The start of the new year is always a quiet time around the coast of Britain so the Butlin's resort at Skegness in Lincolnshire is livening things up with its Great British Rock and Blues Festival.

The festival runs from 18-21 January and features some of the biggest and best stars of the rock and blues scene... with plenty of fun activities taking place throughout the day.

The most widely recognised names on the bill are 1970s rockers Dr Feelgood, featuring Phil Mitchell on bass, Robert Kane supplying the vocals and harmonica, Kevin Morris on drums and Steve Walwyn on lead guitar. Formed in 1971, Dr Feelgood are probably most fondly remembered for their Top 10 hit Milk and Alcohol.

Top among the blues names are Nine Below Zero, featuring Dennis Greaves on guitar and vocals, Mark Feltham on harmonica and vocals, Ben Willis on bass and Mickey Burkey on drums, who had great success in the early 1980s.

Among the other blues luminaries playing in 'Skeggy' are Andy Gunn, Animals and Friends, Dana Gillespie, Dani Wilde, George Shovlin and George Lamb, Gerry Jablonski and The Electric Band, Dave Speight, Giles Robson and Band, Grainne Duffy Band, Jack Broadbent, Jamie Thyer and The Worried Men, Kim Wilson (The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Lucy Zirins, Mike Sanchez, Mike Vernon and the Mighty Combo, Roadhouse, Rob Koral and Zoe Schwarz, Teed Up (Steve Roux), The Della Grants, The Milkmen (Adam Norsworthy), The Sharpeez, The Stumble, and Zoe Schwarz and Blue Commotion.

Foremost among the rock genre are Oldham hard rockers Dare, fronted by Thin Lizzy keyboard player Darren Wharton; vocalist and harmonica player Kim Wilson, best known as the frontman for the The Fabulous Thunderbirds; and Oliver Dawson Saxon, a heavy metal band formed in 1995 by former Saxon members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson.

Other heavier hitters up for the weekend are Bon UK (AC/DC homage), FM, Geordie, John 'Rhino' Edwards and Rhinos Revenge, John Verity Band, Kingdom of Madness: Classic Magnum, Mike Ross, Skam, Stan, Storm Warning, and The Bon Jovi Experience.

The festival also features an 'introducing' stage which will include top rock and blues talents such as Big Wolf Band, Burnt Out Wreck, Cheri Lyn, Connor Selby Band, Crow Black Chicken, Felix Rabin, JFK Blue, John Doe Trio, Lee Ainley's Blues Storm, Rick Estrin and The Nightcats, Robert J Hunter Band, and Sugaray Rayford.

For more information see the Butlin's Live Music Weekends website.