Friday August 23rd – Sunday 25th Duncombe Park, Helmsley, N. Yorkshire

Now in its ninth year, the little festival that started life at the back of The Durham Ox in Crayke, returns in its regular August Bank Holiday slot but at a fabulous new venue, set in several hundred acres of parkland and with the backdrop of the Baroque mansion of Duncombe Park.
The Stranglers are confirmed to headline on Sunday 25th August, closing the three-day event, Festival director James Houston said: “It will be a fabulous end to this year’s festival at our spectacular new home.”
Joining them, Irish punk-poppers The Undertones – the band famous for John Peel favourite, ‘Teenage Kicks’, will be playing gems such as, Jimmy Jimmy’, and  ‘Here Comes The Summer’ as well as some equally excellent new material.
This news follows the recent Maximo Park announcement for the Saturday and Glastonbury band Reef will headline the opening night. York prodigy Benjamin Francis Leftwich will play the Duke Stage, also on the on Friday, playing his hauntingly beautiful music to the Galtres Festival audience for the first time.
Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell will be also be heading for Helmsley with Frankie & the Heartstrings and they join headliners Maximo Park on the Saturday night, with Lloyd Cole and Nick Harper. More than 100 bands will play Galtres Festival which last year, was nominated for six UK Festival Awards.
Combining seven stages of music and cabaret, more than 100 fine beers and ciders all from Yorkshire (from Black Sheep Ale to Ampleforth Abbey Cider), excellent local produce catering (from Whitby Scampi to Yorkshire Puds), loads for kids to do from film making to music workshops, and all in a beautiful rural setting … spacious grassy parkland, woodland, beautiful riverside camping and fantastic access roads all around the estate.
Galtres was shortlisted by UK Festival Awards for last year’s magnificent Knights & Dragons theme – how could we better that, except by going with Pirates & Crocodiles!
Galtres remains as a festival with admirable environmental and conservation policies and continues to pride itself as among the greenest. It is run by a mix of volunteers and professionals raising money for local charities, and appears to have found the perfect balance featuring major headliners and making room for local artists – never too big for its boots and certain not to sell-out to the music promotion equivalent of Tescos.
“We trust this gem of a festival to restore our faith in having fun in a field”
Supajam ’10 best festivals of 2013’

tickets are on sale now at http://www.galtresfestival.org.uk/

By Andy on June 26, 2013