the 32nd Americana International Festival offers a wealth of entertainment

Over the last few weeks there have been numerous festivals that were cancelled or delayed due to the unpredictable nature of British weather.

Thankfully, the 32nd Americana international was not cancelled, although the British weather ranged from torrential downpour to bright sunshine intermittently throughout the event.

The Americana show attempts to bring the best of American lifestyle to the UK, ranging from American music, cars, motorcycles, and trucks spanning from early 1900s to the present day. They combine all of these to make it a well-balanced family event.

This year due to the unpredictable weather the organisers had taken the decision to turn one of the halls into an indoor music venue, which was a smart move because the George Stephenson hall was vast enough to allow punters to come and stand in a dry place whilst the it lashed it down outside. It is small considerations like this that make this one of the more pleasant shows to come and visit.

The organisers (Chris & Bev Jackson) are both classic car and bike fanatics and it is probably why they are able to instinctively know what punters would like at a show. They can often be found wandering round the site and are more than happy to talk to the people that come to enjoy the show.

Admittedly the bands that perform at the Americana international are not bands that would be considered for the mainstream festivals such as Leeds and V festivals. However they are very talented and enjoyable to listen to. They are bands that range from playing rock n; roll to country to R&B and alternative music ranging from 50's, 60's , 70's and 80's.

This years line up had artistes ranging from Hayden Thompson, Jester, Stacie Collins Band, and Quill. However this is just a small selection of the range of bands that played throughout the weekend.

If the line-up does not float your boat, there were a wide variety of other things to keep you entertained.

There were shops and stalls to buy food and drinks from; you could even get real American lemon juice which certainly made my ears sing. The food and drink stalls were very good value for money and it made a refreshing change not to have to re-mortgage the house to be able pay for a burger and coffee.

If you were not enthralled by the music, there were Burlesque acts and fashion shows on the indoor stages. Failing that there was the row upon row upon row of classic American cars and RUVs, to browse through and admire. If you so desired, you could even purchase some of the vehicles.

This year also saw the introduction of a cavalcade of American cars and motorcycles cruising along a set route within the showground, which gave people a chance to hear the cars in all of their glory. I can guarantee that you will never get bored of hearing the purring of a V8 Mustang engine.

The only small criticism I have which is really beyond the control of the organisers is that due to the bad weather, it felt as if some of the stands and stalls had packed up early and gone home, which left plenty of gaps in-between each row of stalls and just gave the impression that this event was unpopular (which isn't true at all).

However apart form the gaps, the Americana International is always a pleasure to attend, for me it has everything I could possibly want from a show… clean toilets, cheap drinks and food, great pleasant non-offensive music, beautiful American automobiles covering all styles, an indoor venue that was accessible to everybody if they wanted to avoid the rain.

This is a show that caters for the entire family and each year the organisers keep trying to make it more and more enjoyable for the punters. This is possibly the main reason that the Americana is in its 32nd year because of the effort that the organisers put into this event to make it an exceptional show.

Fingers crossed that next years Americana has better weather!

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