AFTER a year off, Tynedale’s premier music festival will return with a resounding bang.

Corbridge Festival will become a two-day event when it returns in June 2019, with event organiser Cheryl Durkin, who lives in the village, extending the entertainment by an extra day.

Typically held on a Saturday in July, the festival will take place on June 28 and 29.

She said: “People want to make a weekend of it, and many want to camp out.

“They want to spend two days in the village because a lot of people come from outside of the area to come here.

“It will give them a bit more time in Corbridge to see the surroundings, because our unique selling point is we are in Corbridge and it is beautiful and historic.”

The festival has grown in stature rapidly since its inception in 2011.

Starting with just one stage, the demand for more music soon led to the introduction of both an acoustic and an academy stage for budding musicians.

Before taking a year off this year, the festival managed to pull of the coup of attracting funk and soul DJ Craig Charles, also known for his acting roles of Red Dwarf and Coronation Street, to perform a set on the Friday night. But the decision to have a fallow year caused much disappointment among many regular festival goers.

However, Cheryl said the year out would benefit the festival in the long-term.

She said: “It’s going to be good, and I’ve got such a good feeling about next year.

“I’m excited and really glad to be back.

“I think the year off has proven that it was missed and it is welcome back.

“It was good for me to have some time off because I had a busy year in other areas.

“What it has done is show people that we need to work together, and that I need support by people buying tickets early.”