Mayor backs music fest tribute to tragic student

Will Garvey

A music festival in memory of an undergraduate who took his own life at university is being staged in Erewash – as part of a crusade by his heartbroken family to get other troubled young people to seek help.

Willfest 26 is named in honour of physics student Will Garvey, whose parents are both teachers. He was in his second year at Leeds University when he died in 2016 at the age of 20.

Mum Joanna and dad Kevan had noticed him becoming slightly withdrawn – but were completely unaware of him being gripped by anxiety and depression.

As they and Will’s sister battled their grief they began holding annual memorial concerts for family and friends in their West Hallam garden. Ten years on these have grown to become a fully-fledged festival.

It will be staged at Oakfield Farm in Stanley Common on Saturday 5th September 2026

Tickets are £10, with half-price entry for children. Proceeds will go to the Will Garvey Trust Foundation – a charity the family launched to encourage teenagers and young adults with mental health issues not to suffer in silence.

Its cheeky slogan is WTF – which stands for Why Talking Fixes. Joanna said: “I couldn’t sit by and let another family experience the nightmare of losing a child to suicide. I’ve learned so much since Will died, too late to make a difference to him, but not to others.”

She told how her music-loving son was a fan of festivals including Glastonbury. Joanna said: “Willfest is not quite to this scale but we like to think we have created an atmosphere Will would have enjoyed and approved of.”

The young student was also keen on travelling – and he shared his mum’s passion for Nottingham Forest. Joanna is a season ticket holder and in the wake of her son’s death she began working with the club’s community trust on its mental health campaign “It’s Tricky to Talk”.

Her science teacher husband Kevan said: “There isn’t a day goes by when I don’t reflect on what happened to our wonderful son. I really would not want another family to experience the same devastation we have. This is the driving force for setting up our charity.”

Erewash’s Mayor Cllr Greg Maskalick plans to attend Willfest 26 after last month telling councillors during a full meeting at Long Eaton Town Hall how he had been privileged to meet Joanna and learn about her charity’s work. The mum was in the chamber – and the Mayor summoned her to the front so he could present her with a certificate of appreciation.

Tickets for Willfest 26, which runs from 3.30pm until 11pm, are available here: Willfest 2026! at Oakfield Farm | Oakfield Farm.

More information about Will and the campaign his parents have launched is here: willgarveytrustfoundation.org.uk – Why Talking Fixes

Mayor Greg said: “According to the charity as many as 200 UK schoolchildren take their own lives each year – making suicide the leading cause of death in young people. Every penny donated to the Will Garvey Trust Foundation goes towards making a difference to a young person’s life.”

Among poignant tributes to Will on the charity’s website is one from his dad. It reads: “We couldn’t have wished for a better son. Most parents’ sentiments, I guess – but so true for Joanna and I.”

He adds: “We will never really understand why Will took that decision to end his life and never understand how low he was to take such a final act. However, we know that his light shone and still shines brightly and there isn’t a moment goes by when we don’t think about him and wish he was still here.”