WHEN a band that has toured all over the world signs up to play a festival in Cumbria, they're probably wondering what they've let themselves in for.

That's certainly true of south coast pop punk band ROAM, who have found themselves with a headline appearance in Workington - sandwiched in between a run of European dates and a tour supporting US giants New Found Glory.

"Like a lot of the festivals we're playing, we don't know a lot about Touch Down, but it looks like there's a lot of good bands and up-and-coming bands there," says guitarist Alex Adam.

"Without sounding rude, we don't always expect the best from these smaller shows, but you're almost always pleasantly surprised. When you're the headliners, there's a lot of pressure to draw the crowds, but then you see all these kids turn out to watch you and you just go 'oh wow, this is what it's all about'."

The rise of British pop punk in recent years has been well documented - and ROAM are right at the forefront of it all.

And without diminishing the work the organisers have put in over the past couple of years, this booking eclipses anything seen at Touch Down Festival previously.

To have a band that has recently been brushing shoulders with Lower Than Atlantis and Young Guns topping the bill is a dream come true for such a young event.

And encouraged by the strong supporting cast - which includes alt rockers Decade and local punk favourites Colt 45 - Alex knows that their first foray into Cumbria will be a worthwhile one.

"We recently played a festival in Amsterdam - one we didn't know much about - which turned out to be really cool, and we've done shows like this all over Europe.

"There was one called Butserfest last year, which none of us had ever heard of, in Peterborough, which we would never really associate with going to see a band, and it turned out to be one of the best shows we've ever played.

"I don't think any of us have been up to that part of Cumbria before, so we'll definitely be having a look around the place.

"And we always try and see some of the other bands - I saw that Decade are also playing, and they're great, so we'll want to catch their set."

ROAM made a massive impact on the scene at the start of last year with the release of their debut album, Backbone, which also saw them land a slot on the Kerrang! Tour supporting Sum 41 and play the British legs of the Vans Warped Tour and Slam Dunk festivals.

The Eastbourne-based five-piece - also comprising frontman Alex Costello, guitarist Sam Veness, bassist Matt Roskilly and drummer Miles Gill - have quickly risen to prominence, and with the New Found Glory tour coupled with a second album later this year, things are set to go up another level in the very near future.

There's always some danger that a band with such big ambitions might take a smaller show like this lightly, but Alex assures us they will be giving it their all as they give their debut album the send off it deserves.

He says: "We've just come to the end of our last album cycle, which has been out now for about 18 months, and yeah, it's fair to say that it's been our breakthrough.

"There's a lot of things happening for us now, and a few things we can't say too much about just yet. We're obviously really excited about the tour with New Found Glory, playing shows all over the UK with a band we grew up listening to, and we've just got back from the US where we spent five weeks recording the next album.

"We're ridiculously happy with it, and I can't wait for everyone to hear it. We're not ready to include the new songs in the set just yet - we want to save them until the singles come out - so for the summer festivals it's all the songs that people know, the high-energy ones and the singles we've put out previously.

"If anyone's not seen us before, well it's all a little bit hectic. Our singer, Alex, gets a bit too hyped up for a show. It's funny, because during the day he doesn't really do anything at all, and then he comes alive when he's out on the stage.

"There's a ton of interaction with the crowd and we all just really go for it."

There's no doubt at all that Workington is about to witness something special.

Touch Down Festival will take place across three venues on Saturday July 22, and tickets are available from www.touchdownfestival.bigcartel.com and Richard James newsagent, in Finkle Street, Workington.