DEVOTIONAL music traditions from the East and West are being celebrated in Stroud this weekend.

Bands from a variety of spiritual traditions - including Judaism, Sufi-Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Druidism – will perform at the Sacred Music Festival on Saturday.

Organisers hope to bring together people from all walks of life – interfaith, no faith, all traditions - in a celebration of diversity and unity.

Stroud businessman and musician Girish Patel, and Rev Simon Howell, of Holy Trinity Church, had the idea for the festival last year.

“We decided to pursue this goal, of using the arts as the medium to bring people together, from all sections of the community, in an act of peace,” said Girish.

As Pioneer Minister in Stroud, Rev Simon’s job includes imagining a new kind of church-community in the heart of Stroud’s diverse spiritual cultures.

Girish is the director of the Stroud-based multi-faith, multi-cultural, devotional band - the Raga Babas.

This band, in microcosm, encapsulates the ethos of the Sacred Music Festival - a sharing of devotional musical traditions and the promotion of understanding and friendship.

The festival starts at midday on the forecourt of the Sub Rooms, with the RSVP Bhangra Band, followed by a procession to St Laurence Church.

There the festivities continue, with afternoon singing workshops, and the main concert at 6pm.

www.sacredmusicfestival.org.uk