Fun for all the family as full line-up announced for 2024 Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival

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Some of the country’s top R&B stars will be performing in Lancashire next weekend!

Further plans have been announced for the eagerly anticipated Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, which takes place in Colne over the August bank holiday weekend.

Alongside the main festival, which will see over 50 of the UK's top Rhythm & Blues stars perform across three venues, event organisers Colne Town Council have revealed a stellar line-up.

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A funfair will run from Friday August 23 right through to Monday August 26, while there will also be face painting on Saturday and Sunday.

The Colne Little Theatre is a main venue at this years Great British Rhythm and Blues FestivalThe Colne Little Theatre is a main venue at this years Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival
The Colne Little Theatre is a main venue at this years Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival | NW

The Bank Holiday fun will continue across the weekend, with a fantastic range of attractions taking place up and down the high street including an LED Robot, drummers on stilts, Mirror Men, a free photobooth, buskers tents and much more.

There will also be a wide variety of food vendors on display over the weekend including The Thai Food Van, The Grill, Eyes on the Fries, Golden Catering, Rossi's Ice Cream and Some Delish.

As the beautiful town of Colne comes alive for one of the UK's most loved music festivals, the town's incredible range of shops, eateries and bars will provide a sensational offering for visitors over the weekend.

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Nathan Cutler, Colne Town Council's Events Officer, said: "The Blues festival is incredibly important for our local businesses and we are keen to push all our visitors to #ShopLocal.

"We are lucky to have so many fantastic businesses here in Colne and we are looking forward to seeing them bustling over the August Bank Holiday Weekend."

Also preparing for the 2024 Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival is the recently renovated Colne Little Theatre, which has been announced as one of the main venues for this year's event.

There will be attractions for all the family at the 2024 Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival.There will be attractions for all the family at the 2024 Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival.
There will be attractions for all the family at the 2024 Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival. | Bekki Sykes

The venue, which has been part of the Official Fringe in previous years, has enjoyed a transformation in recent months including a new foyer, a bar area, a courtyard, a green room, a bigger backstage area and a fresh new look across the main theatre.

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Tristesse James, from Colne Little Theatre, said: "We are really, really looking forward to being a main venue this year for the Blues, it is a brilliant opportunity for us and we can't wait to see lots of people coming through the door and seeing our new building.

"We love everything about Colne Blues, everyone in Colne feels like that, the general atmosphere, seeing the amazing talent and getting to listen to music that isn't always in the local area, it's just a fantastic opportunity for everybody."

100 ShopLocal posters have been handed out to local businesses ahead of the event100 ShopLocal posters have been handed out to local businesses ahead of the event
100 ShopLocal posters have been handed out to local businesses ahead of the event | NW

The main festival will feature over 50 artists across three venues including the Pendle Hippodrome, The Exchange Project Stage and The Little Theatre Acoustic Stage, with Matt Schofield, Dom Martin and Kyla Brox the headliners.

Alongside the three main venues, artistic directors Colne Blues Society will also be programming the Official Fringe Festival which will see blues and rock acts from all over the UK performing across 13 Official Fringe venues, which are free to attend.

Full festival and individual day tickets can be purchased online here.

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