THE Countdown is now on to the 40th Weekender, but 39 was a big hit.  Running from 8pm Friday 3 November 2006 to 6pm Sunday 5 November 2006, it was a long slog, but the most fun I have had in years!    I can not see how you can get better, but the 2 organisers have both told me that 40 will be bigger and better still. Quite how, I do not know!   The event will be very hard to improve. You just cannot improve on perfection can you?  Well with the Southport Weekender, it is the events that always breaks that rule... 

Well, if you are one of the many who have never heard of the Southport Weekender and do not know what it is, well wake up! This is the most diverse indoor music event in Europe and it is also the biggest in Europe. Last year it was voted the “UK's most prestigious soulful house, soul and R&B event”, but the credits do not stop at that. Each year the list of credits it receives from the music industry grows, just as the list of well-known acts and A-list celebrity guests who come to have fun at the outstanding event... This year in May the event was hailed as "One of the most important events in the world on the dance music calendar" by some of the biggest artists in the world! It shocks me that it attracts music enthusiasts from all over the world, every year, as well as specialist magazines, radio, mainstream press, like the Guardian and that's not forgetting the TV, like MTV, SKY, BBC and the list goes on... yet on Merseyside most people do not know what the event is, yet allow that it is going on. To me the Southport Weekender remains a warm mix of people who go for one thing and one thing only, the music!  From all over the world they come and the mixture of races and ages is like no other music event of this type in the world. It leaves you with a glow of an unforgettable vibe of friendship each time you go.  This is not an event to be missed and all of us on Merseyside should take note and that this amazing, one of a kind event is being held twice a year, ever year, here on Merseyside!

As you might have realized, yet again I have run out of time getting the photos edited and also sorry, my reporter has filed the report, but me being slow, we will now have to run Martins report next week. But we will have an added bonus next week for you all as at the event I had a very special reporter with me as well. His name is Jonathan Thompson and he is a TV presenter and has recently been on SKY and the BBC. He came down to help me with the interviews. You can log on later this week to Liverpool Reporter for some of the audio interviews or log on next week, here on Southport Reporter for a longer audio report with a few exclusive interviews.

Once again I would like to thank all the acts and the biggest thanks to Up North Promotions. Well done, with out you all, this event would not be as big a credit to Merseyside and the music industry as it is.

Click green box below to see a taste of the photos in next weeks issue....

For more information about the weekender why not go to the Weekender website.