A fundraising festival has announced a strong line-up for its fifth anniversary year.

The Sticky Wicket Beer and Music Festival will return to Penrith Cricket Club for three days in August - from Friday 18 to Sunday 20.

Many of North and East Cumbria's best-established bands and artists have been included on the bill, and there will also be more than 30 real ales, ciders and Pilsners available.

The event, which was set up to help the upkeep of the town's cricket club, will this year raise funds for the junior sides.

The opening night has two of the region's top live acts sharing the bill, both of whom have played the past three years: mylittlebrother will be following up their appearance at the nearby Kendal Calling festival with another set of their self-penned indie pop tunes, which includes a number of unreleased tracks from an upcoming record; and Kontiki Suite, who received national airplay earlier in the decade on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 2 show and Tom Robinson's BBC Radio 6 Music show, and they too have plenty of brand-new material to showcase.

The Saturday line-up brings in some extremely experienced names, with festival favourites The Postcard Band, four-piece rockers Beachmaster - performing from their forthcoming release - folk outfit Hadrian's Union, who launched their latest album this month, a showcase from the local musicians that have appeared at the Penrith Plug 'n' Play events, psychedelic band The Ogres of Go-Go, the Wandering Sons, and acoustic veteran Chris James and his band.

A varied Sunday programme has the Eden Swing Band sharing the bill with pop rock act Blind Fiction, solo artist Fiona Clayton, another Plug 'N' Play showcase, and the Rockin' Chair Rebels. Also appearing is a fun family show from Laura J, and a circus skills display from Flip.

The Friday and Saturday evenings also have a Pavilion Late-Show, with acoustic sets from both mylittlebrother and Wandering Sons, and DJ Retro Resurrection Love Train.


Fiona Clayton Event organiser Rob jury says: "We're very, very lucky in that pretty much everybody in a band within a 20-mile radius want to play this festival, so we can not only showcase the established bands and individuals but also offer an opportunity for up-and-coming musicians too.

"The festival was set up specifically to raise funds for the cricket club, however everybody involved also wants to generate footfall in the town as several local businesses support us by sponsoring a barrel of beer or cider.

"Without the support of local businesses, the bands and musicians, and the local community and club members, this event would not be the success in raising funds for the club that it has been."

The beers and ciders on offer come from a mixture of local and national producers, and this year there will also be a gin and Prosecco bar on site.

The festival opens at 5pm on Friday, 1pm on Saturday, and 12.30pm on Sunday.

Tickets are £5 each, with the Sunday "funday" priced at £5 per family, with all proceeds going towards the cricket club.

For more information, visit stickywicketbeerfestivals.net