A TWO-DAY free music festival aims to have them rocking along he quayside this weekend.

The festival, organised by the Rendezvous bar in Weymouth, is set to feature the ‘cream of the crop of local bands’.

The live music weekend will take place instead of the Weymouth Sea Festival, which has been cancelled due to a lack of sponsorship.

Now the festival’s main sponsor Rendezvous has stepped in to save the day and has announced it will hold a Trawler Race Music Festival.

The event will run from Sunday to Monday, May 24 to 25 on the harbourside featuring 27 local bands.

The line-up includes the Travelling Blueberries, Paisley, the Four Quits, Gothic Chicken and Motel 6.

General manager of Rendezvous, Keith Treggiden, said: “We have been the main sponsor for the Weymouth Sea Festival for the last three years and thought it was important to keep the live festival for Weymouth people.

“We want as many people to come along to the event – the more the merrier.”

Music festival organiser Danny Adams, from Danny Adams Production Ltd, has sourced all the best home-grown talent for the weekend.

He said: “The festival will probably be the biggest live music event of the summer in Weymouth – the other events don’t have anywhere near the amount of local bands playing.

“We have dedicated the Sunday to young up-and-coming bands and the Monday will feature the cream of the crop of local bands.”

Mr Adams said that for the past two or three years, festival-goers have mainly flocked to the event for the music so he expects the weekend to be as popular as ever.

He added: “Most people won’t notice there won’t be a race because it will be a lively fun weekend on their doorstep.”

Organisers of the Sea Festival, which incorporated the local trawler race and Waterfest, cancelled their annual event last week because of a lack of sponsorship and the loss of the French market.

Last year local food stalls, seafood stands and a French food market lined the harbour and drew in crowds of around 50,000 people and raised £7,500 for local charities.

The event is planned to go ahead as normal in 2010 and Mr Treggiden said he will look forward to sponsoring the event again.

The quayside event this May will run from midday until 9pm on both days.

To be part of the festival call Keith on 01305 761343.