A NORTH-EAST band will share the stage with top acts at a North-East music festival following a successful year.

Last year, Hartlepool band Mercedes, fronted by husband-and-wife team Sharon and Mark Pinchen, were playing on the stage for local bands at the event.

This year's Middlesbrough Music Live concert will see them become one of the first local acts to take their place on the 96.6TFM main stage, sharing the spotlight with San Francisco-inspired Irish rockers The Thrills.

Promoter Graham Ramsay, whose company Ten Feet Tall books Music Live's acts for organisers Middlesbrough Council, said: "Mercedes have become such a success story that the main stage was really the only place for them this year. They have a huge, overwhelming sound that is absolutely perfect for a big festival like this."

Mr Pinchen said: "The bands that play the main stage have a fantastic profile and it really is an honour for us to be playing the same stage. It's going to be a day to remember and, who knows, it could even top our appearance at the Reading and Leeds festivals a few years back."

Middlesbrough Music Live takes place on Sunday, June 19. For more details, visit www.middlesbroughmusiclive.co.uk