HOMECOMING shows do not get much better than this.

Childhood friends and bandmates James ‘Stel’ Stelfox and Ben Byrne, who met at St Oswald’s Primary School, will be headlining a day of live music at Bank Park on September 17.

The duo from the NME Award-winning band Starsailor will be reuniting with family and friends as around 3,000 revellers gather for one of the highlights of Warrington Festival.

"It’s our first open air gig in the town," said bassist Stel.

"It’s going to be great, especially for me and Ben who are Warrington born and bred."

Starsailor formed when Stel and drummer Ben met frontman James Walsh and keyboardist Barry Westhead at Wigan and Leigh Music College.

An NME review of one of their gigs led to a bidding war by record labels in 2000.

Their debut album, Love is Here, and 2003 follow-up, Silence is Easy, both hit number two in the charts and they had sold three million records before a hiatus in 2009.

Since their reformation in 2014, Starsailor have played on the main stage at the Isle of Wight festival, supported Manchester indie band, James and toured North America with Embrace.

But the four-piece have never forgotten their roots. Earlier this year they played a homecoming show for Wigan resident Barry at Robin Park Arena.

Stel added: "The Wigan show was really special for Barry. All his family were there and old friends were coming up to him that he’d not seen since school.

"I know it’s going to be the same for me and Ben at Warrington Festival when we gets loads of people down that we’ve not seen for years.

"We’re just going to have a great time as there are loads of acts on all day."

For Stel, this is one of the rare opportunities when his social life and a job as a musician will come together so he will be making the most of it.

There will be 13 bands taking to the stage before his headline set with Starsailor.

Stel, a former Padgate High School pupil, said: "My mate is a bass player called Andy Fairnington and he’s playing with Joe Hatton.

"I’m looking forward to seeing him. There’s loads of great bands on throughout the day. It’s going to be good."

His kids Ethan, 11, who has just started at King's Leadership Academy, Ella, eight, and Josh, five, will also be there.

"Ben’s lad Connor will be there too and I think Barry’s kids are coming as well," Stel said.

"The kids love it. I played my little one some of our demos the other day and he said it was 'really cool'."

As well as playing with Starsailor, Stel tours with the space rockers Spiritualized and worked in the studio with them on an album that will be coming out next year.

So is it difficult having so much time away from the family?

Stel added: "I’m used to it now I think and so are the kids now they’re a bit older.

"I go away for two or three months at a time but then I come back and I spend a month with the family and I’m home all day then. It’s the best of both worlds really."

Stel also thinks that music showcases like this are becoming more important to Warrington because of shrinking opportunities to play elsewhere in the town.

It was a different story when he, Ben and Ben's brother Dan were in a band called Blue Sun more than 20 years ago.

"When we started out, Ben and I used to drink and play in the Barley Mow all the time," said Stel.

"It was kind of music pub back in the mid-90s. There was a good scene and there were always places to play."

Stel also played at Cross Keys (now Porters), The White Hart and Stocks in Padgate.

"It seems like there’s nowhere to play in town at the moment," the 40-year-old added.

"Parr Hall is too big for bands that are just up-and-coming, there’s not much of a pub music scene and I don’t think the smaller Pyramid stage is being used as much as it could be.

"It’d be great to have something on once a month for new bands."

What has brought the issue home for Stel is the Viola Beach tragedy.

Kris Leonard, Jack Dakin, Tom Lowe, River Reeves and their manager Craig Tarry died in Sweden on February 13 when their car plummeted from a canal bridge.

A posthumous album, released in their memory, topped the charts.

Stel said: "I’d met Craig a couple of times through mutual friends in town and knew the lads were really excited about what was going to happen with their music.

"It’s absolutely gutting and I can’t even imagine how the families must feel but they must feel so proud that they got to number one.

"It puts your faith back in the British public that they’re a decent lot when it comes down to it.

"We were a similar age when we first got signed. You have a glow about you. You know that what you are doing is good because people are paying attention.

"It’s so thrilling because you don’t know where it’s going to take you.

"Every band’s been there from U2 to Coldplay where you’ve had to drive across Britain and across Europe.

"It’s the best days of your life because everything is so new and exciting. For that to be taken away from them like that is really shocking."

Weekend can also exclusively reveal that Starsailor are working on their fifth studio album – the first in seven years – after clinching a record deal with Cooking Vinyl.

The band have around eight new tracks at the demo stage and their 'best record' is expected to be released in April or May.

Stel added: "We're made up as it's a great label that we’re sharing with the likes of Richard Ashcroft, Prodigy and Turin Brakes so that’s really cool.

"That’s been the highlight since we reformed. We’re going to take a few more risks this time.

"I think it will be our best record. I know everyone says that about their new stuff but I really think this will be something great.

"Cooking Vinyl just leaves us to it and we’re recording it with Rich McNamara from Embrace. He’s producing it for us.

"We’ve been together 20 years this year so we’ve been looking back at a collection of photographs from over the years.

"There’s one of us on David Letterman, Jay Leno and on trips around the world. It’s just mad really. I feel really lucky."