A star of hit movie The Greatest Showman has been announced as one of the headliners of Goatfest music festival in Codicote.
While Hugh Jackman hasn't been booked for the annual Hertfordshire festival, the Wolverine actor's The Greatest Showman co-star Keala Settle has been confirmed for the Codicote extravaganza.
If you don't recognise the name, you'll certainly remember Keala's powerful voice and show-stopping performance as bearded lady Lettie Lutz in the 2017 film.
The American actress and singer performed hit song This Is Me in The Greatest Showman.
This Is Me won the Golden Globe Award for 'Best Original Song' at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated for an Oscar for 'Best Original Song' at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018.
Keala Settle is also set to appear in this November's movie adaptation of hit West End and Broadway musical Wicked, which stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and pop star Ariana Grande as Glinda, and was partly filmed at the new Sky Studios Elstree in Hertfordshire.
Now in its 15th year, Goatfest will take place at its regular Bury Lane home over the August Bank Holiday weekend — Friday, August 23 to Sunday, August 25.
Revealing the 2024 line-up on social media, Goatfest posted: "The moment you’ve been waiting for.
"Here is it folks, Goatfest 2024.
"Local heroes, emerging talent, world music and global stars.
"In the end, it’s all about the music.
"See you there."
SUGGESTED READING
As well as Keala Settle, other Goatfest headliners include MOBO award-winning British-Ghanaian singer Fuse ODG, who has previously collaborated with Ed Sheeran, and Tunde Baiyewu, the voice of Lighthouse Family, who will no doubt sing hits such as High and Lifted.
The eclectic bill also features House Gospel Choir, who combine the genres of house and gospel, The South featuring singer Alison Wheeler, and Under the Moon of Love 1970s chart-toppers Showaddywaddy, the rock and roll group celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
The South feature former members of The Beautiful South and festival-goers can expect a set sprinkled with classics such as A Little Time, Perfect 10, Rotterdam, Song For Whoever, Old Red Eyes Is Back, Good as Gold, and Don't Marry Her.
Others set to play Goatfest this summer include The Fabulous Lounge Swingers, Special Kinda Madness, Swanvesta Social Club, Fashionably Eighties, Germein, Kat Penkin, and Alex Francis.
New for 2024 will see spiritual wellness at The Snug and Friday night stand-up comedy.
Visit www.goatfestuk.com for more details and to buy tickets.
Posting an update on social media on Easter Monday, Goatfest organisers added: "Since we announced the line-up for Goatfest 2024 weekend tickets have been flying out the door. This wave of tickets are likely to sell out before the next batch are released in May (at a higher price).
"So if you want to join us this summer, grab your tickets online asap to make sure you land them at the lowest price.
"We'll release a limited run of day tickets in the coming months, but the Super Early Bird Weekend tickets are without doubt the best value you'll find if you're thinking about coming to Goatfest for more than one day."
Back in February, just announced Goatfest headliner Keala Settle was revealed as 'Air Fryer' in the most recent series of The Masked Singer.
The 48-year-old Broadway star told the judges on the ITV1 show that they did not make “many close” guesses, even though one of the hints pointed to her Golden Globe win for the musical The Greatest Showman.
When she was unmasked as Air Fryer in the semi-final, Settle said she was “pleased and privileged to be able to do it” and there had been no physical difficulty with her square-style outfit.
She also appeared surprised that a previous guest judge, comedian and Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders, did not guess her identity before the semi-final as they had starred in a London musical adaption of Sister Act together.
Comedian Mo Gilligan said Settle’s performance was “absolutely phenomenal” before adding: “Some of the songs you were singing, it was almost like this show could go on for like 10 years and we would never know.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here