Reef, Maximo Park and local bands star in Galtres Festival

They say with Galtres on our doorsteps who needs Glastonbury. Well the Northerner to Southerner ratio will be strongly in our favour, there’ll certainly be a finer selection of ales – not to mention a shorter queue for the toilets – and with weekend tickets only £95 (about the third of the price of Glasto) you’ll have the extra money to indulge your inner alcoholic.

Seriously, where would you rather spend the August Bank Holiday weekend? Leeds fest? Please.

Now in it’s ninth year, Galtres Festival started life as Crayke Village Real Ale Festival way back in 2005, where 500 fans saw not one but two performances by The Ebor Morris Dancers, and there was a raffle before headline act The Dangleberries took to the stage.

Relocated to Duncombe Park at Helmsley, the Galtres Parklands Festival, to give it its Sunday name, runs from Friday, August 23 to Sunday, August 25.

Despite dropping the words “real ale” from the title, this is still very much the festival for booze and food fans, with numerous bars serving the finest local ales and a plethora of eateries to ensure you line your stomach accordingly – drink responsibly folks!

You’ll be as disappointed as me to find that The Dangleberries haven’t been booked for a return slot this year, instead headliners Reef, Maximo Park, The Undertones and The Stranglers will have to suffice.

Something that sets Galtres apart from everybody else is their complete inability to ignore local talent. It’s very much a case of the national acts being slotted in around our local favourites. Festival organiser, James Houston, says certain acts, presumably Boss Caine, Dave Ward Maclean and the like, have become “part of the furniture.” It wouldn’t be Galtres without them.

One local act that’s crossed into national talent territory, whose music you’ll recognise from every single episode of Made In Chelsea ever, is the unmistakable Benjamin Francis Leftwich who returns this year to play The Duke Stage. Other York acts include Littlemores, who need to get signed sharpish otherwise I fear drummer Jack Williams will resign himself to life as a waiter, Aelfen, aka Sarah Horn, and the wholly delightful Holly Taymar.

With a lineup this good, and a fair few acts still to be announced tickets are selling quickily. The whole lineup and more information is available on their website.

But why not listen to our Spotify playlist to give you a taste of what’s in store?