Artists announced for Cheltenham Music Festival

Cheltenham Music Festival has announced the artists scheduled to perform at the 2025 event.

Celebrating its 80th anniversary, the festival will take place across the town from 4 to 12 July.

Acts include the BBC Concert Orchestra, Britain's Got Talent stars Braimah and Isata Kanneh-Mason, Seckou Keita and Dames Sarah Connolly DBE and Imogen Cooper DBE.

Jack Bazalgette, the festival's artistic director, said: "Over the last 80 years it's created crazy, bonkers and beautiful music every year and we're continuing to take that tradition into 2025 and beyond."

Mr Balzalgette said: "It's music that has really always tried to push the furthest boundaries of what you can have while also giving people the classics and the big range of stuff but always vibrant, always a bit out there.

"This includes an emphasis on new work, and we have commissioned beautiful music from Deborah Pritchard and Anna Semple for 2025 to open and close the Festival.

"We're renewing our legacy in 2025 with a birthday party to be proud of."

Large-scale orchestral concerts will take place at Gloucester Cathedral and Cheltenham Town Hall, while guitarist Alexandra Whittingham and trumpeter Aaron Akugbo will also perform.

A programme of free performances will take place across the town's venues, organisers said.

In celebration of the festival's 80 years, the event's parent charity, Cheltenham Festivals, is pledging to give 80,000 children access to the arts throughout the year - including special concerts for children and families with additional needs.

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