Music will be "back with a bang" next year when Sound City Ipswich returns with a new name.

The music festival has announced it will come back in June 2023 with nearly 80 artists expected to play over two days.

The last Sound City Ipswich, which took place in October 2021, was a great success, bringing to town 60 bands and solo performers.

For three years the festival worked in partnership with Liverpool Sound City and announced it will move forward independently, with its new name to be announced soon.

Joe Bailey, the director of Sound City Ipswich and the Smokehouse music venue, said: “We're looking to come back with a bang and show Ipswich in the best light. The event will continue bringing big bands into Ipswich and showcasing them from the same venues as we did in 2019.

Ipswich Star: Mr Bailey is also festival director of Sound City, a music festival in IpswichMr Bailey is also festival director of Sound City, a music festival in Ipswich (Image: CHARLOTTE BOND)

“We're all really excited and looking forward to a new chapter under our own steam. Now it’s the time to spread our wings and go on to even greater things.”

The director said that the festival’s mission is to highlight Ipswich as a great touring and musical destination and to showcase local and regional artists.

The Bath's venue, formerly known as St Matthew's Bath Hall, was reborn as a gig location for the 2021 festival.

Mr Bailey added: “It’s really important to us to bring in bigger names and give people new memories rather than having to think about when Led Zeppelin came to town in 1971. They need to be talking about the current festivals, what's happening now and what's going to happen in the future.”

The full list of 78 bands and the dates of the festival are going to be announced soon.

The organisers of Sound City Ipswich aim to connect local young people with the town, as well as bring new people from different places around the UK to Ipswich.

The festival started in 2019 and since then has been attracting new artists and audiences to Ipswich.

Revealing the news online, the team thanked Sound City Liverpool for being a key part of the journey and giving them an "incredible opportunity" to reimagine live music in the town.

More information about the festival can be found on Sound City Ipswich website.