A POPULAR festival that serves as the closer for the Tyne Valley's summer music festival scene is to go ahead this weekend - albeit in a different form to usual.

The Allen Valleys Folk Festival will take place - virtually - this Saturday.

Plans were in place to run a live music and dance event, complete with the famous burning of the legendary Allendale wolf - but new coronavirus restrictions put paid to those plans.

Instead, the festival will run online, with a series of acts set to perform via the festival's Facebook page.

Acts include the Brothers Gillespie, who grew up in Wall and sing "finely crafted original and traditional songs."

They will be joined by rag time five piece the Jubilee Stompers, playing swing and jazz from the era of the Great Depression.

Also performing is Sam Quentin and Al Catraz, with a quirky selection of folk, blues, country, and other criminal records.

There's also an open mic session ran over Zoom, for budding musicians to let loose the tunes they've been practicing over lockdown.

A spokesman for the festival said: "Get comfy by your fire, get the drinks in or the kettle on, dress up, dust off those dancing shoes and waistcoats and join us for an evening of music, merriment and howls at the moon, let's unite!"