Organisers of the Live and Kicking Music Festival, being held at the MEL Group Stadium in Sudbury, Suffolk, are expecting record numbers at this year’s event.

The festival, now in its fourth year, features 19 live musical acts over the two days and is being headlined by ska legend Neville Staple - one of the leading figures of the UK music scene in the early 1980s as a singer with The Specials and later Fun Boy Three. Staple will be backed by some of the UK’s top tribute acts including those to Paul Weller and The Jam, The Who, Oasis, Stone Roses, The Commitments and Pink. Original bands include The Mannequins (which recently signed its first record deal), Zeb Roots, Old Town Souls, Poesi, Lone Crows, Absolution and local acts Andy Hill and Oblivious.

In addition to the musical acts there will be a display of vintage scooters which took part in the closing ceremony of the London Olympics 2013. The award winning Growler Brewery is also staging a two-day beer festival at the event featuring a range of real ales. Day one of the festival will see 20 rare images of The Jam dating back to the early 1980s on display. The images range from pictures of the band on stage, rare session shots to photos for record sleeves. The images are the work of Jam fan and one time band photographer Derek D’Souza and were recently featured in the London exhibition Absolute Luck which brought plaudits from the band’s former Lead singer Paul Weller who said: “These pics bring back so many memories. It is great to see these pictures in print after all these years.” 

 The second day of the festival, which will see 10 main stage acts, includes a free children’s fun village featuring bouncy castles, bungy runs, mega slides, gladiator duels, Punch and Judy shows, a children’s entertainers and circus skills.

Richard Instance, one of the Live and Kicking organisers, said: “We are really excited about this year’s event it is certainly our biggest and best yet. The festival has always been popular locally but this time we have sold tickets far and wide. We really do have a fantastic line-up, of course Neville Staple is a huge coup for us, however we have something for everyone with acts from across the musical genres including rock, glam, punk, blues, pop, ska, reggae, indie and soul.”

BBC Radio presenter Stephen Foster and popular local author and entertainer Charlie Haylock will be comperes at the event, which takes place this weekend (Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23). Camping is available on a first come, first serve basis with full shower and breakfast facilities.

For more information on this year’s festival go to www.livekicking.co.uk or call the festival hotline on 07974 222 777.

Members of the media needing more information should contact Patrick Lowman of Patrick Lowman PR www.patricklowman.com on 07792 428555 or by email at patrick_lowman@sky.com