CUMBRIA'S thriving festival fixture list makes way for a brand-new event arriving this summer.

Rock The Fells is a brand new arts and music festival in the Western Lake District - the first of its kind in the area. 

Some of the county's favourite live acts line up on the main stage - nestled at the foot of the Lakeland Fells and on the shore of the Irish Sea in Bootle - on Saturday July 23.

Improv acts and guerilla gigs taking place across the site serve to add to the strong music line-up, with arts and family activities, as well as an array of food and drink stalls, making for a full festival experience.

Critically-acclaimed band The Chadelics, who have members that hail from the village, are the big name on the bill, having recently won a high-profile university bands competition, played an after party for Noel Gallagher's recent Liverpool gig, and landed a place on the bill at Kendal Calling.

South Lakes funk rock act Wasted Saints, a debut performance from Sonik Seeds side-project Mr Shave, Furness covers favourites Orinoco, and Carlisle trio Fumar Mata are the other live acts already confirmed, with Holborn Hill Band and Captain Shaw’s Ensemble adding a touch of brass sparkle in the daytime, and drum collective Deatbeats will create a rhythmic spectacular as the sun goes down. 

Classy unplugged artists including Rob Kavanagh from Magic Toyshop, and poet Kim Moore will grace the acoustic stage, with many more acts still to be announced.

Rock The Fells is a place where the young people attending will be encouraged to get hands on and creative, with a chance to experience an amazing range of creative workshops, take part in a British Sign Language choir, join a junk percussion band, make theatre style costume masks, choreograph and perform new dance routines with professionals, learn to play ukulele and do explosive science experiments. 

And when the Big Bootle Bonanza begins all who are attending will be involved as the parade rolls through the site to make history at the inaugural Rock The Fells festival in 2016.

Rock The Fells is a charitable event and in its first year will be donating all profits generated to a local campaign – Fighting Fitz. In 2015, 33-year-old mother of two Danielle Fitzsimons was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she has pledged to complete a year of fundraising during her fight with the disease.

Pete Mills, a co-organiser of the event, says: "There are four strands to Rock The Fells and that is what makes us unique from every other festival in the country right now - we are all about the Arts and we are celebrating the best of Cumbria. 

"The Chadelics are one of the hottest bands in the UK at the minute, Deatbeats are in high demand from festivals all over the country, and Kim Moore is one of the most highly-regarded poets around right now. All are amazing Cumbrian exports, and that’s just three of the many artists playing. 

"We are all about charitable causes. We have pledged to donate all profits from the festival to Fighting Fitz and Cancer Research UK - so every single festival goer is not only having a belting day, they can also walk round with a massive smile on their face knowing they have done a very good deed by attending. 

"Rock The Fells has its home in one of the most forward thinking villages in Cumbria, and the festival is another part of the bid to buck the trend of village decline across Britain. Children and families in the area get to experience a high quality music festival on their doorstep and get to watch aspirational performances from some of the best bands in the country and people in their own communities - how cool is that?"

To keep updated with the festival's announcements, visit  www.rockthefells.com