The Delgados will play a set with two string quartets, a brass section, timpani and tubular bells at a major folk music festival in Glasgow this week.

The band have been asked to headline one night at the Celtic Connections festival, Scotland's biggest festival of traditional and folk music. The Lanarkshire band played with a full orchestral line-up at the Royal Festival Hall in London last year, when they were joined by veteran Scottish folk-rockers The Incredible String Band.

Drummer Paul Savage explained: "It might have been the Incredible String Band connection that prompted them to ask, I suppose. But we're really pleased, as we're hardly in the folk category."

Savage added: "This will probably be the last time we'll play 'The Great Eastern' set in full, so we're going out in style. There'll be 17 musicians involved, including two string quartets, and a percussionist playing tubular bells and timpani, as well as a couple of brass players."

The group originally wanted to invite Gorky's Zygotic Mynci to support them, but the Welsh band were unable to make the gig at The Old Fruitmarket on 20th January.

Savage said: "We considered getting [Gorky's] in for the gig, but when they couldn't do it we remembered Arab Strap's acoustic set in Edinburgh at Christmas." And he warned that the woolly jumper brigade could be in for an ear-bashing, adding, "I don't think either band will be toning things down for the folk fans, which could be interesting."