Big Wheel Blues Festival
THE Big Wheel Blues Festival is one of the highlights of the Isle of Man’s musical calendar.
Taking place in the village of Laxey every May, it attracts both international and UK blues musicians as well as plenty of homegrown talent from the Isle of Man.
The format in recent years has seen free entertainment on an indoor electric stage and an outdoor acoustic stage at the Pavilion in Laxey Glen Gardens in the afternoons featuring local musicians. There are then ticketed events in the evenings featuring the top visiting acts.
Notable musicians to have played at the festival in recent years include John Hammond, Watermelon Slim, the Aynsley Lister Band and Back Door Slam.
The festival has traditionally raised funds for the Red Cross.
During the weekend of the blues festival a fringe music event featuring local acts also usually takes place in some of the village’s pubs, though this is organised and run entirely separately from the Big Wheel Blues Festival itself.