Coming Up Badly Drawn Boy, Yorfest, York Racecourse, September 23 MERCURY Prize winner Badly Drawn Boy, the enigmatic singer-songwriter in the permanently present woolly hat, will be the special guest at Yorfest, this autumn's open-air concert on Bustardthorpe Field, Knavesmire, York.

The chart-topping English country duo The Shires already have been confirmed as the headliners for the September 23 event at York Racecourse, organised by York festival programmer Bryan Stubbs.

"We are once again thrilled to be adding such a talent as Badly Drawn Boy to our expanding 2017 line-up, with tickets selling fast," says Bryan. "Along with some of the other national touring acts we are due to announce in the coming days, a fantastic bill of local talent is being assembled too. We’re really looking forward to the full line-up going public shortly, with nearly 30 acts across three stages at the event on the day.”.

Badly Drawn Boy, whose real name is Damon Gough, released the Mercury Prize-winning The Hour Of Bewilderbeast in June 2000 and subsequently has made four studio albums and the soundtrack to the 2002 film About A Boy.

In previous years, Yorfest has delivered The Pigeon Detectives, Lightning Seeds, Slow Readers Club, The Sunshine Underground and many more established artists.

Food and drink will be for sale on site, along with traditional festival fare. Festival-goers can expect Yorkshire real ales, Champagne, Pimm's and Prosecco bars, candyfloss, doughnuts, a children's play zone, face painting and vintage fairground rides.

Tickets cost £30 per adult, £20 for under 16s, free entry for accompanied under-fives; family tickets for two adults and two under-16s are £80. Bookings can be made at skiddle.co.uk, ticketweb.com or seetickets.com.

Gates will open at noon; the show is expected to finish at around 10.30pm. Watch this space for "yet more line-up surprises on the way" for Yorfest, advises Bryan.