The King’s Jam Festival returns to Gloucester this month, bringing performers from all over the country whilst also providing a platform for local up and coming artists.

A celebration of hip hop and urban culture, this will be the festival’s third consecutive year and organiser Malaki Patterson hopes to build on the success of previous years.

He said: “There has been so much talk about this years line-up already, and everyone is excited to see the performers.

“I think this year will be our biggest turn out yet!”

Local music organisation The Music Works, where Malaki is Creative Director, are a Gloucestershire based charity focused on giving children and young people a chance to get involved in music.

King’s Jam is organised by The Music Works in collaboration with Your Next Move, and is a community run event, supported by other local organisations including Arts Council England, Gloucester City Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation as part of the Gloucester Roundhouse Exchange and Great Place.

In the last two years huge names from the world of grime and rap, including AJ Tracey and Lotto Boyzz, have performed at the festival, with this year’s line up also featuring some big names.

“The response has been great, and has been well received by the local community, especially young audiences,” continued Malaki. “We had over 2,500 people attend last year.

“Headliners this year include WSTRN, Young T & Bugsey, Stylo G and Nadia Rose. Plus we have local acts such as Griz-O, Naides and Caviar Crew, with many more artists and dance acts throughout the weekend.”

Giving local performers the chance to get on stage is an important part of King’s Jam says Malaki, especially for the black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) communities in the city.

He said: “Gloucester is a cultural cold spot and has a huge demographic of young people with a large BAME community.

“King’s Jam is the only event in the whole of Gloucestershire offering the opportunity to enjoy urban music on a large scale in a public setting.

“We work with emerging talented Gloucestershire artists of varied art forms and provide a platform for them to perform.”

The festival is free to enter, although tickets need to be booked in advance to avoid disappointment.

“It is important to start that way,” added Malaki. “We want to ensure that the festival is accessible to all people and cost would not be a barrier.

“We also want to build a relationship with local audiences so they trust and grow with the festival – we’ll try and keep it free for as long as we can.”

The King’s Jam Festival takes place on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th August.

For tickets and more information visit www.kingsjamfestival.com