The Del Cats are counting down the days until they get the opportunity to perform on the main stage at the Coleford Festival later this month.

The Forest of Dean family band will take to the Clock Tower stage next Saturday at Coleford’s annual music festival to perform a set of rock and roll music from the 1950s through to the 1980s.

Rob Ridgway, who plays drums in five-piece band, is looking forward to playing in front of a hometown crowd. He said: “I haven’t played with the band before – I only joined them six months or so ago. This will be my first time playing with the guys at a festival, so it will be a new experience for me. Getting offered the chance to play on the main stage is great, it’s a really good opportunity for us to play in front of what is always a great crowd. We play a mix of songs, from the likes of Chuck Berry through to Stray Cats.”

The band is made up of Rob and his wife Jackie (rhythm guitar & vocals), Scott McParland (bass guitar), Ricky Delaney (lead guitar & vocals) and Ceri-Ann Delaney (saxophone & vocals). Rob continued: “We’re a family band and everyone gets on well with each other. We’re lucky to have three strong vocalists who mix things up really nicely. We play a real mixture of rock and roll and rockabilly. We always have fun, if you’re up on stage and playing and you can’t enjoy yourself you’re in the wrong game!”

Rob has a long history in the music industry – he’s been playing in bands for over 35 years, including a never-to-be-forgotten appearance at a festival in Holland. He explained: “I’ve played all venues, from pubs right through to festivals in Europe. The biggest crowd I’ve played in front of was at a festival in Holland, there was four or five thousand people there. You don’t forget something like that too easily!”

There might not be quite as many in the crowd at Coleford next weekend, but you can be sure The Del Cats will put on a real show.