A TOWN centre came alive over the bank holiday as local talent took centre stage for a festival.

#AmazingAccrington – Live saw local bands, solo singers and musicians perform a mixture of their own material and cover songs at Accrington’s first music festival.

Claudia Thompson, one of three musicians selected to perform at the event, said it was ‘great’ to see events being held in her home town.

She said: “I wasn’t nervous at all, I’ve done things like this before, but with it being in my home town it meant so much more.

“It’s great to see events like this happening in Accrington, it’s a really good way of showing what the town has to offer.”

Accrington resident Gemma Ram said the day had been ‘brilliant’.

She said: “We’ve been here all day and it’s been brilliant.

“The music has been great, the weather’s been perfect and it’s stating to get really busy.

“We would like to see more things like this in Accrington.”

Sam Tattersall said he was surprised to hear the festival was going on in his town.

He said: “I’m not on Facebook or anything so I didn’t know it was happening but my friend suggested we come down.

“It’s been a nice day, the weather has helped and it’s nice to bring the kids out to something like this.”

The festival was organised by Hyndburn Borough Council, in partnership with Scott Dawson Advertising, material supplier Langtec and Accrington and Rossendale College.

Murray Dawson of Scott Dawson Advertising said he had hoped the event would increase footfall in the town.

He said: “As part of our #AmazingAccrington initiative, we were looking to run the event on the bank holiday weekend to increase footfall and get the tills ringing for shopkeepers in the town.

“We wanted to promote the existing bars and clubs by underpinning the live music they are running in their establishments to ensure new customers come to town for the day and evening.”

Andrew Turner, Managing Director at Langtec, said:

“We are really keen to showcase everything Accrington has to offer.

“We love getting involved in local events and are proud to be sponsoring the upcoming music festival.

“Accrington has a lot of talent; it has a lot of positive things going on and we want the rest of the country to see that.”