LEADING East Lancashire musicians are coming together to take part in the first Lockdown Festival which will be streamed to homes in the area this weekend.

The event - which runs on Saturday and Sunday - is the brainchild of Blackburn music fan Dom O’Doherty who has got 22 performers involved in the project.

“I think like many music fans, when venues started shutting down and events were being cancelled due to coronavirus I was pretty gutted,” he said. “Then I started to see well known artists live streaming performances and I just thought ‘why can’t we do that here?’”

In just over a week, Dom has put the whole Lockdown Festival together.

“I contacted musicians I knew or who I’d played with - Dom used to be in the band Searching for Seraphim - and within 24 hours I had 17 definites and by the next day 22.”

Among those taking part are Kayley Davies, lead singer of Sky Valley Mistress; George Banks of Ribble Valley outfit Good Foxy; Gary John Taylor, formerly of New York Tourists and Chris Hinnighan,

“These guys love making music and just like us fans, they have been deprived of getting their music fix, so it’s great for them.”

Streaming of the festival will start at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday with the artists performing in their own homes and Dom overseeing the streaming via Facebook.

“When the lockdown started I began to run a quiz online which has proved really successful so I have got to grips with live streaming. I’ve worked with all the artists and set up the links with them and we will be having a run through on Friday,” he said. “I’ve also been in touch with Facebook so they know what we’re doing and although I can’t promise everything will run without a hitch, hopefully everyone will enjoy it.”

As well as providing more than 14 hours of live performances over the two days, the Lockdown Festival is aiming to raise money for the NHS along the way.

“We have set up a just giving page for the Association of NHS Charities,” said Dom, “and anything that people would like to contribute will be greatly appreciated.

“The main aim of the Lockdown Festival is to provide some live music but if we can also raise money for the NHS which is currently the backbone of the nation, so much the better.”

And Dom hasn't ruled out the possibility of live streaming further events.

"Let's see how this one goes," he said, "but if it's a success I wouldn't mind getting involved in more in future. I'd probably just give myself more that a week to sort it all out next time."

Search for Lockdown Festival on Facebook and the whole event will be live streamed from the festival page. To make a donation to the NHS visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fblockdownfestival