The organisers of a local music festival held in aid of St Richard’s Hospice are asking for the public’s support after being shortlisted in two categories at the UK Festival Awards 2026.
Woo Fest has been nominated in the new Charity Initiative of the Year category, which recognises partnerships between festivals and charitable organisations. It has also been shortlisted for the Sarah Nulty Community Impact Award, celebrating festivals that make a positive difference in their local communities.
The awards are decided by public vote and people can vote for Woo Fest by visiting https://tickets.festivalawards.com/ukfestivalawards2026/en/page/voting.
Siblings Ria and Luke Simons were inspired to set up Woo Fest in 2015 after their music-living dad, John Simons, was cared for at St Richard’s Hospice.
Luke Simons said: “Both awards celebrate something at the very heart of Woo Fest – bringing people together to make a difference.
“This includes our incredible musicians, technicians, volunteers, local businesses, supporters and everyone who buys a ticket, enjoys a burger, has a pint or simply gets behind what we do.
“What we achieve together every year is genuinely amazing.
“This year alone, we raised over £42,000, taking our fundraising total since Woo Fest began to over £272,000 for St Richard’s Hospice!”
The popular festival takes place every July at the Drum and Monkey in Upton upon Severn and has become a sell-out event.
Woo Fest was previously crowned the UK’s Best Small Festival at the National Festival Awards in 2019 and 2022.
Ria Simons said: “Bands play for nothing, people give up their weekends, businesses donate equipment, sponsorship and services.
“Nobody makes a penny out of it personally. It’s all for the hospice.
“I often think about Dad and what he’d make of it. He absolutely loved music, so I think he’d be pretty pleased with the festival. I also think he’d be incredibly proud of what everyone has achieved.”
Voting closes on Tuesday, 3 November and the awards ceremony will take place in Manchester on Tuesday, 1 December 2026.
St Richard’s Hospice is an independent charity offering free, expert care for adults with an illness that cannot be cured, and support for their loved ones and carers.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,000 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
It will cost in the region of £12m to run the hospice this year, which includes patient care and all the necessary support services.
St Richard’s relies on voluntary support, including from donations, gifts in Wills, retail and events for the majority of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.
For more information about St Richard’s Hospice visit www.strichards.org.uk
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Captions:
- Ria and Luke Simons at St Richard’s Hospice (Credit: St Richard’s Hospice)
- Ria and Luke Simons during Woo Fest (Credit: Andy Dawson, Spectrum Photography)
More information about St Richard’s Hospice
Who does St Richard’s Hospice care for?
St Richard’s cares for people with an illness that cannot be cured, who have complex needs which cannot be met by other services. These include cancer, and neurological, respiratory, cardiac and renal conditions.
All its services are available to people registered with a South Worcestershire GP. The St Richard’s In-patient Unit cares for people across Worcestershire.
St Richard’s cares for people by:
- Supporting people, their loved ones and carers, to manage their illness and remain independent for as long as possible, giving emotional, social, practical and spiritual support
- Providing dedicated, individualised palliative and end of life support helping people to control their pain and other symptoms of concern
- Offering support to enable a person to live well through the course of their illness alongside other therapies that are intended to prolong life
- Supporting our patients, loved ones and carers before and through bereavement
- Working in collaboration with our communities to ensure we are inclusive, respect diversity and provide equitable access to meet the needs of our patients, their loved ones and carers
- Working in partnership with other health care providers and organisations
- Encouraging wider understanding that death and dying is a part of life
- Supporting the local community to be well informed about the care available to them
- Supporting the health and social care workforce through learning and development to provide high-quality, individualised palliative and end of life care
Where St Richard’s cares
St Richard’s offers free care and support for people in the hospice, in the community, in GP surgeries, by telephone or by digital options.
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