Art Brut added to bill!

Flamboyant art-punk superstars Art Brut have been announced as an additional Sunday night headliner for this year’s Indietracks. The festival takes place at the Midland Railway in Ripley, Derbyshire on July 24-26.

The band will join headliners Teenage Fanclub, Camera Obscura, Rose Elinor Dougall, Emmy the Great and Au Revoir Simone at this year’s festival. Over 50 bands will play across four stages, with other bands playing including BMX Bandits, Lucky Soul, Frank and Walters, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, Butcher Boy and Manhattan Love Suicides.

Art Brut are fronted by the charismatic and controversial Eddie Argos, once described by the NME as “Britain’s best post-Jarvis pop star”. The band lit up the music world in 2004 with classic pop singles ‘Formed A Band’ and ‘Good Weekend’, and recently released their third album, the confident and confrontational ‘Art Brut vs Satan’, produced by The Pixies’ Frank Black.

Helene, described by ex-Cocteau Twins and Bella Union head honcho Simon Raymonde as the ‘greatest lyricist in Britain right now’, and acclaimed Berlin electro-rock duo Stereo Total have also just been added to the bill. The full band timetable and stage times can now be viewed at http://www.indietracks.co.uk/Pages/schedule.html

This year, Indietracks will also introduce its ‘Workshop Wigwam’, hosting a wide range of fun activities. Festival-goers will have the chance to make jewellery with the cult label Tatty Devine, write a song with The Smittens’ Colin Clary, get crafty with the Craft Guerrillas and The Bunty Collective, find out about making clothes with Eithne Farry, and win some serious prizes in the poptastic pop quiz! You can view the workshop timetable at http://www.indietracks.co.uk/Pages/workshops.html

This is the third ever Indietracks festival. The site houses a whole range of lovingly restored steam diesels and locomotives. Festival goers are allowed to have unlimited rides on the steam railway over the weekend and full access to other railway attractions including a farm and museum.

This year, Indietracks is teaming up with legendary Elefant Records as part of the indiepop label’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The Madrid-based label, which was launched by Luis Calvo in 1989, has picked a number of bands to play on a special Elefant stage over the course of the weekend.Weekend tickets cost £55, day tickets cost £30 and both are available to buy from Ticketweb or by calling the railway direct on 01773 747 674.