Bands on the Square

Spring Bank Holiday weekend
Barnoldswick Town Square

BOTS 2025

Iconic free music festival in Barnoldswick town centre, presenting the best bands and artists from the area. Bands on the Square brings 4 days of performances on a custom built stage on Barnoldswick town square, with parking, toilets and facilities in Barnoldswick town centre. All ages welcome.

May 2025 dates to be confirmed, but these are the usual times from previous years:

Friday 6pm to 10.30pm
Saturday 12 noon to 10.30pm
Sunday 12 noon to 10.45pm
Monday 12 noon to 6.15pm

For more information about events in Barnoldswick
(including to enquire about bookings), contact the Town Council:

events@barnoldswicktowncouncil.gov.uk

01282 788090

Updates from Bands on the Square

From A to B, loading lighting rig for B

23rd May 2023

From A to B, loading lighting rig for BOTS (Bands On The Square), which starts at 6pm Friday!

We’re gonna have to wrap all remaining b

22nd May 2023

We’re gonna have to wrap all remaining bands in cotton wool if this carries on! Unfortunately F3int can no longer play, but, The Abandoners, have stepped in for them. They will be on at 5.45 on Saturday 😊 #pleasenomoreinjuries
#BOTS2023
#seeyouatthefront

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumst

17th May 2023

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, LA80-Two have had to pull out of the event. Fortunately Record Street have stepped in for us

Allan Parkinson was a founder of Barnol

14th May 2023

Allan Parkinson was a founder of Barnoldswick’s great local music scene. A musician, performer and tutor, Allan inspired generations of guitar players and Barnoldswick bands.

Tragically, Allan passed away on the Bands On The Square stage in 2017.

In memory of Allan, and to commemorate his contribution to the life of our town, the stage at BOTS has been the Allan Parkinson Stage since 2018.

Tomorrow, Monday 15th May, the crew will once more be erecting the Allan Parkinson Stage on the Town Square in readiness for BOTS at the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Work is due to start at 8am.

(Normally, the stage would have been installed a week later, but Beyoncé has bounced Barlick from our preferred date. Talk about getting your priorities right, eh?!)

Once the staging is in place, there won’t be much BOTS activity on the Town Square until next weekend (20th/21st), when the set-up will begin in earnest.

The square will remain available for use during this next week, with staging in place.

If you would like to become involved with volunteering for BOTS, please send us a message. Thanks!

Early start in preparation for this year

11th May 2023

Early start in preparation for this year’s event!

The set-up for this year’s Bands On The Square gets underway tomorrow (Friday 12th May), with the erection of the open-ended marquee for the event.

The installation of the marquee, and subsequent staging, is earlier than planned, due to the company providing the stage being committed to providing a stage for Beyoncé on the original date we wanted.

The marquee company are due to begin work at 8am tomorrow. Once the marquee is erected, the square will be open as usual.

The staging is now due to be installed this coming Monday.

Bands On The Square takes place over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, beginning on Friday evening, 26th May. Volunteers and crew will be setting up the rest of the event infrastructure in the days leading up to the start time.