Scots indie stars Travis and Liverpool rockersThe Wombats are to headline the ninth Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (3rd & 4th August 2012; Beauly, Inverness-shire), which has sold out each of the past three years. 

For Saturday headliners Travis, the occasion will mark a Scottish festival exclusive in 2012. 

The Wombats come to the festival with a raft of hit tunes and on the back of a barnstorming performance on the main stage at last year’s RockNess.

These headliners are joined by a stellar line-up of other acts which include: UK award-winning queen of soul Beverley Knight; Glasgow-based indie rockers Frightened Rabbit in an exclusive Scottish festival appearance, and making good their promise to come to Bella after having to disappoint fans last year due to touring commitments in the US; up tempo US songsmiths We Are Scientists; introspective pioneers of indie folk Slow Club and crafters of beautiful folk rock Fink.

Celtic tune’n’groove folk artists Treacherous Orchestra will be maing a reappearance at Bella.Singer/songwriter hot tips Juan Zelada and Ryan Keen will grace the Black Isle Brewery Grassroots Stage as will new indie tyro’s Bastille and To Kill A King. Edinburgh singer/songwriter Nina Nesbitt and hip hop duo Stanley Odd from the same city, and Glasgow three-piece Fatherson have also been recruited to the line-up.

No Bella would be the same these days without the Borders Celtic rockers, The Dangleberries who are also confirmed. Also featuring will be on-the-up Highland artistes James Mackenzie, Ian McLaughlin & The Outsiders, Whisky River Band, and The Red Kites whose front-man Moteh Parrott hails from Inverness. 

Belladrum fans have been urged to buy their tickets now, as early bird tickets have gone and standard tickets are being snapped up at a rate well ahead of last year’s event which sold out months in advance. Festival director Joe Gibbs issued a plea to buyers and sellers of unwanted tickets to use safe, ethical means of transferring their tickets. “After the event has sold out in the past three years, sadly we have heard of quite a number of our customers being scammed by touts. Our web site www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk has details of how to transfer e-tickets and printed tickets safely,” he said.

Belladrum 2012 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 off beat 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 £95. They include parking and camping, except for campervans and caravans which will be charged £50 per vehicle or £130 to include electrical hook-up.. As in previous years, tickets for children 12 & under are free. Online e-tickets are available from Skiddle