Pop rock band The Hoosiers have been confirmed to play at a popular music festival held in memory of a Sudbury teenager.
The Smile Festival will be held on July 20 at AFC Sudbury in tribute to Arran Tosh, who died in 2015 from a brain tumour aged just 13 years old.
The Hoosiers formed in 2003 and their first single Worried About Ray reached number five in the UK charts in July 2007.
In October the same year, the band released their debut album The Trick to Life, which got to the top spot in the album charts.
Since then the pop rockers have released three more studio albums – The Illusion of Safety in 2010, The News from Nowhere in 2014, and The Secret Service in 2015.
Also confirmed at the festival is Just Jack, who had a smash hit in 2007 with ‘Starz In Their Eyes’, and Sahara Snow, who has featured on Radio 1.
The festival has been organised by Arran’s sister Abbie and her partner James Price and returns two years after being launched in 2017.
All the money raised will go to The Smile of Arran Trust, which was set up by Arran’s family after his death and has since raised more than £200,000.
The money has gone towards brain tumour and cancer research, as well as a grant system for families with children suffering from the conditions.
Arran was a pupil at Hedingham school in Halstead, near Sudbury, when he was diagnosed with cancer following a routine eye test.
The youngster would often busk on Sudbury high street to raise money for Cancer Research.
Abbie said: “He was such a loveable boy with the biggest smile. We wanted to organise an event that would bring people together, where Arran’s story can be shared through an event that includes a little of his personality.
“Obviously we want to raise as much as we can but in a way the most important thing about the festival is that we raise awareness of the charity through something which Arran loved.”
More information about the festival and line-up can be found at www.smilefestival.co.ukFor more details about the work of the trust, visit www.smileofarran.org
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