A SERIES of live music concerts is set to end after nine years running, as organisers say their loyal audience has "to a large extent deserted” them.

Bewdley’s Music in the Hall concert series, which first started in 2014, featured a range of “high-calibre” artists, many visiting from the USA and Canada.

It also offered opportunities for local musicians to appear on the same bill at the concerts, held at St George’s Hall in Bewdley.

Robert Plant, with his group Saving Grace, performed at a Music in the Hall show back in 2019, on a bill which also featured Kiki Dee.

Organisers have now said that running the series of shows is no longer viable following the pandemic.

A spokesperson for Music in the Hall said: “After 9 years of bringing fabulous artists and some truly memorable nights of live music to Bewdley, Music in the Hall is drawing to a close.

“During the last two years, a number of factors have seen us presenting many fewer acts than we did pre-pandemic.

“It has become increasingly difficult to attract artists of the calibre that we were used to presenting.

“This was either because they no longer toured the UK as they had done previously (and post-Brexit rules didn’t help there) or their fees became too high for our small venue to viably present them”.

“In addition, our previously loyal audience seems to a large extent to have deserted us.

“Obviously, our reduced number of events and the need for higher ticket prices in a climate of tightened purse strings have contributed to that decline, but generally people’s habits did appear to change following the Covid pandemic”.

They will be hosting a final evening featuring Liz Simmons from Vermont, USA, performing with Flynn Cohen, on Friday, July 5, who have both previously performed at the hall. People can purchase tickets via the Music in the Hall website.

Organisers hope to resurrect the Music in the Hall show in the future for one-off events. 

The organisers added: "We will miss the buzz of our brilliant nights and particularly giving the young people of our area the opportunities to appear on the same bill as top-notch international artists".