Bunnymen will join Joy Division star

The Liverpool band will play alongside Peter Hook and the Light at Willowman Festival, near Northallerton, this summer.

Hooky and the band will play a selection of material from his previous acts.

Echo and the Bunnymen have recently completed tours of the UK and North and South America following the release of new album Meteorites last year.

Willowman festival director Steve Williams said: “Echo and the Bunnymen had a fantastic 2014 and the band look to carry on gigging hard in 2015.

“After last year’s tours the band are super-tight and played some blinding sets which Willowman fans can look forward to in June.

“They will be joined by Hooky’s band which started off as a small project and has grown into a major globe-trotting act.

“I can’t wait to hear that classic cannon of songs blast from the Willowman stage – it’s going to be amazing.”

Other acts confirmed for the four-day festival include singer-songwriter Hazel O’Connor, folk-punk-ska band Ferocious Dog, New Groove Formation, Neck, Astralasia, Bessie & the Zinc Buckets, Big Red & the Grinners, The Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican, Louise Petit and the Charlotte Yanni band.

There will also be an acoustic tent, comedy tent, real ale tent and headphone disco.

The licensing hours of the festival mean that loud music cannot be played into the early hours of the morning, which led organisers to opt for the headphone disco after the onstage performances have finished.

Early bird tickets, which include four days camping and parking, are available for £65.

Full price tickets will be £75, tickets for young people aged 12-16 are £40 and children under 12 can go along for free.

The festival will run Thursday June 18-Sunday June 21 at Hillside Rural Activities Park, Knayton, Thirsk.

Visit www.willowman.com for more information.