TWO MAJOR events will take place this month celebrating Ealing’s status as one of the birthplaces of modern British rock music.

Ealing Blues Festival comes to Walpole Park on July 21, celebrating its 25th anniversary with what organisers say is the biggest incarnation of the event to date.

And an exhibition entitled Ealing – The Birthplace of British Rhythm & Blues, featuring a pictoral history of the borough’s contribution to the country’s musical landscape, will run at Pitzhanger Manor Gallery and House until early August.

There will be three stages at this year’s blues festival, complete with all-weather cover in the event of rain, along with two bars and stalls selling food.

Pianist Ben Waters, whose latest album is a tribute to Rolling Stones mentor and keyboard player Ian Stewart, will give a headline performance.

The event is staying true to its heritage as backline for the festival will be provided by Marshall Amplifiers, the iconic brand originally set up by Jim Marshall, who died this year, in a shop in Hanwell’s Uxbridge Road in the mid-1960s.

The Ealing Cub was the name of a regular music night at what is now The Red Room in Ealing Broadway.

It hosted performances by bands including The Rolling Stones and The Who early on in their careers, and was a hotbed of inspiration a whole generation of artists.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones first ever gig and the start of a seven-month residency at the venue. Ealing is mentioned several times by Rolling Stones guitarist in his best-selling autobiography, Life.

Tickets to this year’s blues festival are £5 and children under 12 can go for free. For more information, visit the website www.ealing.gov.uk/ealingsummer.