YORK'S Little Festival of Live Music in September will raise funds for York Mind during the week-long event.

An independent mental health charity, York Mind helps people who are struggling with mental health through a range of recovery-focused, therapeutic one-to-one and group activities, aimed at helping individuals to understand and cope with the effects of mental illness.

Festival director Ellen Cole says: "We're delighted to be working with York Mind during this year’s festival. With many cuts being made in the field of mental health, we're keen to raise awareness about how important mental health services are to our community, as well as to encourage those experiencing mental health problems to get in touch with York Mind."

York's community music festival has been "overwhelmed" to have received nearly 400 applications from bands and musicians to take part in the event.

"We're still in the process of going through the applications – I'm still listening to material – but we'll announce the final line-up in July,” says Ellen.

York's Little Festival of Live Music was created at only three weeks’ notice for the York Food and Drink Festival in 2013 and doubled its slots to six nights at last year’s Food and Drink Festival. This year, the Little Festival will run from September 18 to 26, except for blank days on September 21 and 22.

"We offer a platform for established and upcoming talent to showcase their work and have attracted musicians from all over the country, including London, Manchester and Birmingham, as well as local talent," says Ellen. "The festival has raised a considerable amount of money for York charities and aims to offer first-time music-goers, families and music lovers alike a great musical experience for a small charitable donation."

For more information on the 2015 festival, go to facebook.com/YorksLittleFestivalOfLiveMusic or follow @Live_Music_Fest on Twitter.

Looking ahead, Ellen says: “We've received so much support over the past two years and are thrilled to be part of the York Food and Drink Festival once again. During the event we have an announcement to share with everyone regarding the festival’s future. I can’t say much about it at the moment, but it's going to offer musicians a very exciting platform to perform on; one that's not been seen in York or Yorkshire.”