Sounds Around Town Celebrates a Summer of Live Music in Penrith

Penrith’s Sounds Around Town programme has drawn to a close after bringing free live music to locations across the town throughout Summer 2026.

Beginning in late May and continuing through to early September, the programme featured a varied line-up of local bands and artists performing in Angel Square, Middlegate, Great Dockray, Castle Park and the Cornmarket Bandstand, with appearances at the Great Penrith Picnic and Penrith BID’ Summer Saturdays also forming part of the schedule.

From folk and acoustic music to brass, busking and popular covers, each performance offered something different while giving musicians from Penrith and the wider area a platform in the heart of the town. Sounds Around Town celebrates the incredible local talent in Penrith and Cumbria, while encouraging visitors to explore the town centre, stay longer and enjoy everything our community has to offer.

The initiative was arranged by Penrith Town Council in collaboration with Eden Valley Artistic Network, Plug n Play and the Penrith Arts & Culture group. Penrith BID provided funding for the Summer Saturday element of the programme, helping live music complement its wider programme of activity in the town centre during July and August.

Together, the partners helped create a lively and welcoming atmosphere across Penrith, encouraging residents and visitors to discover different parts of the town and support its shops, cafés, markets and other local businesses.

Cllr Barbara Jayson, Chair of Penrith Town Council’s Communities Committee, said:

“Sounds Around Town has once again filled Penrith with music and given talented local performers the opportunity to be heard in some of our best-known town centre spaces.

“The programme has brought people together, added to the atmosphere on Summer Saturdays and supported our wider aim of making Penrith a lively and welcoming place to visit. I would like to thank EVAN and Plug n Play for bringing the programme together, Penrith BID for funding the Summer Saturday performances, every artist who took part and everyone who stopped to listen and enjoy the music.”

Penrith Town Council would also like to thank the town centre businesses and organisations that supported the performances and helped make the 2026 programme possible.

The full Sounds Around Town 2026 programme can be viewed on the Penrith Arts & Culture website. Follow Penrith Town Council Cumbria on Facebook for news about future events and activities.