A BIG weekend of live music is on the cards in Egremont, with the launch of a new monthly showcase.

Florence Arts Centre hosts its first Florence Live! night on Saturday September 23, celebrating local talent.

Every month, the venue will welcome four highly-rated acts to share the bill, with this debut show set to feature two hotly-tipped singer-songwriters and a pair of up-and-coming bands.

Anne-Marie McStraw will be familiar to many as a member of, and songwriter for, The Black Guards. The multi-instrumentalist will be performing a selection of solo material at this event.

Melanie Baker, who made her Florence debut recently supporting fellow Cumbrian Luke Yates and also appeared on the bill at this summer's Kendal Calling, joins her on the night.

Egremont-based three-piece Goosey Tyson are on the bill, playing a set of carefully chosen covers and original songs, and Whitehaven favourites Springfield, who will be following their recent Flo Fest acoustic set with a full-band performance this time around.

Florence Arts Centre manager Craig Carruthers says: "We’ve hosted quite a few local bands and singers over the last 12 months, and after the success of Flo Fest in August we wanted to put together a monthly new music night to highlight the amount of great talent coming out of the county right now.

"Bands and singers are regularly performing in pubs and bars but we wanted to give them the chance to play at a live music venue where the music is the thing - and hopefully we’ll discover some great new talent alongside the familiar faces and established acts."

The show will start at 7.30pm, and tickets are available from the venue's booking office.