We’re thrilled to be bringing some of the biggest names in music to the Ramsbottom Festival, but we also organised the event with the aim of supporting local creative talent.

This is why we held the Ramsbottom Festival Unsigned Band competition, giving new musicians a chance to play on the same stage as headliners like The Waterboys and the Guillemots.

There were hundreds of entries to the competition and it was difficult picking only four groups to play from such a wide selection of artists with their own unique sound. We had musicians representing genres ranging from folk, indie, rock, blues, soul and more. It was exciting to listen to all the tracks that were sent in and certainly one of the more pleasurable jobs involved with organising the festival.

In the end, we could only choose four artists and after weeks of consecutive listening and debate we now have rock band Molly Bloom, soulful singer Ruby Ann Patterson, singer songwriter Stephen Hudson and folk duo Taylor and the Mason confirmed for opening slots from Friday to Sunday. The bands also receive free studio time at The Met’s Edwin Street Recording Studio, opened in May by Craig Potter and Spiers and Boden.

For us at The Met, encouraging new talent is a vital part of our responsibility to the local area, and we wanted the values of the festival to run in line with the creative outreach programmes we have in place for artists. It was vital for us to provide new and creative opportunities for musicians to have their voices heard.

We really aim to showcase the best music from internationally renowned acts to the most touted up and coming names and we hope the competition shows our commitment to providing a new platform for emerging musicians.

It’s really exciting to be able to showcase some of the best talent that the region has to offer and we hope that the winners of our competition move on to future successes after playing the festival.

Tickets cost: £35 per day, £70 weekend For more information on the festival go to ramsbottomfestival.com To book visit: ramsbottomfestival.com or www.skiddle.com Twitter: @rammyfestival