A CORNISH folk band plan to raise the roof and fill the dancefloor at their gig in Bury next month.

Promising two sets of material, from story-led melodies to ska-infused foot stompers, 3 Daft Monkeys, featuring Tim Ashton (12-string guitar and vocals), Athene Roberts (violin and vocals), Lukas Drinkwater (bass), and Rich Mulryne (drums), want to create a dance-a-thon at The Met where everyone is on their feet.

Mixing folk with elements of Celtic, electronic dance, ska, reggae, dub and punk rock, the band offers a "melting pot" of sounds which suit a wide range of musical tastes.

And the band love nothing more than playing live to a crowd who have come to enjoy a good time.

Tim said: "Festivals are great as you are often guaranteed to have a really big audience and you can build up a reputation. It's nerve wracking but also a buzz. But the trick after then is to get them to see you at a venue on your own tour.

"We have played the Met before and we're really looking forward to going back. We'll be playing two sets — the first will be story-lead with some Cornish folklore from the last album, and the second set will be a dance-a-thon."

The four-piece, who have been around for more than 10 years, are veterans of the festival scene and conquered the Avalon stage at Glastonbury this year, with BBC radio DJ Mark Radcliffe saying they were one of his "highlights of the festival".

The former Bolton School broadcaster enjoyed them so much he invited them to play live on his Radio Two folk show.

Tim said: "We were seen by Mark Radcliffe in Glastonbury who said we were one of his highlights there this year, which is great because he is really well known for his folk show, which he also asked us to play on.

"We play festivals and gigs all over the country and Europe too, such as Switzerland, France and Germany, but it's always really good to play Glastonbury. There are so many bands that want to play there that when you are invited to play it's a big privilege."

The band started off as a three-piece but over the years have developed their sound and brought in a fourth.

Tim said: "It's great to make a living out of something you love doing, although we have had to become realistic about chasing the rock and roll dream of earning millions. Some of us also do teaching and Rich shoots and edits our videos, such as the World on its Head. He's also made a few videos for the Levellers too.

"We haven't got a record label yet but we have a distribution deal which helps with the manufacturing of our music. So it's quite a home grown outfit really.

"We were all in separate bands and I met the fiddle player in Holland. We started busking out the back of a van around Europe and then we organically grew into who we are now. Everybody brings something different to the table. We all love folk of course but the bass player loves jazz and the drummer loves rock, for example, so it's a melting pot of different sounds."

To book tickets for the gig at The Met in Bury, on Friday, December 5, call 0161 761 2216