By Eva Roberts

One of the North Queensland’s most eclectic festivals is back for 2010 from Friday 25th to Saturday 26th June with the biggest line-up on the bill yet.

The organisers of Kuranda Roots Festival have released the first artist line-up announcement, confirming headliners The Beautiful Girls who will be bringing a more rock focus to this year’s festival.

Celebrating its fourth year under the guise of the Kuranda Roots Festival, and its seventh year as a festival on the tropical Queensland calendar, the two-day event at Kuranda Amphitheatre will also feature New Zealand’s ultra fantastic Sunshine Sound System and a special one-off reformation by Queensland’s first pioneering reggae band Mantaka.

Reputed as one of Australia’s most unique outdoor festivals of world, roots, reggae, dub, and now rock music, Kuranda Roots Festival has received acclaim for its good vibes and outstanding atmosphere. Last year’s event saw the likes of Ash Grunwald take to the stage, and with the first artist announcement featuring some massive national and international names for 2010, this year’s event is destined to earn the festival premier event status.

Sharing the bill alongside Zennith, whose recent achievements include a spot on the coveted line-up at the Byron Bay BluesFest, and roots rock stars The Beautiful Girls are a plethora of highly respected bands who will play across three stages.

Other artists on the first announcement line-up include the cream of Brisbane talent Kooii, Darky Roots, and Chocolate Strings. For those unfamiliar with the highly acclaimed Sunshine Sound System, featuring KP, Switch and DJ Downtown Brown, they’re a sibling duo at the forefront of NZ’s hip hop and reggae scene who have made guest appearances with the likes of Shapeshifter, Fat Freddy’s Drop and Katchafire.

This year marks the 50th birthday celebrations of Zennith band member and well known Kuranda local musician Willie Brim. Willie, who was part of the acclaimed band Mantaka, will be joining his fellow band members for a special reformation that will only occur at Kuranda Roots.

Once again, this year’s program kicks off on the Friday night dancehall in the legendary Amphitheatre understage to get the party started. The main day of the festival runs from midday on Saturday, with three stages of music, food and craft markets, licensed bar and a chai tent. Kuranda Roots Festival is an all ages event, with children under 12 free, and a great day for the entire family to celebrate Kuranda’s lively arts and culture.

Early bird tickets for Kuranda Roots Festival are on sale from April 4. Tickets are available from www.rudekat.com, Ticketlink (www.ticketlink.com.au), Kuranda Video, Shiva Moon and Fetish 4 Life. For programming information updates, check out www.kurandaroots.com