A NEW rock tribute festival – Carlisle Rocks – is coming to the Sands Centre in the city.

Five of Europe’s biggest and most loved rock tribute bands will be taking to the stage for a huge indoor rock music festival in February next year.

The event will feature tributes to legends Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, AC/DC, Green Day and Guns & Roses with set lists boasting some of the biggest rock anthems the world has ever heard.

The event is being organised with the Sands by local promoters Ian Milburn and Damian Baglee.

The pair have organised a number of tribute acts in Carlisle this year, and Ian said that the festival was a natural extension.

This year, at venues including Harraby Theatre and the Shepherd’s Inn at Rosehill, they have organised tribute gigs to acts including Pink, Robbie Williams and the Spice Girls.

“It just developed from all of that,” said Ian. “Each band will probably do about 45 minutes, but the ACDC tribute band will probably do an hour at the end of the night.

“We are hoping to do a lot more with the Sands. It is a big venue.”

AC/DC UK are billed as the most authentic tribute to the Brian Johnson era, and have established themselves over the past decade as one of the world’s most electrifying acts, complete with fully firing cannons, inflatable Rosie and iconic Angus.

The band was originally formed and played as Touch 2 Much, but changed to the current name in 2010. They have played over 400 shows in 13 different countries world wide, and have sold out Glasgow’s O2 ABC, Liverpool’s Cavern Club and Dubai’s Music Room.

Guns Or Roses have toured Europe with their high energy performances. Formed in 2009, they have headlined festivals in Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Bulgaria, as well as all over the UK and Ireland. They appeared at the legendary Isle Of Wight Festival in 2017 and were invited back again in 2018. In 2015 the band was chosen to appear in an episode of ‘Don’t Tell the Bride’ as the show moved to BBC One.

Green Date, formed in 2004, are the world’s Official Green Day Tribute and winners of the National Tribute awards two years running. Touring extensively, they played to 50,000 people at a show in Las Vegas, USA.

Coda are a tribute to Led Zeppelin. Guitarist Adam Rose-Alison is a Jimmy Page fanatic and has spent countless hours studying every note, lick and riff that Jimmy played. He has an extensive knowledge of live recordings and has even built his own guitars and speakers to help him recreate Jimmy’s early live sound.

Foo Fighters GB are from Derbyshire. Singer and guitarist Gary Bates has been touted as the most authentic Dave Grohl sound-a-like in the business.

Carlisle Rocks starts at 5.30pm on Saturday, February 13, 2021. Tickets are £27.50 plus a booking fee and are available at thesandscentre.co.uk or by calling 01228 633766.

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