The carnival parade will be led this year by the critically acclaimed Bedford Pipe Band, and events on the river include the ever popular illuminated boat parade; the kayak slalom; a Jet Boots displays and the River Swim. In addition two new events for this year are a hover craft display and a paddle board race featuring Dragon Boat and raft race teams.
In celebration of the 850th anniversary of Bedford Borough being granted royal charter, there will be a Heritage Village on Castle Mound recreating 11th century Bedford.
Events across the weekend include battle re-enactments, weapons demonstrations and storytelling.
The Pad Presents have booked the main stage at this year and they’ve gone all out to pull together some of the hottest new bands, and blend them with more leftfield artists that need to be seen.
Here’s what’s happening, whose playing, and when:
Saturday 16th July
2pm - The Ouse Valley Singles Club: 'New Wave Comedy Skiffle' kicks off The Pad Presents stint with songs about the River Ouse, Global warming and strange ladies in Bedford town centre on a night out. The trio of Tim, Amy and Uncle Sam have quickly built up a cult following from Bedford to the shores of The Wash and beyond.
3pm - Tom Grennan: Local lad Tom has inked a deal with Sony Records and is being geared up to be one of the biggest names in UK music.
Expect tales of everyday life from the former Jebs frontman with the golden voice. Already clocking up sold out solo shows and supporting The Libertines earlier in the year he features as guest vocalist on the forthcoming new ‘Chase and Status’ single no less.
4pm - The Mariachis: Yes, it's them off that Doritos advert! Bringing the fun factor early on in the day the band play versions of pop classics with a Mexican twist that include the Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’, East 17′s ‘Stay Another Day’ and Joan Jett’s ‘I Love Rock & Roll’, they have the whole country singing and partying along.
In 2014 they headlined the Avalon Stage at the Glastonbury Festival and have become the ‘go to’ band for UK TV shows requiring a Mariachi band, with performances on The One Show, Good Morning Britain, A Question of Sport, Let’s Do Lunch, A League of Their Own, Graham Norton, Paul O’Grady, Sunday Morning Live, Peter Andre and Sunday Brunch. Enjoy with a beer in your hand and a smile on your face and don’t forget your dips…
5pm - The Scruff: One of Bedford's finest bands, The Scruff are a four piece that sit somewhere between Supergrass and The Jam, recently championed on Radio 1 by Hue Stephens the bands profile continues to grow. The lads are gearing up to a big release in September.
6pm - Intobeats takeover: The local underground FM radio station are giving The Pad team a break for an hour and showcasing some of their finest DJs and talents. We're not 100% sure what they are going to be doing, but expect it to be good!
7pm - Hollie Cook: The daughter of a Sex Pistol, Hollie comes from a stable of musical genius and brings her Reggae tinged 'Tropical Pop' to the main stage. Recently Hollie has been performing in a new line up of The Slits, as well as being chosen as one of the main supports for the Stone Roses come back shows.
Her extensive work with Prince Fatty on her own material has seen her appear on 'Later... with Jools Holland' and tour extensively - make sure you don't miss her!
8pm - Kuenta I Tambu: The finest party band in the world, driving over for the day all the way from Amsterdam, Kuenta i Tambu are a 5 piece band with a difference - Inspired by Traditional Afro Caribbean Music from Curaçao and European Dance, Kuenta i Tambu has created a brand new sound! They cleverly found a balance between electronic sound samples, singing and chanting and the infectious rhythms played by ritual tambú drums.
9pm - Symphonica Ft Mr Switch: The headliner on Saturday night will be like nothing you have ever seen before, when 20 piece orchestra Symphonica take to the stage with World DMC (DJ) Champion Mr Switch! With only a handful of shows under their belts, this is an exciting new project taken on by Mr Switch, blending the worlds of classical music, Hip Hop and underground dance together, creating something to make your hairs stand on end, and a fitting finish before the fireworks light up Russel Park.
Sunday 17th July
1pm - Easydread: Ease into the day with Easydread, bringing their own take on Dub and Reggae with full on horn section thrown in for good measure! Already playing to packed houses locally their infectious sound is gaining ground around the UK and London town as a bona-fide act to keep your eyes out for.
2pm - Elijah Miller: A young talent that is hard to ignore, Elijah has released a couple of sold out EPs over the last 12 months, with sell out shows at Esquires. Crafting perfect indie/electro pop with the use of loop pedals.
3pm - Pearl Handled Revolver: Having just released their critically acclaimed new album 'If The Devil Cast His Net', PHR are a four piece that take particular solace from the engulfing vibes of Tom Waits, the hypotonic edgy groove of the Doors, and the leftfield modern guile and drive of Queens Of The Stone Age.
4pm - Very Special Guests: The secret guests will be announced on facebook.com/thepadpresents or www.thepadpresents.com on the day!
5pm – Rotten Hill Gang: Welcome the British hip hop/punk act from the West London areas of Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill.
Fusing movie soundtracks such as Scarface and Once Upon A Time in America with classic rock 'n' roll guitar-riffs backed with gritty hip hop vocals courtesy of MC Reds and complimented by the sultry tones of Hollie Cook of the Slits and Hayley Smith the band sought to create a sound that was original, compelling, and definitely addictive. Band members also include a rhythm section from Big Audio Dynamite and Transvision Vamp and Gus Robertson from Razorlight on guitar completing the set.
The band describe themselves as playing "Dickensian hip hop" telling "stories as putrid as decaying vegetables at the end of a day in Portobello Road market" If you love Public Enemy, The Clash, The Streets and Jimi Hendrix tinged with dub Reggae and soul then this is the band you need to discover…
6pm – The Wholls: Probably one of biggest bands from Bedford town these boys are having a busy year touring up and down the UK taking in small club to huge festivals such as Isle Of Wight, Bestival, Secret Garden Party, Great Escape. Their single X21 was play-listed by Radio 1 earlier this year and was even performed on Miss World in China by the band, a performance that was seen by 25 million viewers globally and has found them winning over new fans far and wide. The new slimmed down line up of Tordy, Sanfino, Jo and Dan have seen the bands sound beefed up with a rockier stance and look soon to take their band to the next level.
7pm - Special Kinda Madness: Rounding off the music for the weekend we move onto our Sunday headline act, and it's two of the nations most loved bands under one moniker, half The Specials, half Madness, 100% party - The guys are selling out venues across the UK performing all the ska classics that have stood the test of time with passion vigour such so we can't really imagine more fun could be had on a (hopefully) sunny Sunday in July.
