Billy Ocean – the most successful British black male artist of all time – will provide the grand finale to the 2012 Grassington Festival.

He has agreed to perform in the Festival in the Field marquee on Saturday, June 30.

Other confirmed headline acts include Unthanks with The Brighouse and Rastrick Band, who will bring brass and folk-infused fun to audiences on Wednesday, June 27, and Animals and Friends and The Move, who will delight with 1960s rock on Friday, June 29.

Tickets for the three concerts go on general sale on Monday and, for the first time, the public will be able to reserve seats.

Billy Ocean has sold more than 30 million records in his lifetime, is a multiple Gold and Platinum record holder and has received an English Grammy Award.

He has had numerous chart-topping hits worldwide with iconic tracks like Love Really Hurts Without You and When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going.

Brighouse and Rastrick is regarded by many as the best and most consistent public subscription band in the world and has just retained its title as National Champions of Great Britain.

For the Grassington concert, it will team up with Mercury-nominated Tyneside band, The Unthanks, who will sing folk-led material.

Performing huge hits like House of the Rising Sun, Animals and Friends features founder member of The Animals John Steel, alongside Micky Gallagher, Danny Handley and Peter Barton while leading 60s rock band The Move includes guitarist Trevor Burton and drummer Bev Bevan.

Next year’s festival is being overseen by a new team.

Kate Beard takes over as festival director from Amelia Vyvyan, who held the post for six years and becomes vice chairman.

Kate, who is from Littondale, has a wealth of experience in arts and events management, including several years at London's Barbican Centre and Manchester International Festival.

New chairman is Peter Thomas, who is part-time minister of Grassington Congregational Church and works for the Northern Inter Schools Christian Union (NISCU) as a schools worker.

“Grassington Festival offers local people the opportunity to share in the life of the village and its surrounding areas,” said Peter. “I am excited at the prospect of becoming chairman.”

In addition, Yorkshire-based creative agency Logistik has put together a new visual identity for the 2012 festival, which includes a new website and social media pages.

The festival will run from June 15 to 30 and in the run-up to Christmas, the box office will be open from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday and can be contacted on 01756 752691. Alternatively, you can book tickets and reserve seats by logging on to grassington-festival.org.uk