KEYNSHAM is gearing up for its annual music festival next month which is expected to attract up to 20,000 visitors.

Set in the town's riverside Memorial Park, the event attracts some of the best bands and performers in the region and beyond.

With four stages, stalls, a creative arena organised by local artists, real ales, organic cider and a commitment to be either local or Fair Trade, there is a lot to see and do.

Troy Ellis and the Longshots will get the party started on the Top Stage. Frontman Troy, from Kingston, Jamaica, the son of legendary reggae star Alton Ellis, will be performing with his big band.

The Venezuelan Pig Rustlers, a rock and blues band, will also be appearing on the Top Stage. They cover Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hendrix and ZZ Top.

Other bands include Fastest to Canada, who have been compared to the Grateful dead with their guitar solos. There will also be a rare chance to see Lorraine Ayensu, who uses British, African and American music to create her own global influenced songs.

Bristol's premier dance floor titans The Hit Ups will be appearing, along with Psycho Baby, a female- fronted four-piece rock band from the city.

El Mahico is a five-piece band mixing Cuban/Latin music, UK hiphop and soul with DJ scratching skills and tricks. And critically acclaimed Ska band The Communicators began playing tracks from the Specials, Bad Manners and Madness. As their audiences have grown, so has their repertoire – finally culminating in the launch of their debut original album, Care in the Communicators.

Bands appearing on the TimeOut Stage include Roxybeatz featuring singer Jeri Sumner – Sting's niece, acoustic group Gecko, and blues and rock outfit Port Bandanas who won a Battle of the Bands competition.

Their upbeat funk and blues has won a strong local following, they have had tracks played on local radio and have had more than 2,000 Myspace plays.

Other groups booked are Bare Threads, The Rusticles, Hope Remains Lost, The Operation, NYA and Onoffswitch.

Then there's the Fairtrade River Stage where the Keynsham Brass Band will play a varied programme including marches, jazz arrangements, and popular film themes.

Rising star Bashema, whose first CD Writer's Block was released on local record label Jelli Records, will be singing on the River Stage along with singer songwriter Alex Taylor, who has been compared to the likes of Damien Rice.

Stringbeans Quartet will be performing everything from Bach to The Beach Boys and Eileen Johanna, who could not come to last year's festival because of illness, plans to make up for it this time.

Spanish four-piece flamenco- rumba band, Patio Primo whose upbeat repertoire encompasses Spanish original and cover material, have been booked as have Seagull Strange, an inventive Bristol pop band, and Madness of King George, from Windmill Hill, who were brought together by a shared passion for East European music, cheap vodka and hats.

Technically the July 5 festival is a free event, but £2 donations will be gratefully received.

For full programme details, visit www.keynshammusicfestival.co.uk