Firestarter Festival, the Island’s only festival catering exclusively for teenagers, has announced the music line-up for its 2011 event. The Festival will have more acts this year than ever before. The Festival, which mixes live gigs and entertainment with sports and adventure activities, will feature more than fourteen musical acts across two stages this year. In addition to the Amped Stage in the main marquee there will also be an indoor Acoustic Stage, with both stages offering a range of styles across the four nights of the event. Festival Coordinator Graeme Brooks commented: “Last year we had PastDoubt and The Pointless Jesters. This year we have gone so much bigger because we have partnered up with The Upper Room, an under 18s live venue in Douglas, who have arranged loads of great acts. On top of that, the Festival has started generating so much excitement that we have had bands calling us from the UK to ask if they can include us on their tours. We’ve had so much interest that we’re having trouble fitting all of the acts into the packed schedule!” Up and coming band The Vows will be headlining the Festival, playing at the opening ceremony as well as sets every night. The band has recently released a self-titled EP under their new name, with a number of the songs featured on BBC Radio Lancashire and 3fm in recent months. Lead singer Dave Woodgett commented: “We have been going to Firestarter for years now and we’re really excited to be headlining again this year, especially with all of the new material we’ve put together over the past year. It’s going to be brilliant.” The band has previously played at Firestarter under the name PastDoubt. Thursday the 18th is Club Night on the Amped Stage, featuring UK-based DJ La Roche, who will be at the Festival for one night only before heading back to the UK festival circuit. La Roche has recently been DJing across Europe for Nike. The Acoustic Stage that night will feature singer-songwriters Jon Price, Isobel Kermode and Charlotte Greenbank. The Friday night is set to feature a range of hardcore acts on the Amped Stage. They include local band Our Final Hour, which has also recently released an EP and will be fresh back from a UK tour. Kill The Conversation and Doomed From Day One, both of which are travelling from the UK for the Festival, will also be playing. The Saturday is Indie Night, with Mr Eliminator & The Deadly Vipers, The Fletcher Christian Mutiny and Native playing on the Amped Stage. The Acoustic Stage will feature Pete Mitchell and Tom Smith, Scarlett Brunstrom and Upper Room founder Dave Woodgett. Because it is a youth event run by the local churches, all of the artists are asked to sign up to a code of conduct, which includes respecting the Festival’s no alcohol or drugs policy by showing up sober, avoiding inappropriate language or subjects and trying to provide a good role model for the youth. Acts are also expected to be accessible for fans that want to talk to them or learn more about developing their own talent. Graeme commented on the policy: “We are above all a responsible organisation, and we believe that we have to provide a positive example to the youth that come. It clearly doesn’t deter great bands from coming, in fact I think most of them really respect and appreciate the cleaner atmosphere.” Graeme continued: “Firestarter has really matured, to the point where we are offering the youth the same sort of quality event that people expect from Festivals open to adults. At a time when many adult festivals are struggling we have actually found ourselves growing, which is great news for the development of the Manx music scene as the youth become more engaged and find more outlets for their talent.” This year’s festival runs from Wednesday 17th August to Sunday 21st August, with over 100 youths expected to be camping there for four nights. Tickets are available to anyone aged 12 to 17 at the time of the festival, and cost ?90 with all camping, meals and entertainment included in the price. Places are still available at the time of writing and further information on the acts and application forms can be found at www.firestarterfestival.com -END-