THE third annual Latitude Festival kicks off next Friday 18 July and a significant smattering of Leeds-reared talent can be found amongst the hundreds of artists performing on more than a dozen stages.

Leeds bands Grammatics, Wild Beasts, and Sky Larkin are joined by "rock and roll comedy" performer Mik Artistik on a dizzyingly eclectic bill which features live music, DJs, comedy, film, theatre, literature, poetry, and cabaret.

The three-day extravaganza is set in the beautiful, tranquil surroundings of Henham Park, in Southwold, Suffolk, and promises an experience rather different from the mud, toilet queues and substance-fuelled antics of the bigger, more established weekenders.

Headlining the festival on the Friday are Scottish indie disco favourites Franz Ferdinand, followed by the otherworldly serene-a rock of Iceland's Sigur Ros on Saturday, and the menacing New York post-punk of Interpol closing the show on Sunday.

Further down the bill in the music arenas, much-loved alternative acts like Death Cab For Cutie, Clinic, and Howling Bells mingle with the likes of Blondie, who is somewhat mystifyingly hidden second on the bill in the Uncut Arena on Sunday. Get there early for that one.

Grammatics hit the festival's Obelisk Arena on Friday, having specifically taken time out from recording their debut album to be there.

"We're really excited to be playing there, especially on the main stage", enthuses vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Owen Brinley.

"It's valuable experience, and it's amazing to be opening the whole festival. There are so many bands there I've loved for years.

"I'm looking forward to Sigur Ros and Interpol, and I really want to see Irvine Welsh and John Niven in the Literary Arena. We're gonna take a little tent, play our set and then just enjoy the weekend."

Owen and bassist Rory O'Hara have lived in Leeds their entire life, but the band only came into being in April 2006, "in a terraced house basement just outside Leeds city centre."

This followed the success of the duo's 'Club Grammar', which was held in York. They DJed there together for a year and "bonded over the mixture of songs" they played.

They were subsequently joined in the band by drummer Dominic Ord and cellist Emilia Ergin. The latter, from Stockholm, even quit her History of Art degree in her final year to concentrate on the band such is her dedication.

Owen describes Grammatics' sound as "complicated indie rock with pop melodies – post-pop if you will."

Signed to rising, respected Leeds indie label Dance To The Radio, they are recording their new album near Bridlington, with Duels drummer James Kirkbright manning the mixer. The finished work is expected in February 2009.

Wild Beasts, meanwhile, play in the Uncut Arena on Saturday afternoon, warming up the unsuspecting crowds for the jungle volcano of perplexing sounds which will erupt from headliners The Mars Volta later on.

"That should be an interesting one", laughs bassist Tom. "It's a shame they're on at the same time as Sigur Ros.

"It's wonderful to be playing at Latitude again. We did it last year on a stage in the woods, we had to get a boat there with all our equipment!

"It's the right sort of size for a festival, a good vibe, lots of variety, and it's a beautiful part of the country down there.

"Last year we only played one day but stayed for three – saw poetry, comedy. It's a lot different from the big mash-up festivals.

"A lot of the time we were just soaking it up with a herbal tea or cold beer.

"I can't wait to see Joanna Newsom this year – I would've given up on making music if it wasn't for her."

The Beasts are originally from Kendal, in Cumbria, but in 2004 Tom departed for studies at the University of Leeds and the other band members – Hayden on guitar and vocals, Benny on lead guitar, and Bert on percussion – followed him there.

Inspired largely by musicians from the kookier end of the pop spectrum like Prince, Kate Bush, Animal Collective, and Junior Boys, the quartet take their name from an art movement from the end of the 19th century .

"It was artists like Henri Matisse, making subtle changes to accepted norms", Tom says.

"They were branded as untrained, unschooled 'wild beasts', and we feel our music is along those lines."

When I speak to Sky Larkin's Katie she's seriously jetlagged. The band have been recording in Seattle at the studio owned by fellow Latitude artists Death Cab For Cutie.

Their debut album is expected to be released early next year, and Katie says its been fuelled by "coffee, and making small amps loud."

They've been hand-picked for the festival by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens, who is curating the Lake Stage. Katie and drummer Nestor are both originally from Leeds.

"We played music together growing up", she explains. "(Bassist] Doug's from Wales, he came to Uni here and we met him through mutual friends."

Katie describes Sky Larkin as "rock band that plays pop songs – there's only three of us but we relish keeping things interesting and enjoy not resting on our laurels."

Latitude Festival takes place from 18-20 July. See www.latitudefestival.co.uk for more details.