A NEW big-name, three-day music festival will be held in the grounds of Clitheroe Castle next summer.

Simply Red have been revealed as the first of the headliners for the Summer Days Festival, which it is hoped will bring 10,000 music fans to the Ribble Valley each day.

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Organisers are promising more major names for the event on Wednesday, July 6, Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9. There will be two live stages and around 30 bands performing over the three days.

In addition to the music there will also be a gourmet food village featuring locally-sourced produce, a dedicated real ale area and a fringe festival based at Clitheroe Grand which will feature music, comedy and other entertainment.

Organiser John Tyrrell said: “This is an event which has been two years in the planning and we are extremely excited about it.

“Clitheroe Castle is the perfect location for Summer Days. The grounds are stunning and the castle itself as a magical backdrop is going to be jaw dropping.

“We will be releasing more details of other headliners and the line-up in due course.

“We want people to come into town early then enjoy the 10 bands during the course of the day. We have deliberately scheduled it so that the headliners will come off stage at 10pm each night so that people can then go out in Clitheroe.

“This is going to be so good for the Ribble Valley. The council has been fantastic and they want to establish Clitheroe as a festival town, not just through this but other established events such as the food festival.”

The organisers are promising that each day’s line-up will offer a different style of music and that a number of local bands will get the opportunity to play during the three days.

“For the first year tickets will be available for three separate days,” said John. “Subject to licensing we envisage around 10,000 tickets being available each day. We won’t be offering a three-day festival pass this time.

“But it is our intention to make this a long term annual event which will really put the area on the map.

“It’s also not the first time a music festival has happened on this site. Clitheroe Castle Pop Festival ran here for four years in the early 70s with artists like Barclay James Harvest, UFO, Roy Harper and MC5 so in a way we are rekindling the fire.

“It’s going be a quintessentially English summer event - great food and drink, a fun, friendly atmosphere and some seriously good music!”

Simply Red, featuring lead singer Mick Hucknall and whose many hits include Stars and Holding Back the Years, will be headlining the opening Wednesday night of the festival as part of their 30th anniversary tour. The festival’s opening date was shifted from the Thursday to accommodate the million selling group.

Two more headliners will be announced in due course as a full festival programme including exclusive Summer Days experiences and a high-end food and drink offering.

Cllr Stuart Hirst, leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, said: “I think that it is an exciting proposal and will hopefully be a very successful event for the town.

“It is the first time in a generation that such a festival will be staged in Clitheroe and it could well end up being an annual fixture.

“It’s another event that will help us with progressing Clitheroe’s economic development.”

Presale tickets will be available for the Wednesday featuring Simply Red from 10am tomorrow with general tickets for the opening day going on sale at 10am on Friday. Tickets will be £55 per day and a limited number of daily VIP tickets will be available at £75 each.

A number of tickets for the opening day will be available to buy in person from the box office at the Grand in Clitheroe.

For full details visit www.summerdaysfestival.com