There’s lots to look forward to in 2012

With some of the biggest and best names in music, comedy, theatre and dance on their way - here are some hot tips and great dates that you might want to put in your diary.

For music-lovers, legendary 80s icon Adam Ant is heading to the county with the Good, the Mad and the Lovely Posse to treat The Engine Shed in Lincoln to classic pop anthems such as Prince Charming and Stand And Deliver on Saturday 21st January.

Then, the critically-acclaimed master of folk music Vin ‘The Teesside Troubadour’ Garbutt will be playing here in Gainsborough at the Trinity Arts Centre on Saturday 28th January.

His songwriting covers topics ranging from the exploitation of foreign workers to unemployment, oppression, abortion, deforestation, genocide and much more - earning him the reputation as an award-winning artist and one of the nation’s finest folk singer-songwriters.

To get your heart racing and blood pumping, indie giants Kaiser Chiefs will be playing at the Engine Shed in Lincoln on Tuesday 7th February.

The Leeds five-piece behind chart-topping anthems such as I Predict A Riot, Ruby, Oh My God and Everything Is Average Nowadays are hitting the road following the band’s re-emergence this year with new album The Future Is Medieval, a host of UK festival appearances including a euphoric return to Glastonbury and V Festival.

For all you lovers of the swinging 60s, Joel White and the Esquire will be taking Gainsborough’s Trinity Arts Centre by storm on Saturday 11th February with a rabble-rousing set featuring tracks by the likes on Ray Charles, Georgie Fame, Dusty Springfield and the Spencer Davies Group to name a few.

If theatre is more your thing, then you’re in luck, as the long-awaited What Would Helen Mirren Do has been rescheduled for Saturday 18th February at Gainsborough’s Trinity Arts Centre after being postponed earlier this year.

Care to be scared? Then from 2nd - 3rd February you might enjoy Haunted at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln.

Starring Peter Amory from Emmerdale and Coronation Street’s Paul David Gough, Haunted is a psychological, supernatural and erotic thriller, with comedy. This promises to be a nightmare journey through the mind of a double murderer.

Continuing the spooks, the world-renowned Circus of Horrors returns to the Retford Majestic Theatre on 5th February.

This is the show that rocked Britain’s Got Talent - back with a new and awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping sensation.

Something else that’s a little out-of-the-ordinary can be enjoyed at Lincoln’s Theatre Royal on Thursday 16th February with The Velveteen Rabbit, as Backhand Theatre bring Margery Williams’ beautiful story to life using stunning and realistic puppetry.

If you fancy a laugh? Then the Hoot Comedy Club at Trinity Arts promises a few giggles, with Anthony J Brown returning to headline on Thursday 9th February and Simon Bligh topping the bill on Thursday 8th March.

Comedy-lovers can also enjoy stand-up from the famous and acclaimed Mark Watson at Lincoln Drill Hall on Wednesday 25th January, the legendary Freddie Starr at Lincoln Theatre Royal on Friday 9th March and the controversial and uncensored Jim Davidson at the Retford Majestic on Friday 20th April.

- ARE YOU putting on a show or event in the new year that you want people to know about?

Get in touch and let us know by emailing [email protected] or call 01427 615323