Yorkshire to host BBC Music Live

Jazz musician Courtney Pine is billed for Music Live

The line up for this year's BBC Music Live, which takes place on 24-28 May, includes Mary Chapin Carpenter, Courtney Pine and Russell Watson.

The festival will take place around Leeds, Bradford and York and will feature more than 100 concerts from more than 50 venues over five days.

Multiple-Grammy award winner country diva Carpenter is the undoubted headline act as she kicks off her UK tour from the Barbican Centre in York.

Yorkshire folk star Kate Rusby will appear

But home-grown talent like tenor Watson, folk-star Kate Rusby and Jools Holland will also perform.

Last year BBC Music Live was a special festival for the Millennium, with 5,000 music events and culminating in a 24-hour music marathon around the UK.

The festival culminated in a mass rendition of Lou Reed's Perfect Day.

Some 750,000 people attended street festivals for the event and a further 120,000 people turned out to 26 special BBC concerts.

Given the success of the events the BBC decided to make the festival an annual event.

In the past BBC Music Live has visited Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester.

Rap meets classical

In addition to live music, BBC Radio 1 will visit Yorkshire.

Tim Westwood will bring his Rap Show and Steve Lamacq will host a Lamacq Live special from Leeds Town Hall.

Radio 1 are also arranging an exclusive live link from the Homelands Dance Event to one of Leeds' top clubs.

World music, jazz, classical, contemporary and early music will also be represented with performances from The Tallis Scholars, the BBC Philharmonic, Jagit Singh and Hugh Masekela.