Bloom’s First Whit Friday!

On Friday 13th June, members from our A, B & C Bands joined 109 other bands in Saddleworth to compete in the Whit Friday Band Contest. The event is a real highlight of our year, and our members were super excited to take to the road for the first time as Bloom Music Community!

It’s never an easy task arranging Whit Friday logistically (although after the nightmare of trying to get a 70 seater coach around Saddleworth in the past, we do try to keep things a little smaller now!). This year we had 40 musicians on board with 9 supporters (including two photographers and a runner). For some members, it was their first time taking part in Whit Friday, but also their first time marching full stop! I’m incredibly proud of everyone in our organisation who performed this year, especially our newest members from our C Band.

For our road march, we performed The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army, which was arranged by a friend of the organisation, especially for Bloom. For our contest march on the stand, we performed Star Lake, which is always a firm favourite with the audience. Here’s the official video of our march, filmed and edited by Jamie Watson.

We’re already working on a plan for next year and can’t wait to do it all again. If you’ve always watched the Whit Friday marches and thought you’d love to be a part of it all, please get in touch and start your musical journey now. You could be performing with us in 2026!

Laura (Founder & Director of Bloom)