A BAND that has appeared at just about every major festival in the UK, Virginian livewires The Hot Seats, return to these shores this month for their eighth tour here.

Major crowd-pleasers, they have played events such as Celtic Connections, HebCeltFest, Shetland Folk Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where they picked up the biggest accolade possible - a Herald Angel - for their outstanding contribution to the event following a sell-out run at The Famous Spiegeltent.

On this visit they play three major UK summer festivals as well as a string of add-on tour dates that includes a show Otley Courthouse on Friday, August 19.

The band’s fiery brand of blistering Appalachian old-time mixed with left of centre bluegrass and a sprinkling of their own compositions – and a healthy dash of sharp wit - has won them fans around the world. It happens every time they hit the stage. Last time they toured here, reviewers showered them with praise. “They’re brilliant,” said Maverick magazine, while The Herald described the show as “sensational” and Rock ‘n’ Reel magazine said simply: “Astounding!”

Back home in the USA they have picked up attention from some of the media big boys too, The Washington Post applauding their performance as “old-time music with attitude.”