THE show will go on! And music lovers can enjoy the sounds and sights of a summer festival right here in Bolton

Bolton's first summer music and arts festival is going ahead as planned next weekend, bringing big names to town including Maxine Peake along with a stellar line-up of live music across three brilliant town centre locations ­— the Octagon Theatre, The Alma and V5 venues.

The inaugural Right to Roam festival will take place on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 July with live performances at the Octagon Theatre, The Alma and V5 venues.

The festival will include headline performances from Eccentronic Research Council featuring Bolton's acclaimed actor Maxine on the Friday, who will be performing their 2012 debut album 1612 Underture and folk singer-songwriter and festival stalwart Beans on Toast on the Saturday.

The weekend will also feature a jam packed programme of live music sets from over 40 talented artists, bands and musicians, including many local performers from Greater Manchester and the North West.

Despite the latest government announcement delaying the lifting of all Covid restrictions, the festival will be going ahead as planned and organisers have implemented a range of Covid secure measures including reduced capacity and socially distanced seating at all venues to keep audiences, performers and staff safe.

The full weekend programme includes an incredible five hours of amazing music on the Friday and an epic eleven hours of top tunes on the second day of Right to Roam on Saturday 17 July.

Highlights across the weekend will include: Moll Corcoran, Ducking Punches, Lukas Setto, False Advertising, Ist Ist, Truckstop Honeymoon, Granfalloon, Astrid, Toria Wooff, We Bless This Mess and many more.

Right to Roam is a joint collaboration between organisers Carrs Pasties, Rock It Bolton CIC and the Octagon Theatre which hope to grow the festival each year and develop and expand the thriving music scene in Bolton.

One of the Right to Roam festival organisers, Matt Carr said: “At Rock It, we have built an exciting and inclusive community for young people to create, record and perform music. Right to Roam gives us the chance to showcase that talent, as well as attract established acts to our home town.”

Tickets are available now, but selling fast due to reduced capacity. There are 4 ticket options available for festivalgoers:

Friday ‘O’ Octagon and Saturday ‘O’ wristbands which allows access to the Octagon Theatre. Plus, Friday ‘R’ Roamer and Saturday ‘R’ Roamer wristbands which allow access to The Alma and V5 (and The Octagon on Saturday until 5pm).

For the full line-up and performance times visit the website www.righttoroam.com/times

Tickets can be booked via the Octagon website at www.octagonbolton.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 01204 520661.