Bank Holiday Monday at the Festival

Next Monday is Carnival day – Audlem's oldest event, dating back to 1812. Be there and enjoy the procession, the dancing troupes, the fair, the fun.

It's also another day of great music in Blues Alley starting with John Gunstone playing Blues piano at 1.00pm. John plays with Big Blue House and many other local bands – three in all at the recent Nantwich Jazz & Blues Festival. He's not to be missed! At 2.30pm. Jim Kirkpatrick takes over in Blues Alley. Jim plays all over the world with some of the finest international musicians but is always home in Audlem for Festival time.

At 3.00pm at the Shroppie, Bob & Dave bring their mix of original poetry and music to the canalside while 3.30pm sees hard driving thrash punk from Audlem's next generation of musicians, Defense, playing on the open-air stage outside the Methodist Church. They are followed at 5.00pm by Big Blue House, one of the area's great bands – they will rock away those blues as you start to think what will I do tomorrow with no more Festival music this year!

In the pubs the music plays on with The Lord Combermere featuring Gillie Nicholls, a talented singer/songwriter returning to the Festival. Gillie is followed at 9.00pm by the legendary Audlem weekly Folk Jam. It's normaly in the Shroppie but this week it switches to the Combermere.

Because, down at the Shroppie Fly, one of the great highlights of the Festival gets underway at 9.00pm. Jim Kirkpatrick leads the traditional Blues Jam with an amazing array of local and national talent up on stage. Last year's performance is still being talked about. It really is an amazing finale to the Festival and Carnival weekend. You may struggle if you're working on Tuesday, but what a way to finish the weekend.

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