THE musical line-up for a four-day fiesta of folk and beer has been announced. The East Lancashire Beer Festival and Folk Extravaganza has been organised by Blackburn with Darwen Council in association with the East Lancashire Campaign for Real Ale.

The festival, to be held at King George's Hall, Blackburn, will open on Wednesday April 19 with a performance by Irish folk band Thistle. On April 20 The Slop Stones from Oswaldtwistle will deliver music and songs with a distinct Lancashire feel. Good Friday afternoon will see a packed programme, including Lancashire-based Bram Taylor and Celtic-influenced acoustic group Taide Casedh. Master of ceremonies for the afternoon will be multi-instrumentalist Martin Stimson.,

On the evening of April 21 Cumbrian folk rock band Trickster will take to the stage, along with vocalist Maria Barham.

On April 22, the final day of the event, there will be an afternoon of children's entertainment followed by a concert featuring folk rock act The Fife, supported by guitarist/vocalist Ken Nicol. Carl Hutton, the council's Festival 2000 co-ordinator, said: "The event offers a mixture of Celtic, traditional, contemporary and rock-influenced folk music, with something to suit everybody's taste over the four days of the festival. If you have never been to a beer festival or folk concert before we suggest that you give the East Lancashire Beer Festival and Folk Extravaganza a try."

Tickets - prices to be announced soon - will be available on the door. More information is available from the council's millennium office on 01254 682000.

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