The line-up for 2008's Raglan Music Festival will be officially announced on St David's Day with organisers promising a real Welsh flavour to this year's event. The festival, which was launched in 2005 and last year picked up the award for best marketed event in Monmouthshire, opens on Friday, June 6th, beginning three days of the very best music, theatre and entertainment. Last year's festival attracted more than 3,000 fans – though organisers are expecting hundreds more this year with tickets already being bought in their droves despite June's line-up being kept under close guard until March 1st. Over 600 bands from as far a field as the US and Eastern Europe got in touch with organisers wanting to perform at this year's event. Now an established part of the UK's summer festival season and having put the village of Raglan on the international music map, June's line-up will be the biggest yet with more than 40 performances throughout the village. Since the festival was launched less than three- years-ago a staggering 60,000 people have visited the official website, while a further 6,000 have logged onto its popular Myspace page, which has more than 2,200 friends. A new addition to this year's website will be the official online store, where fans will be able to buy tickets and festival merchandise. Despite its widespread success and appeal, with fans from across the country attending last year, the Raglan Music Festival still remains a community-led event, though organisers can understand its appeal. Festival committee member Charles Fountain said: "Since the launch of the festival in 2005 when 700 attended, the event has grown beyond all our expectations. The benefits to Raglan and the surrounding area have been a delight to see and we hope this will continue with every festival. "I think the fact we have such a diverse mixture of live music, theatre and entertainment is key to the festival's success. There's something for everyone of every age and the live music jams and lessons, which are back again this year, mean children and adults can really be a part of the festival. "We can't reveal too much about this year's line-up though we know fans won't be disappointed!" Tickets and weekend passes are available to purchase now from http://www.raglan-festival.org"">www.raglan-festival.org" http://www.raglan-festival.org">www.raglan-festival.org, where the full line-up will go live on March 1st.
