Luton's Bute Street Festival set to return with live music and 'amazing' films

A well-loved festival that ‘brings together national and international artists, performers, and audiences’ is returning to Luton this year.

The annual Bute Street Festival will take place from August 1 to 3 at Luton’s Hat Factory, and attendees can expect to see “amazing films with some recognisable talent”, live music, an art gallery, and an awards show.

Director Benjamin Cyrus-Clark said: “This will be our first year officially as a BIFA Qualifying festival, so the energy to deliver an amazing experience amongst the team is x10. We have always delivered a strong slate of films, live music, art, panels, workshops, and talks.

“This year has gone up a notch. There will be three days that will inspire you, entertain you, and introduce you to a world of entertainment in a way that only Bute Street knows how.”

Bute Street Festival originally started in 2017 at Luton’s Starbucks on Station Road, and Benjamin said he had a ‘strong desire to create a legitimate platform in Luton for arts to showcase their work’.

He said: “I managed to convince five other local creatives across music, film, and art to join me on this adventure. From that, Bute Street Festival was created, with our first event taking place in March 2018.”

The team is also partnering with ‘Young Revolutonaries’ from Revoluton Arts to help ‘platform Lutonian artists’ at the event.

Benjamin added: “We have always been looking for an excuse to collaborate with Revoluton, as they are an amazing organisation, and there is so much synergy with the work that we do and our objectives regarding empowering local creatives.

"Young people that engage with this programme will get curated support with their projects all the way up to showcasing at the Bute Street Festival 2024. This opportunity has been missing from the local cultural scene and it is a gap that the partnership between Bute Street and Revoluton endeavours to plug.”

Lindsey Pugh, CEO and creative director for Revoluton Arts, said: “Working with like-minded partners that place Luton’s young talent and audiences at the heart of creative programming is central to our mission at Revoluton Arts. We’re so excited for this year’s festival.”

Visit the Bute Street Festival website to find out more.