Rock festival in memory of late East Hampshire teen musician was worth every penny

You rock, East Hampshire: That’s the message to revellers as a festival held in memory of a teenage musician has raised a record-breaking sum for an airborne charity.

Lincfest organisers just wanted to cover their costs when they announced plans for a rock festival in Horndean in memory of 14-year-old Lincoln Hawkes.

But the July event dedicated to the late Horndean Technology College student was an incredible success – with the £12,000 raised for the Hampshire & IOW Air Ambulance being the charity’s single biggest community donation of this year.

The festival in Jubilee Park raised more than £24,000 with funds being split between the HIOWAA and Horndean Parish Council to spend on youth facilities and initiatives in the village.

Festival director, Sean Burridge, and co-organiser, Tony Gould, told the Post they had been blown away by the response after presenting the cheque to HPC on Monday.

The donation to HIOWAA could genuinely be a lifesaver as it will fund three missions.

“We initially hoped not to lose any money but once we got the council and sponsors onboard, we started to realise we could make a tidy profit for the charities,” said Tony.

“We sold 2,260 tickets – we said if we got 1,500 we would be very happy so to sell over 2,000 blew us away.”

“We couldn’t have done it without the sponsors but the important thing was to keep it affordable for the community as we wanted to keep things local,” said Sean.

“There isn’t anything in our community of this sort. Yes, all the local villages have fetes and things but Lincfest was so different and it was really embraced.

“We’re also super stoked and super proud that we’ve been the largest community fund-raiser for the HIOWAA this year. That’s such an incredible achievement.”

Lincfest is set to become a firm fixture on the South of Butser calendar with plans already underway for next year’s festival. The inaugural event featured 14 bands across two stages with acts including Lincoln’s band, Into Pieces, who did their late guitarist and lead singer proud with a barnstorming performance.

Lincoln died on July 7, last year, following a car accident in Lovedean with investigations still ongoing. His family and friends thought the best way to commemorate his death and legacy was through music.

The money donated to HPC will be ring-fenced through their Local Good Causes Fund with the panel including members of Lincoln’s family.

Cllr Andy Redding, HPC chair, said the council is proud to support Lincfest and congratulated organisers on raising such a staggering amount of money.

He said: “Half of the £24,000 is coming into the custody of HPC but we are merely the custodians and that will be used to support youth initiatives with a particular connection to Lincoln’s musical history.

“It’s a great pleasure to do that and what a fantastic day it was for Horndean it was. We’re really looking forward to doing it all again next year, but even bigger.”