A new gig venture which looks to highlight local musical talent is set to host its third event in Laxey this weekend.

‘Tunesmiths’ is hosted by Dylan Hanna and Matty Burrows, and has previously displayed musical acts such as Josh Quaye, Harry Roe, Pat Knight, Callum Rowe and Terry George.

The next gig, which will take place at Laxey’s Working Men’s Institute on Friday at 8pm, will feature new artists such as Immy Quirk, Dan Buttimore and Brian Brough.

Talking about why Tunesmiths was formed and where the idea came from, Matty said: ‘After playing open mic nights, we both liked the idea of putting on our own songwriters events.

‘We wholeheartedly believe that original music should be celebrated over here in its own right, and that should be the essence of the evenings.

‘We also wanted to ensure that our gigs gave the artists the utmost respect in terms of crowd manners, which allows the songwriters to play their songs without having to battle it out in a noisy pub on a Saturday night.

‘There is already a couple of songwriters events in the island which are great, as are all the open mics, but I do think that more events like these is a positive thing for the scene as it promotes and documents Manx music and social history.’

The first two gigs proved to be hugely popular, with both selling out after ‘on the door’ sales on the night.

Dylan and Matty are planning to host these events roughly four times a year in the hope that ‘it is an event people will look forward to’.

‘We should always push to make the island’s music scene bigger and better,’ Matty added.

Tickets for Friday’s gig are on sale for £14, and can be purchased by visiting www.skiddle.com/whats-on/isle-of-man/Laxey-Working-Mens-Institute/Tunesmiths--The-Working-Mens-Institute-2803/40749840/