Indian Summer Preview

Summertime and the living is easy - well, so goes the Gershwin Lullaby from 1935. But here in 2007 the first glorious rays of sunshine are a tad less calming than seventy-odd years ago. Back then there wasn't a river of Scottish festivals to wade through; no excruciating line-up analysis was required to work out which weekend delivered the best value.

But this year, and for the second year in its existence, you needn't have such worries; Indian Summer is here to soothe the stress of the annual festival melee with a cold pint of ale and some of the world's finest melody makers – not to mention a spot of croquet.

Offering up a two day extravaganza of cultural stimulation set in the scenic gaze of Glasgow's Victoria Park, this is a festival devoted to putting a smile on your face and the sumptuous sound of music in your ears.

Speaking to The Skinny about the event, Indian Summer promoter Paul Cardow of PCL proposes that a focus on providing quality music in a friendly environment makes Indian summer an appetite-whetting proposition: "It's deliberately small in size so we can give recognition to the bands we think are the best live acts around," he says. "Indian Summer's about having a relaxed atmosphere and getting a friendly crowd of loads of like minded people and knowing you don't need to grapple with the running order to see something inspiring."

And, boy, is it inspiring:

"We wanted to see a main stage that welcomed idiosyncrasies, which doesn't really happen elsewhere," says PCL promoter Simon Henderson. "It's about careful programming and quality right the way through the bill; the BBC 6 Music tent and Optimo tent will have cult acts playing as well as breaking talent so they'll appeal to those simply looking to find new inspiration, and to those who really know their music."

Saturday's line-up is an aural explosion of windswept blues, floor-crunching punk-funk-disco and jangling indie sweetness. The alt-country melodies of Wilco will, no doubt, be the pinnacle of an eye-catching day that includes The Rapture's trendier-than-thou dancefloor freak-outs and the swelling pop of Manchester's Polytechnic. And amidst this glorious mélange of sound is the luscious tones of ex-Delgados songstress Emma Pollock; a voice so beautiful you'll be gasping for air in a pool of your own tears until you're resuscitated by the palpitating beats of those Optimo DJs.

However, if any festival line-up screams "buy a fucking ticket" then it's the Sunday of this weekend, where you'll not only bear witness to the 29 member conundrum of xylophone-chiming pop-purists I'm From Barcelona but you'll be crafting abstract etch-a-sketch shapes to the synth-illating sound of Aussie electro-sleaze merchants The Presets. If that's not enough then the queasy, head-knotting jangles of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and Spiritualized's knees-at-the-alter gospel-rock will saturate your soul with gorgeous sonic goodness.

Oh, and lest we forget, the all-consuming melodies of The Flaming Lips will be ceremoniously turning out the lights on this glittering musical spectacle. Not that The Skinny is giddy at the prospect of Wayne Coyne rolling over a sea of 30,000 people in a gigantic hamster ball to the cosmic whirl of Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. No way, not us. Well, maybe just a little. But seriously, who isn't?

So, when you're fretting anxiously over which festival deserves your undivided attention this year, get yourself down to Indian Summer and living between now and then will become so very much easier.