A ROCK festival showcasing national and local bands is coming to the heart of Trowbridge.

MiniFest 2008, taking place in Trowbridge Civic Hall on August 16 and 17, is a local event with both national and homebred bands.

Organised by Trowbridge 27-year-old Sam Robson, with support from Trowbridge Town Council and sponsored by local website design firm WebCreation UK, the festival is putting Trowbridge on the musical map.

Headlining at the event is Fightstar, a four-piece rock band from London formed in 2003 by Charlie Simpson, formerly of boy band Busted.

Cult of Luna, Devil Sold His Soul, Architects and Frank Turner are just some of the other bands to be confirmed for the line-up this year.

Organiser Sam Robson said: "You have to build up a bit of trust and respect with band agents for them to be able to rely on you and be confident that you will put on a quality festival."

Trowbridge Town Council is backing the festival and the council's technical manager Karl Buckingham is supporting Mr Robson.

He said: "It's a massive event for Trowbridge as well as being a bit out of the ordinary."

Trowbridge firm WebCreation UK, based in Fore Street, is sponsoring the event.

WebCreation's Leon Millard, said: "Sam's been a friend for a long time and all of us at WebCreation love the concept behind MiniFest and what he's doing with it."

To book tickets visit seetickets.com or call (01225) 762439. For more information about the festival visit minifest2008.com