GET ready to party as East Lancashire celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in style.

The celebrations start tomorrow as Colne becomes the R&B capital of the UK for four days, attracting artists from both sides of the Atlantic and music fans from all over the world.

For festival organiser Alison Goode, the four days are the culmination of nearly nine months’ work.

“We start to think about the next festival the morning after the last band has been on stage,” she said. “But work begins in earnest in January and it’s full on from then.”

This year’s line-up includes one of the great names of the British music scene, Eric Burdon, guitar virtuosos Eric Bibb and Eric Sardinas, Andy Fairweather Low and Lucky Peterson.

In total, over 600 musicians will be performing on three official stages and five official roadhouse stages.

Alison, who has been in charge of the last nine festivals said: “To be able to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the festival is a fantastic feeling and it’s something that we are all looking forward to immensely.

“I have to say that I have loved every minute of being involved with the festival over the years,” she said.

“One of the great things about the festival is the people that you meet. There are the artists who are so passionate about what they do and who really want to play at Colne.

“When you have an artist of international standing who says that he really had to play the Colne festival, it means an awful lot.

“Then there are the music fans themselves who contribute so much and keep coming back year after year.

“Finally, there are all the staff who are involved in organising the event, some of whom have been involved in every festival since 1990. Everybody in the team knows what part they have to play and they are so dedicated.”

Originally, the August Bank Holiday festival was very much a traditional blues festival, but the nature of the event has changed over recent years.

“We were taking a massive risk when we broadened the appeal to include other types of music, and we took some criticism for it,” said Alison. “But it was something that we had to do and the fact that this weekend we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary – and the festival’s reputation has never been higher – perhaps indicates that we were right.

“We opened it up to a wider audience while at the same time remaining true to the original spirit of the festival. People who have come along and sampled the atmosphere tend to return time after time and they enjoy the wide range of music that’s on offer.”

Colne’s varied programme and worldwide appeal led to it picking up the best festival award at the British Blues Awards in 2012 and being highly commended last year.

Colne is once again nominated for the award this year, with the announcement to be made on Sunday on the festival’s British stage.

“It would be a nice way to celebrate this special anniversary,” said Alison.

With so many festivals having fallen by the wayside over the last 25 years, Colne remains a shining example of a festival which has moved with the times, yet has stayed true to its roots.

“I consider it a privilege to be able to put the festival on for people to enjoy,” said Alison.

“I would like to say a massive thankyou to the music fans who come back year after year and keep the event going so successfully and also to the artists who come along each year and perform so brilliantly.”

l For full details of all the stages at this year’s festival, contact the festival box office on 01282 661234 or visit www.bluesfestival.co.uk