MUSIC lovers are rallying to help save Rattan and Rush's famous Acoustic Tearoom at Kirkby Stephen as a venue for live music.

New legislation, which comes into force on November 24, means the teashop - which hosts live folk music evenings each month - has had to apply for a licence and make safety alterations specified by the area's fire officer, work costing £3,000 to carry out.

Owners Penny and Paul Rock have run the Rattan and Rush Tearooms for 17 years, and live music at their Acoustic Tearoom evenings for ten years, without incident. Under the old rules, duos and solo artists did not come under the same legislation as groups playing live. But the new licensing laws mean all places where live entertainment takes place, regardless of the size of the group, must have a licence.

Paul said: "Because we are not licensed premises, we didn't think we needed a licence at first. But now we have had to start from scratch. The changes needed to satisfy the fire officer will cost £3,000 and the annual licence £200."

Penny added: "We didn't want to be here without music. It is what we are known for and what we do.

"We started our live music evenings some years ago with some dear friends who were in the music business, and as a result have met some lovely people in the process, without whom none of this would have been possible.

"It is an ideal venue for the up close and acoustic artists who take a pride in their craft and who love an intimate atmosphere with their audience. This makes for a very special evening.

"The evenings are held once, maybe twice a month, and start at 7.45pm. We provide a home-cooked supper and once the food is out of the way it's time for the artists to do their stuff. We aim to get them on stage for 9.30pm for their first set and break for coffee about 10.15pm. We break for about 20 minutes and then it's back on stage to finish off the evening.

"Some of the artists who have performed at our spot over the years include Vin Garbutt, Acoustic Strawbs, Boo Hewerdine, Helen Watson, Kieran Halpin, Show of Hands, James Keelaghan, Colum Sands and many more.

"We can seat a maximum of 65, but 60 is ideal and ticket prices range from £19 to £20 at the moment. We do not have a drinks licence so people bring their own wine or whatever. The evenings are very popular and we have artists booked in up to 2007. We were determined to keep music live here, but we didn't want to put our prices up too much to pay for everything, so we decided to ask ourcustomers for their support and help to raise the £3,000 and it's not just the generosity of giving to the appeal that has meant so much to us, but also the words of encouragement and support. We would like to thank everyone for their support the local people, visitors and musicians who play here. Boo Hewerdine, who played here recently, is one of the UK's top song-writers. He donated ten of his live CDs to us to sell to raise money for the fund."

Paul added: "We will underwrite the cost of the work that must be done for us to get our licence, and two days after the new regulations come in Rod Clements of Lindisfarne is due to play here."

If you would like to help the Rattan and Rush Acoustic Tearooms appeal, call into the venue at Kirkby Stephen Market Street or log onto their website for more information and a full line-up of gigs at www.acoustictearoom.co.uk.