The ninth Tenby Blues Festival kicks off today (Friday) and it's shaping up to be the best one ever  say organisers.

And that's perhaps no surpriseas the festival recently won the Gold Award for Best Event at the Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards.

It looks like Saturday's headline gig at the De Valence, featuring Andy Fairweather Low, is set to sell out but don’t worry as there are plenty of other great acts to see over the weekend, including more than 20 performers on the legendary Blues Trail which is completely free.

Details of the other events, and ticket availability, can be found on the festival webiste at www.tenbyblues.co.uk.

The festival kicks off at 5pm today (Friday) at the Fourcroft Hotel where there will be a special concert for the Friends of the Festival. Anyone can become a friend for the price of admission.

For that they get a welcoming drink, a snazzy shiny badge, special offers for the 2015 festival and a performance from Adam Franklin – a man who plays old time blues and jazz laced with a sly wit. He’s been described as a cross between Robert Johnson and Joe Strummer.

If you can’t get into the De Valence on Saturday, just down the road in the Rugby Club there’ll be an intimate show from two of the rising stars of British blues. First up will be the sensational vocalist Bella Collins with support from her band The Blue. She will be followed on stage by Lucy Zirins.

According to Lucy: “I’m getting more into soul, jazz, folk and country, and really beginning to find my own sound as a songwriter and performer and I think that’s really important. There are only two types of music – good and bad – and I want to write good strong songs that make people feel something. I want to leave a stamp on peoples’ hearts; the way Eva Cassidy, Aretha Franklin and Carole King did on mine.”

Michael Messer, a veteran of the UK Blues scene and who produced Lucy’s last album, observed: “I have not seen a young girl play and sing blues like Lucy since Jo Ann Kelly, Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams started their careers.”

And of course there are two marvellous events on the Friday and Sunday evenings.

Also tonight in the De Valence, headliners Virgil and the Accelerators are set to rock, rock, and rock some more, performing songs from their acclaimed Army of Three album. Forget clichéd notions of the blues as old guys playing the banjo on a back porch and crying into their beer for Virgil and his band are a power trio barely out of their teens who play hard rocking blues in the vein of Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Thin Lizzy, or Gary Moore.

Supporting them will be another youngster, Blues Boy Dan Owen, who comes recommended by his mentor Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac).

Dan has travelled to Nashville to record with Grammy award-winning producer Vance Powell (Kings Of Leon, Jack White, Willie Nelson).

In 2013, he performed at Glastonbury, and toured the world as support to ZZ Top. You’ll find it hard to believe the amazing voice that comes out of such a young, innocent looking chap!

Finally, the finale, on Sunday at the Rugby Club.

Traditionally a good time event, it’s a winding down by gearing up, by the evening’s end there’s barely a dry sock in the house. Helping music lovers on their way will be the Mardy Jug Band playing old timey acoustic jazz and blues on what seems like homemade instruments.

They’ll be followed by Glas, fresh from appearing at London’s legendary 100 Club, to unleash a set that mixes blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, country, surf rock and a few genres yet to be invented in a veritable twang fest of fun.

Don't miss it.