VISITORS to Marsden Jazz Festival can enjoy more than nine hours of live music for free in a pop-up venue.

Venue 25 will be in a marquee outside the village’s 19th century Mechanics Hall as part of festival running from Friday to Sunday, October 7 to 9.

The seven gigs will include a street band battle on the Saturday afternoon featuring Orkestra Del Sol, The Firm, Band Baja and Tongues Of Fire.

The 25th Marsden Jazz Festival will also feature the renowned Saturday street parade, an artisan market in Marsden’s Victorian park and over 140 hours of live music.

Visit marsdenjazzfestival.com or call 0800 6125649 for further information.

Festival Producer Barney Stevenson said: “We wanted to do something special to mark our 25th festival and came up with the idea of creating our own pop-up venue in the centre of the village.

“We’ll have a bar there for the entire weekend if people want to pop in for a quiet drink and there’ll also be seven free gigs taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

“We’ve got some fantastic venues which take part in the jazz festival every year – from pubs and clubs to churches, restored mills and outdoor stages. It’s great to be able to add Venue 25 to the list for our 25th festival.”

A ukuleles thrash-off between Thornhill Junior and Infants School in Dewsbury and members of Marsden Ukeleles Club – Mucipups – will also take place in Venue 25 on Saturday 8 October along with performances by jazz duo Lee Jones and Tim France, and guitar-whizz Shane Latimer.

Sunday’s gigs will feature performances by Marsden’s community jazz band – Marsden Swing, internationally-renowned jazz guitarist Adrian Ingram, and jazz quartet Andchuck.

Over 100 gigs will be taking place during the 25th Marsden Jazz Festival, including over 80 free gigs and events.

Jazz legend Digby Fairweather appeared at Marsden’s first jazz festival in 1992 and tickets for his ‘Rocking in Rhythm’ show alongside BBC Radio 2’s Paul Jones for the 25th festival have already sold out.

Other headliners include ten-piece band Jazz Jamaica, Anglo-American supergroup The Impossible Gentlemen, and Jazz FM Awards 2016 nominee Nérija.