Festival on the Field – Harpenden’s largest outdoor music event and fun day out for all the family – is back for a third time.

Tickets go on general release today for the fund-raising festival, which takes place on Saturday July 2.

Festival on the Field proved a big hit in 2014, attracting an audience of well over 2,000 people to enjoy a musical extravaganza that included performances from Madness, One Direction, Katy Perry and Rihanna tribute acts.

Like the show’s award-winning debut four years ago, the 2014 event raised more than £20,000 for projects at the town’s Sir John Lawes and Manland schools and won much praise – this time being shortlisted in the prestigious UK Festival Awards.

Mark Hill, a member of the festival organising committee, said: “The success of Festival on the Field 2014 was a result of the huge effort and support given by parents and teachers from the two school associations. It couldn’t have happened without this support or the sponsorship we received from local businesses. And now we’re doing it all over again in 2016! A team from Sir John Lawes and Manland Primary School are hard at work organising the event, and we know that tickets will be incredibly popular.”

Mark added: “We have confirmed bookings for some outstanding tribute bands and are delighted to announce that Killer Queen, who headlined our 2012 event to such acclaim, have agreed to do so again in 2016. We also have some impressive commercial sponsorship opportunities for the festival and would like to hear from local businesses who are interested in becoming a sponsor for this fantastic event, or who would like to be involved in some other way.”

In 2016, it’s hoped that increased ticket sales will mean some of the proceeds will go to other Harpenden schools as well as Sir John Lawes and Manland.

Two further tribute acts, which will be revealed later this year, will reproduce the sounds of the best and most famous current chart-topping talent from the UK and US.

Tickets can be purchased from the Festival on the Field website and you can get in touch with the festival organisers at festivalonthefield@gmail.com. Get the latest news via the Festival on the Field 2016 Facebook page, or follow on Twitter @FOTFHarpenden.