A Day a Music Showcase Weekend at York Races

Does it get better than a day at the races, topped off with two noughties icons performing whilst the sun is setting? Last weekend, I was kindly invited to the Music Showcase weekend at York racecourse. Following six exhilarating horse races, Natasha Bedingfield and Sophie Ellis-Bextor took to the stage in front of thousands of racegoers.

Friday night at the races started with the doors opening at 4pm making it a later meet than usual. It’s been quite a few years since I last went to York Racecourse and this was actually Stefan’s first races experience so we decided to have a wander around and gather our bearings. Of course, we ended up in champagne tent and we also came across the Kylie Minogue wine bar which was totally iconic.

The tickets we were kindly gifted were for the county stand, which means that you can pretty much go in all areas of the racecourse. The county stand has some lovely luncheon spots for a sit down meal but there is plenty of food options across the racecourse. I was actually really impressed with the wide variety of food from Asian street food to fish and chips. I opted for a hog roast and got a classic pork sandwich whilst Stefan got a steak pie, mash and mushy peas.

We had a few lucky choices on the races including one called “Dicko the Legend”. I think a fair a few people had betted on that one. Overall, there was six different races before the music started.

Located at one end of the racecourse was a big stage set up for Natasha Bedingfield and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. You can actually get Clocktower Enclosure tickets which are located on the other side of the race track and it is more of a low-key affair. You can bring a picnic, it’s very family friendly and you still get a good view of the stage.

Once the races had finished, everybody made their way to the stage and it was quite easy to get a spot near the front. We were a couple of rows from the barrier. There was also raised stands to get a higher view of the stage as well if you wish. The music kicked off with Natasha Bedingfield and I’ve got to say it was an absolute throwback for me. I loved her when I was growing up. Obviously, there is a massive revival at the moment with the song Unwritten after it was featured in the movie Anyone But You. I’m sure that a lot of you will remember this song featuring as the title credits on The Hills which was one of my favourite TV shows growing up. There was nothing better than screaming the words to Unwritten while the sun was setting.

There was then a little break before Sophie Ellis-Bextor came on stage. She brought the noughties dance anthems to the stage. I absolutely loved her outfit and she had the most iconic dance moves. I did recognise most of her songs but she also did a cover of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! by ABBA which everybody loved. Of course, the set ended with Murder on the Dancefloor. It was the perfect way to end the Music Showcase evening.

Stefan enjoyed his first races experience so much, I’m sure we will be back very soon! Ronan Keating actually performed at the second night of the Music Showcase weekend and Olly Murs had performed the month before. So there’s always something going on. You can check out the fixtures at York Racecourse here.

Have you been to York Races before?