A MUSIC festival expected to attract up to 20,000 fans to Nantwich will take place for the first time this July.
The Great British Acoustic Festival makes its debut at the Nantwich Showground over the weekend of July 29 and 30, featuring more than 26 unplugged artists.
Artists2Events, organisers of the new event, have chosen Nantwich as host because of its historical and music festival background.
The town is well known for the annual Jazz, Blues and Music Festival in April and the Folk and Roots Festival in August.
There will be two main stages in giant marquees and one 'roots' stage in a seated marquee.
Hotels, pubs, and shops are already looking forward to extra visitors, which would see thousands of pounds injected into the town's economy.
One of the festival's organisers, Rob Thompson, said: 'We want to utilise the showground, which is perfectly located to bring people in from Manchester, Liverpool and the midlands.
'It is aimed at the over-35s and we have acts like Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Chumbawamba, Ian McNabb and The Stranglers, performing their first ever unplugged set, on the bill.
'Several genres will be covered including ska, punk and blues and there is sure to be a nice relaxed atmosphere.
'People won't be camping over like they do at Glastonbury but there will craft stalls, a record fayre and foods from around the world available for people to try.' John Weir, chairman of Nantwich Forum, has welcomed the festival. He said: 'It's fantastic that organ-isers want to bring big musical events like this to Nantwich. The jazz festival has proved a big hit each year so that has paved the way.'
