MUSIC will fill the air on the final weekend of the Tavistock and Dartmoor Festival — a nine-day event that opens on September 23.

Equation's appearance to close the festival on Sunday October 1 will be the climax of a weekend which will see four bands performing in t he tow.

And the organisers have introduced a new element — Festival Jam.

Any musician is invited to attend this open-house event. Those who appear in the festival line-up will mix with others who want to be part of a shared musical experience.

Festival Jam will be an informal event at which musicians can work with people they have never played or sung with before.

'Who knows what will come out of it,' says festival artistic director John Bartlett.

'What we want to see and hear is a great fusion of ideas. It will certainly be a wonderful experience for all those who come along to watch and listen and all sorts of new musical partnerships and pairings could possibly arise.'

The venue for Festival jam will be announced shortly.

Fork-pop crossover band Equation will perform at the festival shortly after returning from a hugely successful three-month tour of the US.

They will announce their support band shortly before the performance at the Wharf in Tavistock.

On Saturday September 30 Buffseeds take to the stage at the Wharf.

This will be their third appearance in Tavistock and their following is growing.

Known for their infectious, melodious, guitar-driven pop compositions, they recently opened for the Jools Holland Band when they appeared in Exeter.

Supporting Buffseeds will be Okehampton-based Hannah and the Madding Crowd.

They are an indie-folk band who play mostly their own material.

For details of the festival on the web site: http://www.pwcomms.co.uk/tdf">www.pwcomms.co.uk/tdf

Tickets for all festival events are now on sale.

Most are at the Wharf in Tavistock (01822 611166). The New Elizabethan Garden tour at Buckland Abbey and the jazz evening with Boulevard Django at the Ordulph Arms; tickets at the venue or Crookes and Spackman, the Old Stables, Paddons Row, Tavistock (01822 514222).