MP welcomes 'Big gig' event to Windermere

A series of 330 free concerts this summer across England, bringing people from all backgrounds together to listen to the best local musicians, have been announced. South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed the news that two of them are being held in Cumbria.

The concerts, including more than 30 across the North West, will be free for everyone!

In Cumbria two gigs are lined up:

Windermere - Friday 12th July - 2pm Onwards @ Windermere Library Gardens

Whitehaven - Saturday 13th July - 1pm Onwards @ Harbourside Gazebo

With over 200,000 people due to attend, the concerts - which run from 11 to 14 July - are expected to draw even bigger crowds in total than events such as Glastonbury. As well as seeing live performances people will be able to have a go at music themselves with activities including drumming workshops, making their own instruments to form an orchestra and playing a giant xylophone.

The Big Gig is organised by the Superact arts organisation, with the Department for Communities and Local Government as the main sponsor. The programme is part of the UK Government's Olympics legacy commitment and builds on the Bandstand Marathon.

Tim said: "It is fantastic that two of the 33 events are being held in Cumbria. I hope that it allows local bands to put themselves in the shop window. Being able to get another event in South Lakeland further shows that we really are the rural cultural hub of the North and it promises to be a fantastic day."

Liberal Democrat Communities Minister Don Foster MP added: "This summer hundreds of thousands of people across the country are going to see fantastic local performers play a huge variety of music from around the world right on their own doorstep, sometimes for the first time, and get to know other members of their community better into the bargain."