Dodgy, The Beat, Banco De Gaia For Off The Tracks - Phantom Limb, Moonshee, Also Join Bill…..

Dodgy, The Beat and Banco De Gaia are among the first headlining names announced for Off The Tracks Summer Festival, which takes place from Aug 31-Sept 2 at Park Farmhouse, Isley Walton, Derbyshire.

Also confirmed today are appearances from rising country-rock outfit Phantom Limb and up and coming British-Indian folk collective Moonshee.

Dodgy were initially only together for seven years, but in that time they sold over a million records worldwide, released three albums and 12 Top 40 singles including 'Staying Out For The Summer' and the Top 5 hit 'Good Enough', still a staple of radio playlists. They sold out Brixton Academy three nights in a row and were awarded an unprecedented 90-minute Saturday evening slot on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival in 1997 before headliners Radiohead.

Nigel, Mathew and Andy were brought back together four years ago at a funeral and their latest album 'Stand Upright In A Cool Place' received rave reviews. Deeper and more mature but with bigger choruses and stronger melodies, The Independent said the revived trio were “plying winsome folk-rock harmonies of an American flavour, imbued with a gentle melancholy and the warmth of hard-won experience,” while Mojo called the record “a winning part-pastoral, part 1960s sounding album ... classy.”

Formed in the working class suburbs of industrial Birmingham in England in 1978, The Beat arose at a time of rising unemployment and social upheaval, making their politically-tinged ska just as relevant today. From the outset the band offered messages of hope and peace with an insight into socio-political topics that would later, alongside The Specials, see them heralded as forerunners of the whole 2-Tone Ska movement. Following their revival in 2003, Ranking Roger alongside Everett Morton, Ranking Jnr and Mickey Billingham returned to their roots with deeper rhythms, a wall of sound that transcends time and an unwavering dedication to real unity and love.

Since 1989 Banco de Gaia (aka Toby Marks) has built a stellar reputation for genre cross-pollinisation, injecting Arabic and Middle Eastern samples into ambient dub, bass heavy reggae, rock, or trance rhythms. Hi seminal album Last Train To Lhasa followed Marks travelling the world to collect inspiration, a time in which he joined the Tibet Support Group, part of the International Tibet Independence Movement.

One listen to Phantom Limb and you instantly find yourself transported to that all-too-often unexplored crossroads between country music and old style R&B. This is a band steeped in a tradition where the two genres share their musical DNA. It’s The Staples Singers fronting The Band in The Last Waltz, or Ray Charles striking gold when he made his first country album. New album The Pines is a towering follow-up to their debut, comprising twelve tracks written on the road, on location in rural France and back home in Bristol, and produced by Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford (another clue as to their sound).

Young six-piece Moonshee mix British, Irish and Indian folk cultures, bringing together a world of music but are, in many ways, a classically English band in the sense that they reflect a nation and a musical outlook that sees beyond borders. Moonshee put English music into a global context, tying it in with cultures that have inspired it and been inspired by it, and are a dynamic and exotic live act.

Off The Tracks regulars will also be delighted to welcome back the hilarious jug band antics of The Biggles Wartime Band, making a popular return to the festival.

And for Summer 2012, Off The Tracks will also be unveiling its brand new Second Stage, following the development of a barn on the site. September marks the 24th anniversary of the first Off The Tracks, in September 1988.

Festival director Andy Cooper says: “All the signs are this year that people are increasingly seeing the value of small, independent festivals like Off The Tracks, which promote local resources and make a real contribution to the community. We’re hugely excited about the summer line-up, following the huge success we had with the Spring festival in May.

“With many more artists and attractions to be announced, this promises to be one of the great Off The Tracks Festivals.”

The festival offers more than 40 artists on three stages, impromptu acoustic sessions as well as 80+ real ales, ciders and perries, excellent camping facilities and a relaxed, family friendly atmosphere.  Food on offer includes venison reared in the venue’s own historic deer park.

Advance weekend tickets are priced £70. Advance youth tickets are £40 (12-16 years old). Admission is free for under-12s. All parking and camping is free for advance ticket holders.

Read what FFA thought of last year’s superb event HERE.

More details of Off The Tracks Summer 2012 HERE.