“Plutarch says somewhere, that the best musical instruments are made from the jaw-bones of asses. Plutarch never made a more sensible observation.”
Edward Bulwer Lytton – “Godolphin”
Bulwer Lytton never cared for music. He was said to have been completely tone deaf. It is ironic therefore that his park is now known worldwide as Britain’s largest and most prestigious open-air music venue. This fame, as we know, does not bring regularity. It becomes increasingly expensive for promoters to stage these large shows and they are reluctant to do so unless they are guaranteed a sell-out. Indeed last year there was no music at all in Knebworth Park and the year before only a single private classical concert. So this year we are particularly pleased to report that we have one confirmed weekend of public “Summer Picnic” concerts and two unconfirmed enquiries for further music events that remain a possibility.
The “Summer Picnic” concerts are small affairs (for us!) only 4,000/6,000 people. The tickets are £35/£40 and the dates are the weekend of the World Cup Final – 7th-9th July – so we hope the concerts are not too small! Certainly we are very pleased with the artists, who are Status Quo (returning to Knebworth for the third time) on the Friday, Robin Gibb (the one of the two remaining Bee Gees still touring) on the Saturday and Jools Holland on the Sunday. I will keep you informed of any further developments.
In the meantime, don’t forget our “Parish Day” on Sunday 26th March (details on the back cover), which I see is also “Mother’s Day” – so bring your Mum too!
Henry Lytton Cobbold
www.knebworthhouse.com