A BAND from Hartford High School is hoping that 'Scumfest' will be the catalyst for a new musical era in Northwich.

Scumfest is a festival of music by Northwich bands for an exclusive invited audience, and for one night only.

Organised by 15-year-old Thomas Beard, it will feature his band Dive Bomb and sets from five other bands made up of teenagers from Sir John Deane's, Weaverham and Hartford High Schools.

"I wanted to give my band and fellow bands the chance to play as there are not many opportunities to gig in Northwich," said Thomas.

"Scumfest is hopefully a chance for us to get noticed. There is so much musical talent in Northwich that I just felt I had to do something."

Dive Bomb, which features Thomas on bass, Gareth Freeman on guitar and vocals, Lewis Edwards on drums and new recruit Dominic Robson-Smith as lead guitarist, plays a mix of heavy 'grunge' and 'nu-metal' - a modern style of heavy metal. The band have been together for around four months and will play seven of their own tracks and three covers.

Other bands include 'Devolution' a Rage Against the Machine style band, California Punk-style 'Panacea', Sick of Society, Prosthetic Prophet and E3.

Scumfest is on Saturday, January 13 and, although admission is strictly by invite only, Thomas hopes it could be the start of something a bit special in Northwich.

"We hope that one day Northwich will be the new Seattle, which was the birth-place of the whole grunge scene producing bands like Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins and Alice in Chains," he said.

"Music could be the future of Northwich. It has the musical potential, it's just getting the bands noticed."