BANDS and singers are preparing for a gig with a difference this weekend - amid the locos at the National Railway Museum.

The York museum is hosting a music festival on Saturday, September 6, from 2pm to midnight, featuring a host of different acts.

And among them is local girl Beth McCarthy, who found fame when she appeared on TV’s The Voice and today, September 3, visited the museum to check out the venue.

Twenty-two acts will be playing both in Station Hall as well as on a moving locomotive out in the South Yard. Acoustic and solo acts will have half- hour sets on the Directors’ Saloon and Station Hall will play host to half-hour sets from 3pm.

Head of operations Jim Lowe said: “This is a first for the museum and the response we’ve had to putting on such an event has been overwhelming. It promises to be a day of great music for the entire family to enjoy.”

Lynne O’Dea of joint organisers MOR Music added: “Interest in this event has been phenomenal and we can’t wait for Saturday when we see it all come together. We’ve got some big acts playing so there’s something for everyone.”

The event is free but tickets to the acts playing on the Directors Saloon need to be booked. For more details visit nrm.org.uk/mor