The Beast Chorus. I’ve seen the Beast Chorus play in London 2 times and at Glastonbury this year on the BBC ‘introducing’ stage. They’re signed to Bumpman records (The Hawley Arms label). They’ve a bluesy folks sound but filthy and coarse round the edges. Fans of Nick Cavern or The White Stripes would appreciate this band. Catch them at Greenbelt Holiday in Cheltenham, 25th Aug or at Grassroots Holiday in Peterborough 6th Sep. The Wave Photographs have been together for a quite a long while and the last year has seen them gigging more and release ‘Instant Coffee Baby’ on Moshi. You can catch them at The End of the Road Holiday in Sep and I’d expect by the end of this summer they’ll be huge.

The Wave Photos have been one of my favorite bands of the current year and I actually believe in their world domination potential. They are really brilliant. The Runaway Boys are another band about to explode. Lead frontman Jim Gipson had been solo for roughly a year and had supported Bert Jansch and been on tour with Richard Hawley. Early this year he formed The Runaway Boys with best friends Andy Gaines, Benn Chord and Claude Trejonis. The Runaway Boys play bluesy rock and Jims voice has been compared to both Buckley’s, Gram Parsons and Robert Plant. Their live performance is always fantastic.

They have lately supported MGMT, Feeder and had a residency at Proud Studios, Camden. Catch them at V Holiday, 16th Aug at Chelmsford and 17th at Stafford. Rosie Oddie and the Strange Squad are one of the most engaging new bands on the scene currently. The sound is unique, well made pop which will be filling indie dance floors across the land extraordinarily shortly. They stand aside from their peers in some ways, one of the most clear being Rosie’s peerless dress sense which has caught bazaar mags eye as well as many papers, winning much admiration. They had singles released on Bloody terrible Poetry’s label and you’ll be able to catch them at Bestival this summer.

Mumford and Sons are a part of the new West London folk’s scene, which includes Noah and the Whale who are set for increasing success, and Laura Marling who was lately designated for the Mercury Prize.

Marcus Mumford fronts the band (and drums for Laura Marling), the tracks are full and sublime and stunning. Hear the beautiful ‘White Blank Page’ and you may fall madly in love with Mumford and Boys instantly. They also will be decorating the End of the Road holiday to offer the crowds a heavenly bluegrass, folk’s experience.