A MUSIC festival is set to make a welcome return to a Northwich landmark during a summer of celebration.

This year’s Lift Off Festival, at the Anderton Boat Lift, will take place for a week this year, with rock band The Levellers appearing as the jewel in its crown.

Last year’s event saw a wide variety of musical acts take to the stage during five weekends, but this year the gigs will be concentrated in a week from Friday, June 29, to Saturday, July 7.

Nick Hughes, chief executive of Development of the Arts in Northwich (DAN), said: “This year there is so much going on with the Olympics and the Jubilee during the summer so we decided to make it just a week long.

“It’s a fantastic site to do a festival with the boat lift – what a great backing to any event really.

“And it’s a fantastic line-up for Northwich.”

The Levellers formed in Brighton in 1988 and went on to have the most gold and platinum selling albums in the 1990 than any other UK band that decade.

Their appearance at the Lift Off Festival, on Wednesday, July 4, will come less than two weeks after the release of their new album Static On The Airwaves.

Seth Lakeman, who won Album of the Year for Freedom Fields and was named Singer of the Year at the 2007 BBC Folk Awards, will also perform on Friday, July 6, bringing a novel hybrid of traditional songs, frothy pop, and classically flavoured fiddle playing to the festival stage.

The Lift Off Festival will also feature the Upbeat Beatles, AC/DC – UK, Barrelhouse Jukes and Tom Doughty and the Steve Oakes Jazz Quartet.

There will also be a comedy night and a Soul Party, featuring Souled as Seen.

For more information and tickets, visit liftoff-festival.com or visit the DAN Office in Northwich Library.