Indie Legends Icecream Hands Lead 2015 PigSty In July Line-Up

Venerated Melburnian power-pop outfit Icecream Hands will reform to lead the charge of esteemed acts filling out this year's line-up for the Gum Ball's 'little sister' event, PigSty In July, it has been announced.

The band, who got their start in 1992 under the extended moniker Chuck Skatt & His Icecream Hands, were mainstays of the Melbourne scene for 12 solid years, pumping out five full-length albums in their primary career — 1993's Travelling… Made Easy, 1997's Memory Lane Traffic Jam, 1999's Sweeter Than The Radio, 2002's Broken UFO and 2004 compilation You Can Ride My Bike: The Best Of The Icecream Hands — as well as a sixth album, The Good China, in 2007, when the band briefly reunited.

They've been keeping with other projects since — Charles 'Chuck Skatt' Jenkins put time into his solo work, while bassist Douglas Robertson went on to join former TISM frontman Damian Cowell in Root! — but, other than another brief reconvening in 2011, this will be the first opportunity fans have had in several years to see the veteran act in action.

Of course, PigSty In July has more up its sleeve than just magnetic nostalgia — the festival has taken great pains to provide a diverse and vital line-up of contemporary acts, flanking Skatt and Icecream Hands with the esteemed ascendant likes of L-FRESH The Lion, Adelaide punks Grenadiers, festival favourites Chris Russell's Chicken Walk, the eclectic mayhem of Bootleg Rascal, James Brown tribute act Pow Wow, Gum Ball alumni Tropical Zombie, local supergroup Dashville Progress Society, hard-working rockers The Lairs and even a touch of comedy from some of the Hunter Valley's finest stand-ups.

Tickets for PigSty In July are limited to 600 and are up for sale for less than $50 ($48+bf) via the Dashville website. Dashville, an outdoor venue in Belford, in the Hunter Valley, is the event's historic home ground, and this year will welcome PigSty In July on Saturday, 4 July — see theGuide or check The Music App for more information.