ORGANISERS of the Bowness Bay Blues Weekend have announced the line up for next year's gathering as well as a special early bird ticket deal.

One of the region's top crowd pullers, the 2020 event will be BB's ninth and running from April 3-5 will showcase the best of blues from France, the USA, Italy and Scotland along with a wealth of homegrown talent.

The blues weekend features three days of live music across 11 venues in Bowness. One of the highlights of the weekend is the popular Blues Cruise that takes place on Windermere. Surrounded by the majestic Lakeland fells, music lovers can enjoy a performance from Mark Flanagan, who is none other than Jools Holland’s highly regarded guitarist from his Rhythm Orchestra.

The brilliantly bluesy weekend is organised by the Rotary Club of Windermere which will be supporting two local charities for 2020: The Bendrigg Trust and Growing Well.

Must-see from France include six string ace Big Dez (Phil Fernandez) who plays the guitar with the chilling intensity of Albert Collins and Johnny Guitar Watson. He writes terrific foot tappin' blues, rocking songs and ballads that cross genres. Whether jamming with Lucky Peterson in the clubs of Paris or playing at the larger European blues festivals, he delivers a great performance every time.

From across the Atlantic in the United States, Detroit singer, Marcus Malone has joined forces with Innes Sibun to form the mighty Malone Sibun Band and the festival is thrilled to welcome back Lorna and Northsyde after being unable to play at Bowness last time.

Meanwhile, the Cinelli Brothers are Italian and champions of a new generation of passionate musicians who share a love of blues, soul, and R&B and the true authentic sounds that made the blues a cornerstone of music history.

The weekend also includes great acts such as Trafficker, Crossfire, Stormwarning and scores more.

All in all, 28 cracking bands.

Day tickets start at £25. Buy your early bird tickets before Christmas to take advantage of the offer. Tickets can be bought at www.trybooking.com/uk, while the full programme for the three days is available online at www.bownessbayblues.co.uk or go to Facebook @BownessBayBlues for up to date information.