The Bury St Edmunds Festival director has hailed the fact it is on course to hit all its 2016 ticket sales targets as “fantastic news”.

Tickets for violinist Nigel Kennedy – at £65 per person – are sold out and tickets for many more acts have nearly all gone.

For festival director Nick Wells, he said he was looking forward to different parts of the festival for a multitude of different reasons.

“There’s just a lovely buzz around the town when the festival is on,” he said. “I always see familiar faces around. It’s a special time in Bury.”

With a little over two weeks until the nine-day festival starts on May 20, tickets for the winners of BBC’s Naked Choir Sons of Pitches have sold out along with Nigel Kennedy. Tickets have also sold out for several festival walks and recitals featuring Eleanor Turner and Sally Beck.

Mr Wells tipped Irish musician Nathan Carter as the next act expected to sell out. Tickets are also selling fast for The Sixteen and Foden’s Band, while the concerts with jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine, Aurora Orchestra and Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra are also attracting a lot of interest, according to organisers.

The nine days will be a hectic period for the festival director, as he rushes to take in as many performances as possible.

“During the festival I try to stick my head into pretty much everything even if it’s to just get a flavour of everything,” said Mr Wells. “I will be dashing all over the place. It will be amazing having Nigel Kennedy in Bury.”

So far, Mr Wells said ticket sales had matched his expectations.

“For every single event I put my own target on and lots have gone way past their targets so on the whole it’s pretty fantastic,” he said. “I’m well on schedule to hit all my targets.”

He added: “We had a fantastic start to festival ticket sales this year and the programme has been attracting a lot of interest from across the region. There are still seats left but I’d urge people to book now as some events are selling fast.”

Mr Wells recommended several family-friendly events at the festival, including free street theatre in Abbey Gardens and the Piper of Hamelin Children’s Opera performed by the National Youth Music Theatre. Book tickets at www.buryfestival.co.uk, call 01284 758000 or visit The Apex.