A BRAND new festival, which would have seen Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and Katherine Jenkins headline at Bowood House has been cancelled by organisers.

Organisers Boundless and Neil O'Brien Entertainment announced the cancellation yesterday of the concerts scheduled to take place on July 21 and 22.

Swindon band Sunset were shortlisted in a competition to win the chance to perform at the event.

Head of Boundless brand and events, Darren Milton, explained: "It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the cancellation of A Boundless Summer concerts at Bowood House.

"2018 was the first year of Boundless Summer at Bowood House and we wanted to ensure our attendees get the best possible experience.

"Despite working with some exceptional talent and a fantastic venue, with the level of ticket sales, it will not be possible to provide a successful and viable event.

“We made the difficult and necessary decision to ensure our attendees get the best possible experience and, in this instance, we felt we would not be able to provide this given the level of ticket sales.

“For those that have already bought a ticket to the Bowood House concerts, we are offering a free ticket to our concerts at Borde Hill Garden on 7-8 July.

“We would like to reassure ticket holders for our concerts at Borde Hill Garden on 7-8 July that these concerts are going ahead as planned.”

The organisers are offering full refunds to those that already bought tickets, along with free tickets to two concerts at Borde Hill Garden in West Sussex on July 7 and 8 headlined by UB40 and The Gipsy Kings.

Refunds for Bowood House tickets and details on how to claim free tickets to the concerts at Borde Hill Garden can be obtained from the website or box office that the tickets were originally purchased.

The two winners of the Boundless Breaking competition from the Wiltshire area will be offered the opportunity to open the Borde Hill Garden concerts.

A spokesman for Bowood House and Gardens, said: "We are deeply disappointed to learn the news of Boundless and Neil O’Brien Entertainment's decision to cancel their event at Bowood.

"We were all looking forward to welcoming Jools Holland and Katherine Jenkins to Bowood and watching them perform within the beautiful Capability Brown parkland. We know that many people will be extremely disappointed that they are unable to attend the concert due to the event’s poor ticket sales.

"However, we are all set to welcome an audience that’s ready to party on August 4th when Classic Ibiza returns for its second year at Bowood."

For more information, please visit www.boundless.co.uk/bowood.