IT wouldn’t be Brass: Durham International Festival without gipsy folk music – but this year’s Eastern Europe connection comes via the West Midlands.

The Destroyers are an anarchic 15-piece outfit from Birmingham with musical influences from all over the world – particularly the gipsy folk of the Balkans – to which they have given “a gothic turbocharge”.

The Destroyers’ music has its foundations in Klezmer – a style that comes from Jewish and Yiddish tradition and is identifiable by its expressive melodies, reminiscent of the human voice, complete with laughing and weeping.

Their riotous stage show has captivated audiences around the country. The band’s aim is to win their audience over at each performance by getting them on their feet and dancing.

In the past few years they have built up a substantial following after playing a series of festivals and gigs, including Glastonbury, Bestival, Larmer Tree, Open-House festival, London’s Barbican Centre, Stoke Newington Festival and South Bank Centre promenade events. And they haven’t rested on their laurels. This year, highlights include returning to Glastonbury on the Avalon Stage, their first tour of Scotland, their debut at Sidmouth Folk and Trowbridge festivals and opening the Flatpack Film Festival at Birmingham Town Hall with a performance of original scores to accompany early silent movies.

Their first studio album is due to be released this autumn, and Out of Babel – their debut single – will be released this summer.

The band’s publicity says: “From the anthemic rush of Out of Babel, or the rich Balkan melancholy of Copanitsas, to the currently topical and groove laden-song, Money, the band knows how to take the pulse of any crowd and dispense the appropriate medicine to lift their spirits, set their feet dancing and unite them in call and response.

Only the dead can refuse to dance.”

■ The Destroyers, Wednesday, July 15, 7.30pm, Gala Theatre, Millennium Place, Durham.

Price: £14, concessions £12.

Box Office: 0191-332-4041.