It may be a pleasant enough place for a pint by the river - or even a game of bowls, but Wallingford has never been much of a destination for lovers of live music.

All that is changing, however, with the growth of the town's annual BunkFest.

This peculiarly named event is a three-day festival of music and culture, which for one weekend transforms the usually sleepy town into a vibrant centre of performing art.

Don't believe me? Well, how many other small towns could serve up a bill containing anarcho-rockers Chumbawamba, world music exponents Baka Beyond, and country star Hank Wangford?

Add to this artists like Last Night's Fun, Mundy-Turner, Sally Barker & The Rhythm, Brier, Alan Burke, Fantazia, The Armpit Jug Band, Damian Clarke, Pete Orton, KTB, Horace X, and more Morris dancers than you can, quite literally, shake a stick at, and you have a bewilderingly diverse event. The BunkFest takes its strange name from the defunct commercial rail link -- or Bunk -- that connected the town to the mainline station at nearby Cholsey. The Bunk is now just a part-time enthusiasts' plaything, but there is nothing amateurish about this bash, which kicks of today and runs through to Sunday.

The highlight for most will be Chumbawamba, whose agit-prop blend of political folk, pop, punk and rock have made them Britain's most listenable anarchist band since the 80s.

Best known for their drinking anthem Tubthumping, and for throwing water over John Prescott (they never forgave him for 'selling out' the dockers!), they are at their best when tackling the injustices of the world as on 1986's Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records -- an attack on multi-nationals and the pomposity and double standards of the music industry after Live Aid; and 1987's unfinished masterpiece Never Mind The Ballots, rushed out before the General Election, in which they outline the futility of voting -- with the immortal line: "The choice is obvious: there is no choice."

Now equally well-known as roots performers, Dan, Boff, Alice and co last year played the Cambridge Folk Festival. Their anti-war folk tune Jacob's Locker is now as much a part of their repertoire as I'm With Stupid, and anti-fascist anthems The Day the Nazi Died and Enough is Enough.

It should be a spectacular gig in a bizarre setting - and a great moment for Wallingford.

But that is not all there is on offer. "There is something for all the family at Wallingford BunkFest," says organiser Dave Newson. "As well as an explosion of music and dance featuring nationally known stars such as Chumbawamba and Baka Beyond, there is a huge Craft Fair, a special Children's BunkFest, two Beer Festivals and displays of vintage steam and other vehicles."

There will also be loads for kids, family ceilidhs on the festival's Kinecroft Stage at 4.30pm tomorrow and Sunday, and Wallingford Chamber Choir -- 25 singers with members drawn from the Wallingford Children's Choir -- who will play tomorrow at 4pm.

Meanwhile, young musicians should check out the Shooting Roots sessions in the town's Centre 70, which offers a chance to join in and find out what roots music is all about.

Tickets are £40 for the whole festival (£10 for young people aged 12-19, and free to children) - as long as they are booked.

To book and for details see the festival website www.bunkfest.co.uk