After scooping a top award at last year’s Glastonbury, Ellen and the Escapades are bidding to be the latest part of folk music’s mainstream resurgence. Frontwoman Ellen Smith chatted to Chris Price ahead of their show at the Create Music Festival.

As The Who tribute act Quadrophonia top the bill on the main stage at Ashford’s Create Festival, the burgeoning career of folk’s potential new darlings will take its next step.

Ellen and the Escapades headline an unprecedented fourth stage for this year’s free party in Victoria Park, which is expected to attract more than 11,000 people.

The gig is the latest in a summer which has seen the five-piece play at Glastonbury and Lounge On The Farm in Canterbury, with slots still due at Leefest in Bromley, Bestival on the Isle of Wight and Green Man Festival in the Brecon Beacons, Wales.

Since winning the Emerging Talent Award at Glasto last year the bookings have been coming thick and fast from all over the country, helping the band shake accusations 'they only play up north’.

The set at Lounge On The Farm two weeks ago was, in fact, their first Kent gig and the band are glad to be heading back again so soon.

“We got a really good reception at Lounge” said eponymous frontwoman Ellen.

“It is a really nice festival and much bigger than I thought it would be. We played on the Farm Folk stage which was really chilled out and nice. We couldn’t stay to see many acts though as we had a gig in Southampton the next day. That is really annoying sometimes as we are all music fans. Thankfully we managed to stay at Glastonbury all weekend.”

Fans of Mumford and Sons and Fleet Foxes will agree, their sound is certainly very 'in’ at them moment and Ellen is flippant at the suggestion some people might see them as part of a folk music bandwagon many new bands are jumping on.

“There has always been a fairly strong folk scene but people have become more aware of it since Mumford and Sons have become popular,” added Ellen.

“It is more mainstream and less underground but it is nice to hear the music get a lot of attention.

“We are just writing music we like and playing it. We think we are going the right way. Maybe there is a bandwagon, but it’s a case of the more the merrier.”

The band met at Leeds College of Music and formed at the back end of 2008. They are now working on their debut album after the tour of their EP, Of All The Times, went so swimmingly last year.

Their latest single is When The Tide Comes In and the band will have a few copies of it from a special edition run to sell at Create.

They are also sure to play Without You and Coming Back Home, the two songs which helped them catch the folk-pop wave which has swept Britain.

“It is good to play festivals,” said Ellen.

“More people stumble across you than they would at a gig. It is good to reach out to new people but I enjoy the intimate vibe of small venues too.

“In between doing festivals we are in the studio. We are recording some of our old stuff and writing some new songs which people haven’t heard yet,” she added.

“We have been playing a few new songs live which we are very excited to get out and play in Kent.”

Ellen and the Escapades perform on the K Stage at the Create Music Festival in Ashford’s Victoria Park. The free festival takes place on Sunday, July 24 from noon to 8pm. There will be four music stages, theatre performances, a beer tent, hog roast, barbecue, face painting, stalls and children’s’ rides.