IF you’re heading to a festival this summer, there is one thing you can look forward to, pretty much wherever you go.

No, not cider, bongos and mud – though you might want to pack your wellies. I’m talking about a folk-pop band who in the past six months have won the hearts and minds of the music-listening public and blagged their way on to many of the summer’s best and brightest festivals – starting with this weekend’s Glastonbury.

Their name is Stornoway. And, despite the name, they come from right here in Oxford.

Formed somewhere off Cowley Road four years ago, singer and guitarist Brian Briggs; singer, guitarist, cellist and keyboardist Jon Ouin; singer, guitarist and bassist Oliver Steadman; and his drumming brother Robert Steadman have gone from playing pub backrooms to starring on the country’s most prestigious bills – and, debut LP Beachcomber’s Windowsill, has become a fixture way up the UK album charts.

“It’s been going really well,” says drummer Rob, who lives in Morrell Avenue, Headington. “We’ve put a lot of time into this and built up a momentum, so it’s nice to be so busy.”

Now signed to cult record label 4AD, Rob, a native South African, describes their sound as “Multi-instrumental with a lot of nature in it. There are loads of harmonies, different sounds and interesting instruments – such as harmonium and squeeze box. I also use a theremin, which makes a weird whistling sound. We like using different elements to spice things up. We have folk elements but we don’t want to be put in a folk box.”

With a significantly academic line-up (frontman Brian is a qualified ecologist with a doctorate in ducks) Rob, 19, is very much the baby of the band.

“Brian is 30, Jon 29, and Ollie is 22,” he says. “In the beginning they were worried I’d be immature and annoying. But it’s helped me grow up a bit. There’s a great feeling in the band and never any arguments.

“It’s been a bit weird though,” he says. “I spent my A-Level year gigging every weekend and hoping this would amount to something. I was worried if I got useless grades it would still be worth it. I certainly didn’t think we’d break through this much.”

This week’s Glastonbury performance follows a spot at Leicester’s Big Session Festival and this week’s belated hometown album launch. The shows, at the A1 Pool Hall, in Crown Street, off Cowley Road, were due to take place last month, but were postponed after Brian lost his voice.

And it will be followed by sets at Camp Bestival, in Dorset, Truck Festival, in Steventon near Abingdon; the World of Music and Dance (WOMAD) near Malmesbury, and Bestival.

Rob admits things only really took off when they scored a slot on hit music show Later… with Jools Holland.

“The show was pivotal,” says Rob. “An incredible number of people have come up and said they saw us on the show. It was one of the most nerve-wracking things we have ever done.”

Their rise to fame even saw them achieve a goal which had so far eluded them: playing a show in their namesake town on the Hebridean island of Lewis.

“It was our crowning achievement,” says Rob. “We wanted to play Stornoway last year and were rejected. But this time showed them we are worthy of their name.

“It is a beautiful seaside town, and it was great to meet the locals. At our gig we gave 80 people a dram of local whisky – and won them over.”

It’s a big contrast to this weekend’s set at Glastonbury – which they first played last year after being shortlisted for the Emerging Talent Competition.

Playing in the finals at Worthy Farm, in Somerset, they caught the ear of farmer and festival organiser Michael Eavis – and ended up opening the festival. They went on to play a further seven sets – including a live televised session. This year they share a bill with Gorillaz, Muse and Stevie Wonder.

“We’ve got a great slot,” says Rob. “We can’t wait to get back.”

* Glastonbury Festival takes place in Pilton, Somerset from today until Sunday. See Stornoway play next at Truck Festival from July 23-25 (thisistruck.com) and at Womad the same weekend (womad.org).