A NEW six-day live music festival is taking to the stage in York.

Live For St Leonard's is being held as part of York Food & Drink Festival 2021, which is from September 17 to 25.

Featuring live performances from musicians based in York and the surrounding area, the festivities will take place between 5pm and 9pm in the event marquee in Parliament Street.

The charity event which will take place across six days is in aid of St Leonard's Hospice, with the line-up including Jonny & the Dunebugs, White Sail and The Y Street Band.

All the live music events are free to attend, and hospice staff and volunteers will be collecting donations during the performances.

People can also make a donation online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/live4stleonards

Refreshments will be available at the Food & Drink Festival.

Details of individual acts and performance times can be found on the Live for St Leonards Facebook event page.

The music acts have been arranged by Chris Bush, business manager at the York BID, which has donated his time in support of the Food & Drink Festival.

He said: “We have a sensational line up of local bands and solo artists that is not to be missed. As a fellow musician, it is so encouraging to see so many talented individuals enthused to get involved and do their bit for charity.

"I am confident that we can raise a considerable sum. It is also a pleasure to be supporting both York Food & Drink Festival and St Leonard’s Hospice, which are two enormously valuable organisations for our city.”

Michael Hjort, creative director of York Food & Drink Festival said: "It's a long-standing ambition of the festival to be active in the early evening and encourage those in the city during the day to stay on.

"Live music is a great way of doing this and at the same time we get to raise money for a great charity. We are thrilled by the acts coming to play for Live for St. Leonard's."

Emma Johnson, chief executive at St Leonard’s, added: “We are delighted that Chris and the York Food & Drink Festival have chosen to support us with this fantastic event.

"It is through the generosity of people in our local community that we can continue to provide the best quality of end of care and support. Every donation really does make a difference to our patients and their families.”

York Food & Drink Festival runs events throughout the year celebrating local and regional food and drink, with the main 10-day festival in September.

It is a not-for-profit organisation and any money generated from ticket sales goes back in to the festival to improve it year after year.