Dozens of live music acts will be bringing Maidstone to its feet for a long bank holiday weekend of live music.

The line-up of the festival ranges from alternative rock, indie and pop-punk, through to acoustic and blues acts, ska, contemporary folk, funk, soul, dance and hip-hop.

Opening tonight will be Dub Pistols, bringing their riotous collision of drum & bass, hip-hop, ska, dub and punk - the 21st century equivalent of The Specials and the 2-Tone movement - to the venue.

Former members of post-punk band The Fall play in the form of Brix And The Extricated, which includes brothers Steve and Paul Hanley, and Brix Smith, famous for their part in the band in the 80s and 90s.

Their performance at the festival comes a year after the death of The Fall singer Mark E Smith. The band have been writing and releasing new material to critical acclaim.

They will play the Music Room at Pizza Express, with support from Medway garage rock band The Len Price 3, on Friday, May 3. Tickets cost £15.

Local acts include The Gallerys, One Day Elliott and regulars back for more include Salvation Jayne, David Migden & The Twisted Roots, Flawless Carbon, No Limits Street Band, Upcdownc, The Lowly Strung, The Ovines, Oskar Vilcrow, Thrift and Tin Foil Astronaut.

On Saturday, May 4 will see the return of R&B legend Geno Washington, with support from King Size Slim, and on Bank Holiday Monday, Nine Below Zero will perform.

Eighties stars Musical Youth - who brought the world the phrase “Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side...” - which peaked at No.1 in the UK singles chart in 1982, play as a duo, singer Dennis Seaton and keyboardist Michael Grant, at the Music Room in Pizza Express on Sunday, May 5 at 8pm. Tickets at £25 are available from pizzaexpresslive.com/whats-on/musical-youth

Venues taking part include Style & Winch, Bierkeller, the Market House, the Flower Pot, the Royal Albion, Frederics and Source Bar.

DETAILS

Maidstone Fringe Festival runs at a range of venues across Maidstone until Bank Holiday Monday, May 6. To book for the ticketed events go to pizzaexpresslive.com or by calling 0207 4394962. For more details go to maidstonefringe.com

Read more: All the latest music news from across Kent