A HISTORIC Warrington venue that once hosted Davide Bowie and Jimi Hendrix is opening its doors to live music for the first time in more than 20 years.

The Lion Hotel, on Bridge Street, was once one of the most thriving musical venues in Warrington.

Previously, artists such as Iron Maiden, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie have performed at the venue, but it hasn’t hosted live music since 1997.

Now, in the absence of Neighbourhood Weekender, the former venue is opening its gates once again to host a live music festival in the courtyard.

The ticketed event will be held on Sunday, May 26, the day after Warrington Music Festival.

Bridge Street Festival is set to start at midday and run until midnight, with under 18s being welcomed until 8pm.

Musical acts due to perform at the event include Muddy Elephant, who are supporting Busted this summer, and Max Vickers, who was a finalist on The Voice in 2017.

“We hope that more of the hospitality venues on Bridge Street will get involved with next year’s festival, which is already seeing a lot of interest from artists,” said Vicky Williams, the main organiser of the event and one of the upcoming performers.

Bridge Street Festival is being organised by volunteers and is dedicated to paying all 33 performing artists after receiving no funding.

Tickets are £4 each and can be purchased here.