A popular music and arts festival has announced this year's line-up.

Chesil Rocks music and arts festival held at Higher Farm House in Langton Herring will once again be raising money for Samaritans of Dorset.

The festival is set take place over three days from Thursday, June 20 to Saturday, June 22 and this year's acts have now been announced.

The event is hosted by Tim and Hilary Warren, who organise the event with the support of a band of volunteers and boosted by kind-hearted local sponsors.

Since the event began in 2012 it has raised £108,000 for the Samaritans Dorset branch, which relies on donations to support their annual budget of £40,000.

Dorset Echo: Last year's event raised almost £20,000 for the SamaritansLast year's event raised almost £20,000 for the Samaritans (Image: Nataliia Honcharenko)

A spokesperson for the event said:  “Following our events last year, we were able to give the Dorset branch of Samaritans £18,000 - nearly half of their annual budget and enabling them to focus less on fundraising and more on what they do best.

"We would like to convey our sincere thanks to those who will be volunteering for us this year to keep us safe, and to our sponsors RiskStop Group Ltd, Symonds & Sampson, MN Walker and 3SC Scaffolding Group, farmer Robert Mayo, Dorset Wood Fired Pizza and one sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous – but we know who you are.”

Kicking off the festival on the Thursday is a comedy night compared by Tom Glover and will feature comedians James Ellis, Louise leigh and Nathan Caton and guests will receive a pizza during the interval courtesy of Dorset Wood Fired Pizza.

Dorset Echo: Chesil Rocks is now in its 11th year after starting in 2012Chesil Rocks is now in its 11th year after starting in 2012 (Image: Nataliia Honcharenko)

On the Friday evening, a prelude of classical music and opera will take place, where guests will be encouraged to dress up for the occasion and be greeted with a complimentary glass of Prosecco on arrival.

They will also be able to wander around the grounds of the Higher Farmhouse and will be treated to magic from Chris Howat and a concert from pianist Duncan Honeybourne.

During the interval, guests will be treated to an Asian supper and more magic. To complete the evening, guests will then experience wonderful opera and lighter pieces from internationally renowned tenor John Hudson.

The main Chesil Rocks event on Saturday, June 22 features guitar duo Trip Guitars, Evolution Dance Studio, singer songwriter Chris Davies, a variety of music from The Venn, the Portesham Ukulele Band under the musical direction of Sam Brown, sea shanties from Dorset Wrecks, hip-hop from Chima 101, funk from Vanilla Radio, a variety of music from Steve Wilson and the Innocent Bystanders, rock covers from the Balance of Power, reggae from London-based Jamaicans Royal Sounds and the return of the London Gay Men's Chorus. 

Tickets are available from the Chesil Rocks website www.chesilrocks.com