The hugely popular Lancaster Music Festival starts tomorrow - and here's what you can look forward to

And Lancaster-based favourites, The Lovely Eggs, are performing in a space which has never before hosted a rock gig.

Tickets for Massive Wagons and Lottery Winners, who’ll play The Sugarhouse, are already selling fast and The Lovely Eggs ‘secret’ gig has sold out.

Massive Wagons, the first ever Lancaster band to achieve a UK Top 20 album and a firm favourite of rock fans, headline on October 16. Their sixth album TRIGGERED!, the follow-up to their award-winning Number 9 album, House of Noise, is due for release soon. Their special guests are Tony Wright of Terrorvision and Gloria, winners of the festival’s 2019 Search for a Star contest.

Lottery Winners bring their indie pop blend to The Sugarhouse on October 15, supported by Larkins and Lancaster’s Lois. The Lottery Winners’ debut album charted in the top 10 and 2021 saw them release a string of singles and play sold out shows and festivals worldwide.

Tickets priced £12 for Lottery Winners and £18 for Massive Wagons are available via lancastermusicfestival.com

Most of the 550 performances at the festival, which runs until October 16, are free and cover all musical tastes in venues from historic buildings including Lancaster Castle and Priory to city centre shops, banks and squares.

Pubs play a major role hosting events. Tim Tomlinson, publican and festival venue director, said: “For many pubs it is the biggest weekend of the year, bringing nationwide recognition to Lancaster and I am very proud to play my part in making it happen.”

More than 60,000 people are expected to attend what is now one of the country’s largest urban music festivals with artists including BBC Folk Singer of the Year, Ríoghnach Connolly, playing a major role. Some 80% of the acts will be from the Lancaster district.

This year’s festival aims to increase the number of females involved and also has an international flavour with its Songs From Home programme at Lancaster Priory, Brazilian carnival sounds in Dalton Square, East Meets West performances at The Storey and the Craic Inn mobile stage in Sun Square.

Performances of music from the 1822 period and 1942, to tie in with Lancaster City Museum’s new Hinge of Fate exhibition, will take festivalgoers back in time.

And the festival’s range of more than 30 venues, including a canal boat, and community emphasis are also unique to this event.

Among its more quirky features are Shop-front Juke Box where bands play requests in shop windows on October 15 and 16 and Busk Stops where visitors to banks, cafes and shops may find themselves entertained by musicians and award-winning singers from October 14-16.

Another popular feature of the festival are secret gigs in intimate historic locations on October 15. Ticket holders will only find out where the gigs are happening two days before the event and the acts will remain secret until they appear. Tickets are priced £10-£15 and advance booking is essential at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/lancastermusicfestival/e-keyzed

Family participation activities include dancing, drumming and singing workshops . A music-inspired art exhibition also takes place at The Storey and King Street Arts from October 10-19.

Full festival line-up in the official Festival Guide and at lancastermusicfestival.com