Thousands of music lovers will descend on Upton upon Severn for next week's blues extravaganza.

Upton Blues Festival will officially begin on Wednesday (July 17) and won't wind down until the following Monday (July 22), whilst its main stages will be up-and-running from Friday until Sunday.

Chairman of Upton Blues Festival, Grahame Bunn, has been part of the event since it was inaugurated in 2002, and said: "The festival must be by far the biggest one in the town.

"It's wall-to-wall music for six days."

Upton Blues Festival has continued to grow and capture of the imagination of festival-goers across Worcestershire and its surrounding counties.

Mr Bunn said: "People come from Worcester, Cheltenham, Gloucester, and all around to experience the festival, and we're expecting at least 5,000 people to camp too."

Beyond booking on to the festival's campsite, Upton Blues Festival is entirely free for visitors - making it the largest blues festival of its kind in the UK.

Mr Bunn added: "We will have more than 190 acts involved this year, and every single one is free to watch.

"Many venues in Upton are hosting performances too, alongside our official stages."

As many as 11 of Upton's pubs and bars will feature live acts from Wednesday (July 17), but the festival will have five stages on offer from Friday (July 19) too.

Mr Bunn said: "Our 'Riverside' and 'Meadow' stages are the biggest, but the 'Under the Bridge' stage is new for this year and directed towards a younger crowd alongside keen blues fans.

"Some people hear ‘blues music' and think this festival isn’t for them, but the blues genre is so wide and we're trying to attract younger people to the festival this year.”

Rhythm and blues band Nine Below Zero and singer-songwriter Kyla Brox are amongst the breadth of headline acts scheduled for the festival, but it isn't just the music that makes it special.

Mr Bunn said: "It truly encompasses the whole of Upton upon Severn.

"Many festivals are closed off in their own encampments, or in a field, but the Upton Blues Festival takes over the town."