It may be closer to York than to Leeds, but this year’s Galtres Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend boast one of the finest line-ups of West Yorkshire bands ever assembled.

The festival is opened on Friday by the wonderful Arthur Rigby and the Baskervylles, followed closely by Hope & Social warming everyone up for The Buzzcocks and Ocean Colour Scene.

 Hot on their heels on Saturday and ‘dripping with poppy modern folk credibility’ (The Line of Best Fit), Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent competition winners Ellen & The Escapades play the main stage - before The Guillemots and ASH.

Jon Gomm is a virtuoso guitarist and singer songwriter from Leeds, currently in the midst of an (almost) world tour. Following Stephen Fry’s endorsement to his legion of online followers, Jon’s single Passionflower received over 2 and a half million views on Youtube. Jon remains a resolutely truly independent artist. He is headlining The Solid Air Sessions on Saturday which features some of the best guitarists in the country, including Kit Holmes also from Leeds.

Fossil Collective, are a stunning two-piece from Leeds - ‘All rich acoustic tones and country-laced harmonies.. a readymade soundtrack for the heatwave’ (Clash).

 Closing the event on Sunday, Aelfen are one of four Wakefield bands playing this year bringing their dynamic and infectious tunes and songs and fittingly, Pontefract’s Three Sheets T’Wind will play from songs from their first album, “Tales from the West Riding”, supporting the Men They Couldn’t Hang on the Oxman Stage, after Adam Ant, Seth Lakeman and Billy Bragg have stood and delivered on the Duke Stage

The complete list of West Yorkshire artists playing the seven stages at Galtres looks like this:

 Hope & Social,

Arthur Rigby & the Baskervylles

Ellen & the Escapades,

Fossil Collective

Jon Gomm,

Kit Holmes,

Bootscraper,

Gary Stewart

Marc Otway,

Rupert Stroud,

Monkey Anna,

Handmadehands

Sarah Horn and James Cudworth (Wakefield),

Three Sheets T'Wind (Pontefract),

Steve Chapman Smith (Wakefield)

Roger Davies (Brighouse),

Josh Fowley (Wakefield),

Feeds (Huddersfield)

Said festival director James Houston: “Galtres is a true flavour of Yorkshire, with all of our 100 beers, food and family entertainment coming from our fine county. Our talent scouts have been truly impressed by the quality of music coming out West Yorkshire in recent years, and the number of bands we’ve picked this year from Leeds and around is quite something! It’s going to be a cracking festival, yet again.”

Galtres is now one of the best festival weekends of the year, and one of the best priced too with family weekend tickets just £250 or family day tickets £160 (2 adults plus three children aged 5-15 - under 5s free). An adult weekend ticket costs £90

 Use the discount code BEHINDCLOSEDDOORS921 at checkout in the online shop to get up to £15 off your entry ticket - and using this code will also fund the Leeds-based charity supporting victims of domestic abuse.

Some modern interpretations of the York Mystery Plays will be there too, along with members of the York Theatre Royal's Youth Theatre who will be performing ‘Small Fry’ by Neil Duffield – 30 minutes of dragon-themed fun!

Full details of Galtres 2012 are available HERE.