Sold-out success for first-ever Johnny Alfrey Memorial Day

Date published: 05 May 2023

The inaugural Johnny Alfrey Memorial Day at Littleborough Cricket Club was a sold-out success, paving the way for a new local music community.

A talented musician, Johnny, 22, of Littleborough, sadly died in June last year after illness caused by heart abnormalities.
 

Read more: Death of a 'brilliant young man' who was the 'perfect son' could have been avoided, coroner rulesPublished: 13 January 2023

Johnny’s family and friends and band, Starboard Jubilee, are working hard to establish a not-for-profit organisation to benefit local music lovers, and so held the Johnny Alfrey Music Memorial at Littleborough Cricket Club on 29 April.

The all-day music event saw performances from Mark Morriss and Adam Devlin of The Bluetones, The Loose Cut, Truckstop Honeymoon, Damien Maddison, Lol Goodman, The Sprats, Spin Klass, Tennessey Honeys and Johnny’s band, Starboard Jubilee with special guest appearances from radio presenter and DJs Clint Boon and Dave Sweetmore.

 

 

More than 500 people attended the event, which amassed a long waiting list of people wanting tickets.

Johnny’s mum, Julie, said: “The memorial was an idea we had as his family following the tragic and sudden death of Johnny in June last year to heart failure.

“We wanted to do something to honour him that he would have loved, that would last forever and that would benefit young people interested in music performance longer term. It was amazing day that he would have been proud of and the cause goes on.

“We just can't thank everyone enough for attending, supporting and sponsoring our event.

“Every single band was amazing and we want to say a special thanks to them all, and to Clint Boon and Dave Sweetmore for raising our profile for such an important cause in Johnny's name.

 

 

“We must give a special mention to the more than 60 crew members who worked so hard on the day to make it a spectacular festival, including Littleborough Arts Festival, Rockit Bolton and Set2it.  

“We could not have done this without all of them, many of who are much loved friends and family and have supported us in starting this whole thing from start to finish.

“However, we see this as just the beginning of something much bigger. Over the next year we will work towards the next annual event but will also be starting lots of other projects along the way, building up our community of supporters and investors and releasing promotional material online on a regular basis.”

All money raised at the inaugural event will go towards more great events, project management/technical training and education for people wanting to become part of a new music community.

Anyone who is interested in becoming involved can visit the Johnny Alfrey Memorial website to find out more.

Photos: Sam Kutereba-Wall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johnny's band Starboard Jubilee being interviewed at the first Johnny Alfrey Memorial Day held at Littleborough Cricket Club on 29 April 2023.