Tinie Tempah lined up for Shropshire festival

The award-winning British star will take to the main stage at the West Mid Showground in Berwick Road on the Friday night of the festival, which will be held from September 12 to 14.

Festival bosses today described the announcement as a "real coup" and said Tempah would be "probably the biggest act Shrewsbury town centre has witnessed to date". Early-bird tickets are already on sale and it is hoped the festival, which attracted about 8,000 people last year, will sell out with demand expected to go "through the roof".

The announcement comes just two days after it was announced Tempah would appear alongside acts such as Justin Timberlake, The Killers, Ed Sheeran and Sophie Ellis-Bextor at this summer's V Festival at Weston Park on the Shropshire border.

Tempah's first album Disc-Overy debuted at number one in the UK in October 2010 and was preceded by two British number-one singles – Pass Out, which he performed at Glastonbury on the Pyramid stage with Snoop Dogg and Frisky. Tempah also supported Rihanna on her UK tour that same year.

His third single, Written in the Stars, again charted at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart selling over 115,000 copies in its first week.

He has won two Brit Awards for Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Singles and three MOBO Awards

Dene Edwards, director of Shrewsbury Fields Forever, said: "It's a real coup for the county to secure Tinie Tempah, currently one of the hottest properties in the musical world."

"He appeals to such a broad cross-spectrum of people and has grown from his 'underground' genre to the mainstream, acquiring multiple-global accolades and achieved international stardom in the process. He can count Adele, Pharrell Williams, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie among those he mingles with while still keeping his musical credibility."

A number of new initiatives have been brought in for the festival, which will be held this year for the fourth time.

The main stage will open on the Friday evening of the three-day event for the first time and more bands have been signed up. Organisers have also promised "a few surprises" over the weekend. Mr Edwards said the festival's line-up would include Indie bands, dance acts and top comedians.

He said: "We expect the demand to be very high and to sell out. Our early-bird tickets have been selling around 35 per cent more and faster than last year and that's without even announcing any acts."

For details about tickets for this year's event visit www.shrewsburyfieldsforever.com