Pop-rock band The Vamps, aka Brad Simpson, Connor Ball, Tristan Evans and James McVey, will headline Kew the Music on July 12, having recently celebrated their 10th anniversary as a band.

The renowned annual week-long festival of picnic concerts is set in Kew Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site in south west London.

Guitarist and band creator of The Vamps, James McVey, said performing at Kew the Music will feel like performing at home, as he lives relatively close in London.

He said: “Normally, with these types of shows it’s three hours away, which I do love, but it’s nice playing closer to home – I could probably walk there if I wanted to.

“I am excited to play outside too, especially in Kew – I go there all the time with my wife and my dog.

“London is a huge part of The Vamps' story, so it’s nice to do something here.”

Kew The Music will also feature headline performances from Bastille, Jack Savoretti, The Human League, Haçienda Classiçal, and Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink, or to enjoy the open-air bars and street food stalls.

James said guests can expect to experience “nostalgia and good times” throughout the set, as The Vamps plan to bring back their popular hits.

He added: “It’s all about having a good time and playing the stuff people will know.

“I really feel like people need to see us live, because we have been playing live for the best part of 10 years and have hopefully developed a presence on stage that people enjoy seeing.

“It's always funny at some of the summer shows where some people don’t know what to expect then by the end, they seem to be really enjoying it.”

Since their platinum-selling debut album, Meet The Vamps, crashed into the UK charts at No.2 in 2014, the band have released four additional albums, including the chart-topping Cherry Blossom, and their first No.1 album Night & Day.

James said touring is a “huge importance” to The Vamps, and the band have performed across the world, including in Asia, Australia, and Europe.

Despite this, James said his favourite place to perform is at home in London.

He added: “Performing at the Royal Albert Hall was a great experience as it holds a lot of history for us.

“We’re so lucky to be able to experience performing in places like Australia, but there is something so special about performing in a place I go to a lot.

“Whenever we play at the O2 it feels crazy because it’s the biggest inside venue in London and we’re still here, 10 years down the line.”

James said the origin of The Vamps began when he was 15 years old.

He would ride the train to Birmingham from Dorset, meet with frontman Brad Simpson, and spend the weekends writing songs.

James, Brad, and drummer Tristan Evans soon received a record deal during the prime time of YouTube success, which saw many faces rise to fame from the popular media platform, including Connor Maynard and Justin Bieber.

James said: “We found our bass player Connor Ball on YouTube too – all of us were writing songs, but we wanted to cover popular songs in our own style on YouTube.

“It was always going to be a gamble releasing our own music, but once we released Can We Dance, we never looked back.

“It feels like yesterday when we first started, but it also feels like a long time ago.

“I was a young kid from Dorset so I was very young and naïve, and now I’ve lived in London for a few years and being 30, I feel like a different person.

“But at the same time, we have so many fond memories growing up together as a band on the road, so I don’t look back and regret anything.

“I am really happy to have experienced the last ten years with the boys.”

Grab your tickets for Kew the Music here