Ramsbottom Festival

MUSIC fans of Manchester, put this date in your diary. The first ever Ramsbottom Festival is happening on Friday 16-Sunday 18 September with acts including The Guillemots, Badly Drawn Boy, Cherry Ghost, The Animals, The Waterboys, Young Knives and the Travelling Band.

Badly Drawn BoyThe festival brings together some of the most exciting names in music to a riverside location just a hop and a skip away from Manchester. And refreshingly in these days of £300 festival tickets, prices are low. It's £15 for Friday tickets, and £35 for tickets for Saturday/Sunday – buy them here. (Saturday tickets are selling fast.)

As well as the ace music, there'll be foodie delights including real ales from local brewers Outstanding, who are creating an exclusive festival beer just for the weekend. And the finest in locally produced food will be on offer in the Ramsbottom Cricket Club.

The eclectic line-up looks like it'll attract a friendly, music-loving crowd (rather than plastic pint pot-hurling maniacs). As well as the indie and rock, there's blues, folk and roots with acts including Capercaille, Mike McGoldrick, and Kristy Almeida and the Troubadours, electronica, jazz and more.

The WaterboysA recent addition to Friday night is 6music DJ Mark Radcliffe with his new band Mark Radcliffe and the Big Figure. This is a R&B band in the classic Dr Feelgood mould.

If you like music festivals but struggle to summon the money and effort required to get to one, this is for you. Affordable, nearby, and with a top line-up of internationally-acclaimed acts. And it's all happening at a village cricket club beside a pretty river. Ramsbottom is getting cooler by the second.

Ramsbottom Festival, 16-18 September, Ramsbottom Cricket Club.

Buy tickets here.