A REGGAE band will be beginning their annual run of music festivals right here in Bolton.

Jeramiah Ferrari have been making waves in the last 12 months — releasing their perfectly titled Dubby Rock EP and touring with legendary names including The Blockheads and The Wailers.

The band, compromising of singer and guitarist Ryan Paul Mario Barton, lead guitarist Joshua Aitchinson, bassist Hanson Pollitt and drummer Stuart Welch, formed nearly five years ago due to their love of reggae and desire to write their own music — including new single Burning Inferno.

The four-piece, from Leigh, will play the Rabbit Saloon in Horwich — formerly the White Tiger Bar — on Sunday, May 1 for Tigerfest 3.

Ryan said: “Things are going really well for us. We’ve had quite a few good support tours with some amazing bands which means we’ve been able to play to bigger audiences.

“The best was the tour with The Wailers. We played at the O2 Academy in Newcastle and at The Ritz in Manchester, which was incredible. There’s only one original member left in the band but to play alongside Bob Marley music like that was an amazing experience.

“Even now we have so many people coming to our shows off the back of that tour — it’s really helped us get to audiences we might not have otherwise. After all, we’re a reggae band but we mix with rock and punk — we didn’t think that purists would like us, but it looks like some of them do which is great.”

Despite the dizzy heights of playing academy-sized venues, they still love playing to a local audience.

Ryan said: “The festival in Bolton is only a small one but they’re always really good because the crowd is right on top of you. Last year we had a great time there.

“In fact one of our favourite places to play in Bolton is the Blind Tiger because it’s small but always packed so much that people are almost treading on your guitar pedals.”

The band will play a number of festivals throughout the summer including Confessional Festival 2016 in Blackburn and Level 1 in Darwen.

Ryan said: “We’ve been invited back to Kendal Calling again which we’re looking forward to, but it’s nice to start off the festival season near to home and do a few near where we live.

“It’s a real shame that there aren’t more mid-sized music venues in Leigh — we would love to play more gigs in our hometown. When we released our Dubby Rock EP we hired out a PA and launched it at a club that rarely has bands on, but it was a great success so I think there is definitely a market for it.”

Tickets for Tigerfest 3 can be bought for £5 plus 50p booking fee from seetickets.com.

The band will also play the official Boltfest after show party, being held at the Blind Tiger, Nelson Square, after the festival in Queens Park on May 28.