Roots, reggae and sun-soaked beaches – the perfect atmosphere to enjoy the tunes of The Upsteppers.

Having played their first Island Vibe in 2007, the Brisbane band have become a regular fixture at the North Stradbroke event. James Douglas, the group's vocalist and guitarist, says the festival is a dream to play.

“The festival is roots, reggae and soul, which are all styles that I love, and it means that the audience that comes is just going to really enjoy the sort of stuff that we’re putting out,” Douglas says.

“The festival is on quite a large park that’s almost on the beach, so you can walk out the main door of the festival and within 30 seconds be in the ocean. It’s a really amazing location.”

However, according to Douglas, the roots and reggae outfit has been tinkering with new sounds since their last appearance at Island Vibe.

“We’ve been playing a lot more instrumental dub and putting out instrumental dub releases. When you strip out the vocals, it really shows what’s going on underneath and it helped us not only to recognise what sounds we really love, but it also helped us to recognise some of the areas we need to listen to a little bit more.”

Douglas says The Upsteppers have some surprises instore to accompany their dancefloor shaking show.

“We’re really excited about where the band’s at right now, so we’ve been working up a bit more of a new show featuring some new tunes that we’re about to release between now and then. We've also got a new single that's coming out just in time for the festival called 'Turn Them Around,' and it's gonna be a vinyl-only release. We're very excited to be able to showcase that song in particular at the festival.”

The Upsteppers play Island Vibe, which takes place at Pt. Lookout North Stradbroke Island, October 26-28.