From rock to dance, it's all the rage at Loch Lomond festival this weekend

AS Scotland's bumper summer of festivals trundles ever onwards, the spotlight turns to Loch Lomond, where an eclectic bunch of rock heroes, indie stars, Scots bands and DJs will be rocking the loch all weekend.

From stadium rockers Feeder and festival faves Supergrass to club legends Paul Oakenfold and Pete Tong, a truly mixed bag will be entertaining a 40,000-strong crowd from 12noon until 10.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Essentially, there will be five stages mixing up old-school indie and clubby DJs on the Main Stage, plus a Dance Stage, a Club Stage which goes by the Death Disco banner on the Saturday and Hacienda Classics moniker on the Sunday, a Rock DJs stage and a Scottish talent stage where some of our finest unsigned bands will join the likes of Cosmic Rough Riders, Grim Northern Social and the Hedrons.

This certainly isn't your average, predictable bill.

For example, it's a bold move to programme two of rock's most notoriously untamed hedonists - Babyshambles and Bez - on the same stage as thoughtful Scots indie-pop outfit Belle and Sebastian and the thunderous Mogwai, with enduring Brit-rockers Ocean Colour Scene in between.

And with Pete Doherty's 'Shambles and his former Libertines compadre and poetic brother Carl Barat's Dirty Pretty Things both in the arena on Saturday, devotees of the artists will no doubt be eagle-eyed watching out for a reunion between the two sundered souls.

But it is exactly this sort of eyebrow-raising speculation and intrigue that festival organiser, Ricky Macgowan - the mastermind behind the Colours clubs empire - hoped to engender.

He said: "Live at Loch Lomond will appeal to all ages and musical tastes. Loch Lomond is the perfect location. It's easily accessible and following on from the success of the REM and Oasis gigs a few years ago, it was the obvious choice of venue."

Ricky added that - given the decent weather forecast (fingers crossed!) - he can't wait for the festivities to begin, with Feeder, Dirty Pretty Things, Supergrass and Calvin Harris on his must-see list. Faithless closing the weekend is another highlight that he promises will be something to look forward to, and the Hacienda Classics Tent is another exciting idea, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the one of the world's legendary clubs.

Things have been hotting up in the Supergrass camp this summer, after the band debuted four new songs at the Guilfest festival last month and made a brand new track, enticingly titled Diamond Hoo Ha Man, available for download on their MySpace site.

As might be expected, a new album is on the way, so listen up for a sneak peek this weekend.

Feeder have also been working on their next album, tucked away in the studio hard at work.

It is good news for fans who have been hungry since the release of their rarities and B-sides compilation, A Picture of Perfect Youth, in March.

Drummer Taka Hirose has made a short film of the in-studio antics, posted on their website, and by all accounts their new material is shaping up well - festival-goers might even get a glimpse of the new stuff.

Starsailor have been off the radar for a while, with singer James Walsh playing a handful of solo shows while the band lay top-secret plans for the recording of their fourth album later this year.

Lofty Scots disco wunderkind Calvin Harris seems to be going for a new record for playing the most festivals in Europe in a single summer, so Loch Lomond's line-up would not be complete without the Acceptable In The 80s star with a thing for "The Girls".

After more than a decade, Faithless's dark atmospherics are still a major draw for festival crowds, and although the band have been picking and choosing their dates this summer, they are certain to bring the Lomondside crowd to meltdown when they headline on Saturday night.

Unfortunately organisers had to announce that Primals/Roses hero Mani has pulled out of the festival, which would have been a coup for The Complete Stone Roses, who were due to be joined on stage by Mani and three other veritable Titans of Manc music history - New Order's newly-departed bass god Peter Hook, the Happy Mondays' freaky dancer and Celeb Big Brother inmate Bez, and Clint Boon, ringmaster of the Inspiral Carpets.

Whether or not this is still going ahead was unclear at time of writing, but it has the potential to be a classic Scottish rock festival moment if it does.

The Rock DJs stage has all the makings of an interesting afternoon's entertainment giving an insight into the record collections of such indie luminaries as Embrace, Ordinary Boys singer Preston, Babyshambles, and Mogwai.

For all the latest low-down on the festival, check out www.liveatlochlomond.com n Tickets are £42.50 per day, or £75 for the weekend. Official travel provider is the Happy Bus company, who are running shuttle buses from Buchanan Bus Station to the festival site every 20 minutes, at £13 return. Details at www.happybus.co.uk