A LOCAL band whose tunes have been compared to the likes of Crowded House and REM will perform at Otley Courthouse next month.

Tenfields, whose songs are inspired by alt-country, contemporary folk and the music of master songwriters like Neil Finn, will take to the stage from 8pm on Friday, July 15.

The band consists of singer-songwriter and musician Rhys Kelly and long-time collaborators Nathan Kelly, on guitars, and Rick Robinson on bass / b-vox.

The current line-up also includes Sandy James on violin and Joe Cox on drums.

Tenfields' debut album Winter Sun - Summer Rain, which was recorded in Leeds and released in November, 2014, attracted a lot of critical praise.

The band's core sound is complemented by a range of instrumentation including pedal steel and banjo (played by Tim Howard) along with mandolin, violin and cello.

Tickets for their Otley show cost £5 in advance or £6 on the door

This August, meanwhile, will see maverick 'string band' musicians The Hot Seats performing at the Courthouse.

The band, based mostly in Richmond, Virginia in the US, broke onto the British scene when they impressed at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival.

They have won a string of awards and were the ‘fave rave’ act at Leicester’s Summer Sundae Festival, 'stand-out crowd pleasers' at Maverick Magazine’s first big summer bash in Suffolk, and have also wowed the crowds at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections.

The band use guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and bass to create original material whose sound owes something to bluegrass, ragtime, country and rock 'n' roll but is distinctly their own.

As they themselves say: "We like to play music, string band music.

"We call it string band music because it's just too tedious to try and get into whether it's old time, bluegrass, ragtime, country, or general freakout music.

"We like to play fast, be funny, spasm, herk and jerk."

The Hot Seats' Courthouse show starts at 8pm on Friday, August 19 and tickets cost £13.

To book a place for these or other forthcoming attractions visit otleycourthouse.org.uk or call (01943) 467466.