunity to support The Wurzels in front of a sell-out audience and then invited us back again in 2012 which was instrumental in us gaining a much bigger following in the local area. This ultimately led to us being able to attract enough people to stage our very own event, ‘The Lipinski Christmas Party’ at The Grand Pier in December 2012.”
Adam added “This event has itself grown over the years, attracting more and more people and so being asked to headline the first ever ‘Summer Fest’ was a no brainer. The opportunity to share the stage with our good friends and Weston royalty ‘Eastertown’, the incredibly talented Senna Weeks, and the chance to run a competition to search for a new up and coming act to open the event really attracted us.”
Adam continues “We discovered a great new Weston based band ‘The Like-Minded’ who write and perform music with a maturity that defies their youth, and it was fantastic to be able to offer the same opportunity to them that we ourselves were given way back in 2011.”
Continuing its commitment to nurturing budding musicians, The Grand Pier has continued to provide a stage for promising acts, including Senna Weeks, who made his debut on the Pier’s platform at the age of 12. Now aged 21, Senna Weeks has flourished as an artist and developed a large following.
This year’s Summer Fest event witnessed the debut of the young Weston College musicians, The Like-Minded Band, who were incredibly well received by the audience as the opening act of the night. It marked a significant milestone in their journey, offering them an opportunity to perform their first large-scale gig. The band shared their appreciation, saying, “It was a pleasure to play on The Grand Pier for Summer Fest and something we will never forget!” They added “It was a great event to be a part of and we hope to one day play on The Grand Pier again”.
Plans for next year’s Summer Fest event are already underway. The Pier aims to make it even bigger and better, with an exciting line-up showcasing the next new and upcoming act or competition winner. This ongoing dedication to musicians in the town will continue to strengthen the local music scene and provide a platform for emerging talent to shine.
