World-famous stars and local music heroes will appear at two crowd-pulling shows this weekend.

Maldon’s Promenade Park is set to host two huge festivals for the community.

First up is the popular Soultasia on Friday, June 17.

The festival will celebrate a lifetime of soul and disco, featuring music from four decades of legendary performers.

Hosted by Ian Reading and DJ Darren Bull, it will showcase artists such as Billy Ocean, Sister Sledge, Shalamar, and The Real Thing.

The event is from 4.30pm to 10.30pm at Promenade Park and tickets are available at bit.ly/39exWqw.

Following this, there is the return of the popular Fantasia on June 18, which features an array of stars, including one of the world’s most famous pop bands.

Thousands of fans are expected to head to the venue for the event after the success of last year.

About 10,000 festival-goers were in attendance when In The Park Concerts and Maldon District Council staged the Fantasia festival last July.

It will again feature some of the biggest and most loved pop acts and music from the 80s, 90s and Noughties.

Among the big-name acts is one of the world’s most famous music families, The Jacksons.

The Jacksons consist of original members Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon but are sometimes a trio when Jermaine, who lives in Bahrain, can’t make it.

The Jackson brothers, known originally as The Jackson 5 and later The Jacksons, rose to fame for their combination of musical talent and choreography, and provided the launch pad for who would become their “King of Pop” brother Michael Jackson’s legendary solo career.

Also set to perform at Fantasia are Bjorn Again, Sabrina Washington from Mis-Teeq, and 2010 X-Factor winner Matt Cardle.

Matt, who grew up near Halstead, saw his debut single When We Collide reach the top spot a week after claiming the X Factor title in 2010.

Matt’s song sold 439,000 copies to see off competition from a number of Facebook-led campaigns, including Rihanna Ft Drake, and the original version of the single by Biffy Clyro.

Festival tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/3MEpUop.