Cheltenham’s Brewery Quarter will be alive with the sound of music this weekend when the annual Summer Jam event gets underway.

Summer Jam will bring a festival atmosphere to the popular retail outlet, with live music and food and drink on sale. Now in its third year, the two-day event promises to be a great day out, with many notable musicians booked to perform over the weekend. Event organiser Demelsa Coleman is hopeful this year’s event will surpass the previous two events. She said: “This will be the third Summer Jam and it promises to be the biggest and best yet. We’re delighted to be welcoming so many talented musicians who are sure to put on a great show. We’ve booked some fantastic musicians and bands, a lot of them are local artists. It’s great to give them a platform and we’re looking forward to seeing them in action.

“On Saturday ‘The Strays’ will be performing. They’re a Cheltenham-based band going far at the moment. They’ve won a few local competitions including Battle of the Bands recently. The lead singer is very cool. We’ll also be welcoming reggae star Kingsley Salmon who will be playing the biggest reggae festival in Europe in two weeks. Another act we can’t wait to see is Camilla Lewington and her band ‘Just Shut Up and Dance’. Camilla recently performed on ‘All Together Now’ on BBC 1, she’s a great performer.

“On Sunday local band ‘Tux Fizz’ will be playing. Lead singer Chris Quigley really entertains the crowds, he walks into the crowd and encourages involvement. A talented singer and pianist, he has a Paolo Nutini style about him. ‘Soular’ will also be playing here again, they’re a really fun band and get the crowd dancing with their take on disco funk classics and modern hits such as ‘Get Lucky’.  They won the search for a Summer Jam star last year and since then they’ve also played at our race week event and have been invited back again for this year’s Summer Jam.

“It’s not just about the music though, there’s plenty of other things to enjoy. We have some fantastic outdoor bars courtesy of Brewhouse and Kitchen with their home brewed beers, Cosy Club with a Tanqueray Gin bar and Pimms bike, Babel with their Double Dutch tonics and Prosecco bike and Hollywood Bowl serving draught cider and soft drinks. 

“Chiquito will be serving paella - street food style served fresh from a giant pan. There will be sampling from several other venues at various points across the weekend. On top of that we will have stalls selling art, handmade home and garden craft items, wood carvings, baby clothes, handmade soaps, fruit pancakes and donuts so there will be a real festival vibe.”