Last weekend’s National Trust for Jersey Sunset Concerts lived up to their name with spectacular sunsets giving a wonderful glow to the Grantez venue for the two-day music event last Friday and Saturday.
Celebrating its 10thyear of sponsorship for the event and the National Trust’s Coastline Campaign, Ashburton Investments welcomed over 4,000 people through the gates to hear a selection of home-grown Jersey talent in the shape of four very different bands.
Covering Jazz and American Songbook classics for a relaxed Friday evening vibe through to Rock and Disco for people to let their hair down and dance, this year’s line-up provided two evenings of great music for all ages and tastes.To find the right mix of sounds for the Sunset Concerts, Ashburton Investments ran an online search to identify 4 very different bands from across the island and nineteen talented bands applied to perform by sending in their videos.
This year saw a record amount raised from donations given during the event, designed to promote awareness of the need to protect Jersey’s unique coastal habitats.
To help boost the message about keeping the Jersey’s natural environment clean and beautiful, Ashburton ran a successful social media campaign to encourage people to take their picnic rubbish home at the end of the concerts. A team of Ashburton volunteers handed out 2000 free reusable bamboo cups and tote bags to concert-goers. Ashburton also worked with catering and print suppliers to ensure that materials used for the event were environmentally friendly and plastic free.
Georgina Malet de Carteret, President of the National Trust for Jersey, said: “The stunning natural setting of our site at Mont Grantez once again lent a very special atmosphere to the Sunset Concerts last weekend, which bring us much needed funding for the Coastline Campaign. We couldn’t do this without the generous time and support of Ashburton Investments. We raised over £10,000 this year to help us work on safeguarding our island’s coastline for the benefit of its wildlife and the enjoyment of future generations. Thank you also to all the those 4,000 plus concert-goers who made donations to our campaign and I hope they all had a wonderful experience and will come back next year!”
Rachelle Le Corre, International Marketing Manager at Ashburton Investments in Jerseythanked all those that came along to the concerts, saying: “Ashburton has a long established heritage in Jersey; the Sunset Concerts are a favourite fixture in the diaries of our team and clients and so we are proud to be able to build on that heritage and continue to protect our beautiful coastline for generations to experience for years to come.”