Happy Mondays set to headline ground-breaking Borderlands Festival at Carlisle Castle

Happy Mondays are set to headline a ground-breaking music festival in the grounds of Carlisle Castle.

Borderlands Festival will take place on September 8 and 9 and organisers are promising two days to remember.

It will showcase international music talent alongside some of Cumbria’s finest acts. Friendly Fires and Cumbria’s Sarah Story are also headlining the event.

Organisers said they were keen that Borderlands promoted local talent, with the likes of Novablood, DelaGrave and Ki Creighton also performing on the bill, complemented by a range of artisan food and drink outlets from Cumbria and the surrounding area.

Festival director Matt Tyson said: “As someone who has lived in the area my whole life, I will be immensely proud to see local musicians strut their stuff alongside world-famous legends in such an iconic local setting.

“As well as being a great advert for Carlisle and Cumbria, we hope Borderlands will showcase Carlisle Castle as an entertainment space and inspire other ambitious events across the wonderful historic sites we have in the county.

“I’d like to thank the staff at Carlisle Castle for their support in making this happen, and the rest of the festival team for all their hard work.”

Built in 1092 on the site of a Roman fort, Carlisle Castle has lived through multiple sieges from the Scots, Jacobites and Border Reivers. It also hosted Mary Queen of Scots when she fled to England. Today it is operated by English Heritage.

It is the first time the castle has hosted a ticketed music festival at full capacity, and is arguably Carlisle’s most significant live-music event since Radio One’s Big Weekender in 2011.