PUBS are getting ready to welcome thousands of music-lovers for Cottingham's annual Springboard Festival.
Seven village venues will play host to more than 200 acts in the free three-day celebration of Hull and East Riding talent, from Friday, May 23, to Sunday, May 25.
The venues involved include The King William IV, The Blue Bell, The Duke of Cumberland, The Cross Keys, The Black Prince, The Railway and CC Coffee.
The festival has been co-ordinated by Jayney Wright, who also runs music events in the region. Each of the venues has its own promoter as well, with Ms Wright promoting the music at the King William IV in Hallgate.
"My stage usually has national acts, but there are so many great local acts around at the minute, the line-up is predominantly local acts," she said.
"There are some brilliant artists who will be playing at the festival, including Mighty and the Moon and Poncho Pirates."
Entry is free to all the pubs, although last year some of the venues were so packed that revellers had to be turned away.
Among the other artists lined up to play are The Supersonic Jets and Sam Arkut.
"It's organic," Jayney said. "It is done for the love of it.
"It is homegrown and the event has naturally grown on its own."
Finding the acts is no problem for the organisers. The issue is deciding who plays.
"It is really difficult as we get loads of musicians wanting to play," she said
"I do try to vary what is on offer. You could come and see a funk band and then end up seeing a folk band.
"The key is to come along and just see what is happening as there's a lovely atmosphere."
This year, there are CDs, T-shirts and programmes available, which will help cover the publicity costs.
Anyone attending the festival will also be able to catch Jayney playing the washboard with her band The Off The Road Psychedelic Super Skiffle Band at King William IV on Sunday, May 25, at about 6pm.
She said: "Performing is quite scary, but it is quite nice to join in all the fun.
"If I've done the sound for half a day or a day and promoted what is going on it's nice to be part of the performing.
"I'm quite focused during the days, but I still love it and seeing the artists getting a kick from it and seeing the audience enjoying it. It overcomes all the stress of co-ordinating the event."
Visit www.springboard festival.org for more information about the event.
