The Mellstock Trio admit they can't keep away from Worcester's Huntingdon Hall.

In fact, the folk band think the venue is rather quirky, when all is said; and soon enough they'll be setting toes tapping again while wearing old togs that Thomas Hardy might have recognised, which is - in fact- as quirky as you can get.

A spokesman said: "They are a traditional English folk band that performs in authentic dress, capturing audiences with their merry and majestic tunes and their original harmonies, and comprising Caroline Butler (voice and fiddle), Phil Humphries (voice, serpent &and trombone) and Dave Townsend, who works wonders with concertina and fiddle."

On offer, suitable enough, will be The Thomas Hardy Song Book.

The spokesman added: "The band members are no strangers to television and stage; they have appeared in TV shows such as Pride and Prejudice and Far from the Madding Crowd and have been featured in Royal Shakespeare and Royal National Theatre productions.

"Nor are they shy about how or where they perform: they have done it all, from traditional concerts to weddings, parties, museums and gardens. This makes them no stranger to the quirkiness of Huntingdon Hall; in fact, they just can’t keep away. Following on from their classical Christmas concert last year, this July they are back with something a little different."

The Thomas Hardy Song Book brings together a selection of the songs and tunes Hardy knew as a boy, and which permeate the world of his poems and novels.

He absorbed the musical culture of his childhood home, and in later life noted down the songs of his family and neighbours: including them in his poems and novels, and he played them on the violin from his family’s manuscript books.

The spokesman added: "There are songs of love, seafaring, revelry and the supernatural, alongside carols, part-songs and dance music, accompanied by concertina, fiddle, serpent and trombone, introduced by Hardy’s own words and the Dorset dialect poems of his friend and mentor William Barnes.

"Beautiful poetry and music is not the only thing we have Thomas Hardy to thank for; the band took the name ‘Mellstock’ from Thomas Hardy’s work too. ‘Mellstock’ was the fictional name that the poet gave to his native village of Higher Bockhampton in Dorset. Hardy’s family were leading local musicians who led the church band. Hardy’s vivid descriptions, the players’ own manuscript books, and music from local tradition were the initial inspiration for the formation of The Mellstock Band in 1986."

The concert will take place on July 7, at 7.30pm.

Tickets on 01905 611427.