The Bay City Rollers are headlining the third annual Tyneside Blues and Americana Festival, which is coming to North Shields once again this January.

This year’s Tyneside Blues and Americana festival closes on Burns Night, so organisers Stephen Donnelly and Jonny Clegg thought they’d end the three-day bash with a bit of a party. “It just fell into place,” Jonny explains. “We thought, let’s go for something fun and iconic to close the weekend and they said yes.” The Rollers aren’t the only band bringing the Celtic pride on that final night as also appearing are Stormchaser, fronted by powerhouse Scottish vocalist Gregor McGregor – formerly of Frankie Miller’s Full House. But the festival is packing real quality across the board. Donnelly: “We’ve gone for the best line-up we’ve ever had. This year we’ve got UK Blues Federation award-winners including The Dom Martin Band and the Zac Schulze Gang, along with returning favourites like The Terraplane Blues Band and Tom Killner Band.” Other acts to look out for include the likes of Martin Turner (ex-Wishbone Ash), Davey Pattison Band, Chris Jagger, Jed Thomas Band, Gerry Jablonski, and plenty more besides. GM

The Tyneside Americana Blues Festival, Friday 23-Sunday 25 January, King Street Social Club, Tynemouth, day tickets from £24, three-day tickets from £69, tynefest.co.uk