BLUES fanatics from all over the country are counting down the days until the start of April.

That's when the legendary Burnley National Blues Festival comes to town for the eighth time.

This year's event could be one of the best yet, with new, extended licensing hours, and some top names.

By the time the festival ends in the early hours of Tuesday, April 9, audiences will have been treated to headline shows by Luther Allison, Larry Garner, the Louisiana Red Pepper Blues Band, Chris Farlowe, and King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys.

Bobby Mack, Dana Gillespie, Paul Lamb, and the Winchesters are also on the bill, with other festival highlights including Woody Mann's finger-picking guitar workshop and a lecture by blues historian Max Haymes.

King Pleasure's 1940s-style rhythm and blues will get the ball rolling at 8pm on Thursday, April 4. The weekend fun starts the following night with top vocalist Chris Farlowe, and on Saturday the festival reaches its high-point, when Luther Allison, the Chicago blues academy's most brilliant graduate, takes the stage.

Supporting the great man are Bobby Mack, who conjures up images of Robert Cray, and Woody Mann with his hypnotic acoustic guitar. Book now!

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