This weekend sees the launch of the first of what is hoped will be an annual two-night music festival.

The Sanctum weekend is organised by local musician, songwriter and artist Suzy Manton, and features two nights of music, one in Douglas and one in the south of the island.

The Douglas night takes place on Saturday, Sepember 22, at the Basemant bar, under Just Pizza and Pasta, in Wellington Street, and features an atmospheric evening of candle-lit music, from solo singer Matt Creer, plus the group Last Drags.

The evening will be headlined by visiting UK band High Wyre, an English group who specialise in heart-felt indie pop.

High Wyre are fronted by the virtuoso soloist Alex Hulme, a regular visitor to the island who also appears on the second night at the Foraging Vintners bar in Port Erin, on Sunday September 23, playing a solo concert alongside singer songwriter Mae Challis.

The Sanctum festival has been created to follow on from the Tinkermann festival, which was once a regular summer weekend concert on the island, and at one point featured the likes of Turin Brakes, the Travelling Band and Leddra Chapman .

Former organiser Mark Armstrong handed the reins over to Suzy, who had helped organise the original Tinkermann weekend, which she has rebranded, and is now hoping that the new-look festival will become an annual occurrance.

’I’d been helping Mark with the Tinkermann festival each year since its inception and when he mentioned he would be leaving the island I badgered him to let me take over the organisation, to which he kindly agreed,’ said Suzy, who also plays in the local group Raine.

’The festival has always been a great opportunity for local talent to play alongside acts from further afar and is a great platform to reach a varied and attentive audience, something that can unfortunately be difficult on the island.

’I felt it was important for the event to continue as it has gained quite a following over the years and I hope to build on this for future festivals.’

Tickets for the Sanctum nights are priced at £10 for Saturday and £5 for Sunday, available from etickets.im/sanctum

by Mike Wade

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