AROUND 4,000 tickets have been sold for a huge music celebration in Bank Park next month.

Organisers Gav Scott and Andy Mulholland have been overwhelmed by the response to Glastonferry in the Park which takes place on Saturday, June 22.

Penketh pub The Ferry Tavern’s popular Glastonferry event has teamed up with the north west music promoters GS Promotions to launch the tribute festival.

Headliners The Clone Roses will be joined by Oas-is, The Smiths Ltd, ‘Appy Mondays, The Courtbetweeners, The James Experience, The Verve Experience plus special guest DJs Clint Boon, of Inspiral Carpets fame, and compere Dave Sweetmore.

Gav Scott is one of the promoters and also fronts headline band The Clone Roses.

He said: “It’s been incredible. We know we’ve got a strong following in the Warrington area but the response has exceeded our expectations.

“To have 4,00 tickets sold with almost a month to go just shows you how much people love Manchester music.”

The festival’s line-up particularly pays tribute to the late 80s and early 90s Manchester scene.

Gav added: “The nostalgia factor is massive. People in their 30s, 40s or even 50s want to go out and enjoy the music they listened to in their youth.

“But I also think that generation are taking their kids out to introduce them to it. It’s in the same way that my parents introduced me to the Beatles and the Stones.

“Another factor is there is not an abundance of guitar bands coming through at the moment.

“When you think of young people who are into indie guitar music, they’ve got Courteeners, Catfish and the Bottlemen and one or two others but there is not an abundance like we had growing up. With that in mind, I think a lot of the younger crowd are jumping onto older bands. The biggest factor ultimately is that it’s great music no matter how old you are.

“When you think about all those great songs from all those bands being condensed into one day, what a festival that is.”

Gav will close the festival with the Clone Roses – playing to the equivalent of four Parr Halls or more.

He said: “I enjoy it much more because at these open-air events you can feed off the energy from the crowd. We play better in the environment.

“It’s not often that we get to perform in front of thousands. We’ve played some big festivals but never as the headliner so I can’t wait.”

Gav also launched a similar festival in St Helens last year called Clonefest. That experience was invaluable.

He added: “It was really tough last year as that was our first event on that scale. Now we’ve got a bit of a blueprint for how you do certain things but there is a lot to think about.

“As we speak, I’m at the Ferry Tavern with Andy going through everything that needs to be done. The list is just endless but we’ve got a team of people that we trust and are good at what they do.

“Culture Warrington has been very supportive. They’ve been helping us and sharing their experiences after previously putting on events in that park.

“It’s good to have some nervous energy really as it keeps you on your toes.”

Glastonferry in the Park also comes hot on the heels of Neighbourhood Weekender festival in Victoria Park.

Gav said: “Music fans in Warrington should be proud of what they’ve got. There’s the big stuff like Neighbourhood then there’s Warrington Music Festival.

"We’re introducing our festival and Pyramid and Parr Hall have got a great programme of events. Warrington Music [WAM] always seems to have a lot of gigs going on then there’s places like Friars Court. There seems to be a very healthy music scene.”