In an Easter present to fans, Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (5th/6th August) has announced Echo & The Bunnymen are to headline the event’s second stage on Friday 5th August, and Scots indie stars Frightened Rabbit will take the same slot on Saturday 6th August.

Also announced for the event are: Anna Calvi, who headlines the nationwide Emerge NME Radar tour in May; Ed Sheeran, the singer-songwriter who is causing a sensation with sell-out shows;  singer-songwriter Teddy Thomson who will headline the Black Isle Brewery Grassroots Stage on the Friday; hip-hop and beat-box artist MC Xander; urban folk exponents Young Rebel Set; Birdy, whose cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’ has propelled her into the charts at the age of 15; world acoustic band and festival favourites 3 Daft Monkeys; Scots legends Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire; Glasgow-based singer Emile Sande; cult Glasgow ska punk veterans, The Amphetameanies; Glasgow folk-rock sextet, Wooden Box With A Fistful Of Fivers; The Dangleberries, whose piping hot main stage performance and guerrilla gigs delight Bella audiences; The Staves, a trio of harmonious sisters; popular Celtic act Torridon; Inverness grunge popsters Iain MacLaughlin & The Outsiders who will play an opening slot on the main stage; and local heroes the Rooty Ma Toot Big Band! 

These acts join twin Scots rock legends Texas and Deacon Blue who are to headline the eighth staging of the festival

Also announced for Bella are: Newton Faulkner, the Brit-nominated, million selling singer-songwriter; Frank Turner, exponent of passionate folk/ punk; fast-rising Scots indie band Admiral Fallow; indie rock quartet Little Comets; up-and-coming alt-folk Dry The River who mix americana, gospel and indie rock; The Webb Sisters, otherwise known as Leonard Cohen’s backing singers; Australian blues singer-songwriter CW Stoneking and His Primitive Horn Orchestra; celtic rock fusion band Skerryvore from the island of Tiree; electro-acoustic band Saint Saviour and singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Lefwich; and kick-ass gypsy punk band Drunken Balordi.

Other confirmations include the top international reggae act, Easy Star All Stars; Highland artiste James Mackenzie & The Aquascene;  blues country rockers Cousti; and glam trash punks Diddums. 

Festival organisers have warned regular Bella fans to buy their tickets soon as tickets are already selling at double the rate of last year’s event which sold out well in advance. “We don’t want our long-term supporters to be caught out and left without tickets if they intend coming,” said festival director Joe Gibbs.

Belladrum 2011 takes place in the beautiful Highland surroundings of Belladrum Estate, near Beauly in Inverness-shire. The independent festival has built a reputation for its eclectic line-ups, its offbeat non-musical entertainments and its all-ages approach. The festival won a VisitScotland Thistle Award in 2009 and is a past winner of the Grassroots Festival Award at the UK Festival Awards, the festival industry’s ‘oscars’.

Advance adult weekend tickets are £90. They include parking and camping, except for campervans and caravans which will be charged £30 per vehicle.. As in previous years, tickets for children 12 & under are free.

Tickets available from Skiddle