Bury, Greater Manchester The 2008 Mercury Music Prize winning group "Elbow", fronted by Guy Garvey, hails from Bury and in 2009 the group was awarded the Freedom of the Borough after their 2008 classic album "Seldom Seen Kid" won several accolades including a Brit Award and Mercury Prize. Bury hosts several music festivals yearly, including the 'Glaston-Bury' festival on the August bank holiday weekend, and the Ramsbottom Music Festival, closing the festival season in mid September. While Glaston-Bury hosts mainly local/upcoming bands, Ramsbottom Music Festival hosts a wider range of talent, including bands such as "Soul 2 Soul" and "The Proclaimers". The festival
The Mercury Program intricate and groove-led with many categorizing them as post-rock. After the release of 'Confines of Heat' in 2003, The Mercury Program took a much needed break. Then over the next several years they worked on new material in a much more relaxed manner. But in October 2006, the band got back together and recorded a new record with Andy Baker in Athens GA. This much anticipated new record, named "Chez Viking" was released November 24, 2009 on Lovitt Records. As of December 19, 2013, The Mercury Program had finished mixing their 4th album which was expected to be released in