Photo: Finn Beales
We all know books are sexy, in which case the annual Hay Festival is likely to get you rather hot under the collar, with the likes of Bill Bryson, Zadie Smith and Tom Stoppard (plus many, many more) gracing the programme.
But if you prefer to get your kicks through aural, rather than literary, pleasures, then the festival has something for you too, having announced an impressive musical line-up of folk and world artists.
Laura Marling will support her latest album I Speak Because I Can with an appearance at the festival on June 3rd. The festival will also host an acoustic set by Beth Orton on May 29th and an appearance by Thea Gilmore on May 31st.
World music will also be well represented – from the kora-infused melody of Toumani Diabate to the trombonist Dennis Rollins‘ Musical History of the African Diaspora.
For real party animals the after-hours club night Sound of the Baskervilles (see what they did there?) will also feature an array of world music DJs and artists.
The Hay Festival 2010 runs from Thursday 27th May to Sunday 6th June in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. Tickets for all events are available from www.hayfestival.com or 01497 822629.