The three-piece from Fremantle, which puts gently funny lyrics about living a permaculture lifestyle to jaunty swing music, has been booked to play a remarkable eight times at Glastonbury, which is headlined by the giants of rock and alternative music.

This year's Glastonbury, which closes on Sunday, has a strong Australian representation, with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds headlining and high-profile sets for WA's Tame Impala and Sydney's Jagwar Ma, bands the British music press have fallen hard for.

Australians Matt Corby, Xavier Rudd, Blue King Brown, the Bombay Royale, Deep Street Soul and Saskwatch also play.

But few bands – Australian or otherwise – will play as much as "the Vegetables".

"I'm bracing myself," says Charlie Mgee, 29, a drummer who started the Formidable Vegetable Sound System after doing a permaculture (sustainable design) course in Nimbin.

"It's really exciting, but it's also going to be a lot of work. It's probably the biggest festival in the world [attracting 170,000 fans] and to have the opportunity to play to such a huge audience, singing about what I'm passionate about, that was always my ultimate goal."

Mgee writes the music and lyrics and plays ukelele; Katrina Button DJs, and Mal Webb, a horn player who has played with the Cat Empire, Ani Di Franco and Nicky Bomba's Bomba, plays brass instruments.

Mgee's message is dark green – and generally delivered with humour, such as "I save my seeds and eat my weeds and feed the leftovers to ya mum" from No Such Thing As Waste – but it's wrapped up in music so infectious that the most ardent climate sceptic would have trouble staying still.

"No one wants to be preached to," Mgee says. "This is a way to make sustainability fun."