LEGENDARY hip-hop artist Grandmaster Flash will be the headline act at a new Darwen venue for the town's biggest festival.

Level One Live, which will be known as L1VE, is set to open on May 20 in The Green and will be welcoming the pioneer of hip-hop DJing just nine days after opening for the town's annual free festival Darwen Live.

The sister venue to Level One nightclub in Market Street will replace what was formerly Marigolds, and owner Leon Kelly said he is delighted to have secured such a huge act so quickly.

He said: "It's fantastic that we will have Grandmaster Flash in L1VE, it's huge for the town and it only adds to the great line-ups already in place for Darwen Live.

"He closed Glastonbury last year with Mark Ronson and Mary J. Blige and I think it's really going to be a great way of opening up what I hope will compliment Level One, but reach out to a different audience.

"We had to do something big because we're new, but I think we do have a great line-up prepared.

"There is plenty of work being done at the moment, we are changing almost everything about the venue and it's coming along great."

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 becoming the first hip-hop act to be honoured.

The 58-year-old artist mastered techniques that are still considered a part of standard DJing today such as the backspin technique, punch phrasing and scratching.

The Grammy award winning DJ will perform a 90 minute set including his classics The Message and White Lines.

Also joining the DJ in the line-up at Level One Live will be lead singer of 1990s group Dodgy Nigel Clark, The Jackson Key Band, Blackpool trio The Flip Band, eight-piece group Jonny 2 Bad and The Manytones.

Cllr Trevor Maxfield, organiser of Darwen Live, said he is delighted that the venue has secured such a huge artist so early on in its life.

He said: "I am so pleased that we will have Level One Live for the festival, especially after we thought we might lose that venue for good when Marigolds went.

"They have a super line-up just like lots of other venues and I'm excited for all the artists to get here."