A music festival due to be held in Chester this weekend has been called off at the eleventh hour due to poor ticket sales.

The second Chester Blues, Rhythm and Rock Festival was set to take over The Live Rooms on Saturday, but organisers Solid Entertainments made the decision to cancel on Monday after just 39 tickets were sold.

The line-up had included American R&B singer Geno Washington and The Riotous Brothers.

Gesture of good will

Promoter Stephen Stanley, from Solid Entertainments, has apologised to all those who bought tickets but offered the assurance that they would be refunded and given a free ticket to another of their events as a ‘gesture of good will’.

“Quite simply, there has not been enough interest,” Mr Stanley explained.

“We sold nowhere near the numbers we need to run it.

“A year ago we did more than 100 ticket sales and this is the second year so we should have grown but we have not had enough support from people.”

Asked about plans for the festival’s return next year, Mr Stanley said he thinks they will ‘probably have to leave it’.