Never ones to shirk from the colossal responsibilities of enoying a wee tipple fierce panda has been invited to take part in the whisky-tasting-themed Pure Festival which takes place at the Highbury Garage venue in London Town on the weekend of September 24th and 25th. More to the point, the panda will be hosting the Upstairs @ The Garage room on Saturday September 24th, with HATCHAM SOCIAL, ELECTRICITY IN OUR HOMES and SISSY & THE BLISTERS joining the fun on the very same night that your old panda chumbos and ours THE RAVEONETTES headline the Garage venue downstairs.

As well as the fierce panda combos and The Raveonettes the mighty likes of (deep, deeeep breath) James Yorkston, Smoke Fairies, Steve Mason, Electric Soft Parade, Charlie Waller, Kassidy, Martin Rossiter, Roxanne de Bastion, Ray Edwards Group, The Cellophane Flowers, Shake Tiger Shake and Heart Kill Giant are all confirmed to perform over this whisky galore-style weekend. But don't take our word for it - read these ones here:

www.purefestival.com presents a weekend of esteemed and award-winning whisky sampling
on September 24th & 25th 2011
at The Garage, 20 ‚ 22 Highbury Corner, London, N5 1RD

Pure festival offers one of the best, small festival line ups on offer this summer. A music and whisky festival, Pure provides an opportunity to stimulate your taste buds as you enjoy performances from some of the most exciting artists around. Included in the ticket price is the chance to sample and learn about single malt whisky, blended whisky and Bourbon. Whiskies on offer include esteemed single malts such as Ardbeg and AnCnoc and premium blends such as Whyte and Mackay. Well respected whisky writer, Dominic Roskrow will also be on hand to give festival goers a chance to try some of the World Whisky Masters medal winners, featuring amazing and hard to find whiskies from around the world.

The musical line up equally appetizing with Danish pop-noir from The Raveonettes, James Yorkstons laptop folk and Electric Soft Parades understated, anthemic, indie-rock. Moody and marvellous madrigal maidens, Smoke Fairies are a much talked about act, former Beta Band man Steve Mason is a much revered live performer while Kassidys harmonious pop and Charlie Wallers rebellious soul music make for a host of sumptuous aural delights.

The Pure festival has been created by Brand New Music - aka www.wearebrandnewmusic.co.uk - and the whisky social networking site, Connosr.

Whisky sampling will take place with distillers leading Pure festival goers through their individual whiskies between 4pm and 7pm. Festival goers will be able to move at their leisure from one distiller's stand to another, sampling whichever whiskies they wish to taste as part of their ticket price. Pure aims to educate people on Whisky in a fun and informative way and the festival is a unique opportunity to sample a number of fantastic whiskies in a relaxed, informal setting. Brown spirits are enjoying a huge renaissance in the UK from both male and females and there is a real demand to know more about the origins and the marked differences in different brands.

Ticket price and link - £28.50 - www.hmvtickets.com/events/3900