Market Day Melodies is hitting the right note with shoppers in Ripon.
The programme, funded by Ripon City Council, has helped drive a 31 percent rise in Thursday footfall in the North Yorkshire city centre.
Data from Ripon BID shows that Thursday visits rose from 58,191 across four Thursdays in 2025 to 76,142 on the same days in 2026.
Councillor Andrew Williams, Mayor of Ripon, said: "We made this investment for a very clear reason: to give people another reason to choose Ripon on a Thursday, enjoy the market and then spend time exploring the shops, cafés and businesses around it.
"These early results are genuinely encouraging.
"Footfall across the comparable Thursdays is up by 31 per cent, and the figures indicate that visitors are also staying much longer."
The programme features free live music in the Marketplace every Thursday from 11am to 2pm throughout July and August.
In addition, free children’s facepainting is available at the Cabman’s shelter throughout school holiday Thursdays.
The scheme was designed to boost Ripon’s traditional market day, encourage longer visits, and support traders and businesses in the city centre.
This approach appears to be working, with average Thursday dwell time having climbed from one hour and seven minutes to two hours and 30 minutes, a 124 percent increase.
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National figures tell a different story, with the British Retail Consortium reporting a 3.8 per cent year-on-year drop in UK high-street footfall during its July monitoring period.
Councillor Williams said: "We cannot say that any one event explains every visit, but the results strongly suggest that creating a welcoming and lively atmosphere in the Marketplace is helping Ripon’s traditional Market Day work harder for the whole city centre.
"The council would like to thank the musicians, market traders, local businesses and everyone who has supported and enjoyed Market Day Melodies this summer."