The Street Choir Festival was created in 1983 to promote development through song of a society free from all forms of oppression, exploitation, exclusion and violence. Twenty-eight choirs from all over the UK are taking part in this years’ festival in Bury town centre.

Friday 13 July features; Voices De Cuba, an amazing acappella choral youth choir from Santiago, eastern Cuba; The Rocket, Bury lads who are inventive and creative musicians; Bury Acapeelers Community Choir, this years’ festival hosts; Alun Parry, a well-known storytelling musician from Liverpool; and a Ceilidh with Bolton ceilidh band The Earthquakers.

Saturday 14 July is a mass choir event with all twenty-eight choirs performing on stage.

Organised each year by a choir in a different town in the UK; Street Choirs Festival has grown to include community choirs from around the country and there is now a wide variety of songs including, pop, rock, gospel, world folk, shape note, modern compositions as well as songs of protest, vision and ideals. Choirs join together to bring their songs directly to local audiences and sing collectively, publicly and powerfully as one voice as well as individual groups.