IN PICTURES: Rock the Loft II ‘brings the house down’ as Cleckheaton music festival raises nearly £1,000 for Motor Neurone Disease Association

Saturday’s (February 24) all-day event - following on from last year’s inaugural Rock the Loft festival - saw nine local bands take to the stage once more at the popular Northgate venue to raise vital funds for the charity, while also supporting original, grassroots bands.

Steve Hodge, who helped to organise the event, said: “We had a fantastic day and all nine bands completely blew me away. They were all incredible. I am so grateful to each and every one of them for both their time and enthusiasm.

“Dione and Billie at The Loft were brilliant. They couldn't have been more accommodating and they're both really supportive of the grassroots music scene. They were also really generous with donations towards our festival raffle.

“Kevin and Pete did a brilliant job sorting the sound. They put in one heck of a shift, but their hard graft and attention to detail certainly paid off as the bands sounded amazing.

“Again the people of Cleckheaton came out in force, and through donations and raffle ticket sales we were able to raise a further £941 for the MND Association, which brought the total raised by the festival over the past 12 months to £2,400.

“Thanks to everyone that attended or played a part, however small. I can't thank everyone enough.”

The charity event was headlined by The Hijacked - who have previously played festivals such as Leeds and Reading - and saw Steve’s former heavy rock band Motor City Murder, where he used to be drummer, also take to the stage.

The other seven bands which performed were Friday Night Lights, MC16, Gevaudan Dogs, Mammoth Tank, Shambolic, Dead Reckless and Wolforna.

Dione Brown, co-owner of The Loft, confirmed plans are already “set in motion” for a third edition of the festival.

She said: “What an absolutely phenomenal day we had. Steve went above and beyond to organise another year of rocking Cleckheaton, as well as to raise money for the MND Association.

“The bands brought the house down, the sound engineers made sure the event ran smoothly and our team kept everyone hydrated all day and evening.

“Yet again we had a brilliant response and got to meet some amazing people, and a date for Rock the Loft III has already been confirmed with plans set in motion!”