An exhibition celebrating music on the Isle of Wight will officially open to the public later this month, with records, posters and memorabilia spanning decades.
The Wight Music Experience, which can be found at Newport’s Triple A Records, is made up of artefacts from various editions of the Isle of Wight Festival including a turnstile used by punters in 1970, as well as an original sleeping bag.
There are also displays of physical media releases by Isle of Wight music successes including Wet Leg, Level 42, ugly ozo and Pat Reader, all put together by owners Jonathan Bacon and Andy Barding.
On Saturday (23rd August), the exhibition will be officially opened by Ray Foulk, founder of the Isle of Wight Festival. Ray will be on the Island to celebrate the release of an expanded, paperback edition of his book, The Last Great Event.
As part of the celebrations, Ray will also appear at Medina Bookshop and Dimbola over the bank holiday weekend.
At the Triple A event, Ray will play a film and take part in a discussion. Between 16:00 and 20:00, the launch party, which is open to the public, will celebrate all forms of music on the Isle of Wight.
Earlier on in the day, Aspire’s Jess Leigh Ong will perform songs from the 1968, 1969 and 1970 Isle of Wight Festivals.
Speaking ahead of the event, Triple A Records’ Andy Barding said:
“In the spirit of the amazing 1970 event, we’ll cram as much as we can into our Saturday afternoon celebrations. Our Wight Music Experience includes everything from Wet Leg jeans patches to Victorian music hall sheets – with loads of ephemera from all the Isle of Wight Festivals, of course.”
