little Lemonfest scores big festival points

For a 3000-capacity festival held on a racecourse in deepest darkest Devon, Lemonfest can certainly hold its own in terms of offering a fantastic day out with some excellent talent. The overall experience surpassed my expectations and I came away feeling extremely satisfied and musically inspired by all that I'd had the pleasure of seeing that day.

First act to mention was a captivating 21 year-old Falmouth singer/songwriter, fresh uni grad Laura Fletcher. She was playing in one of the smaller tents which hosted an abundance of superb musicians that day. Perched on a hay bale at the front of the crowd I was immediately swept away by her vocals; clean, sweet and effortless, her chords were soft like velvet drifting over simple acoustic strumming, perfect for a summer afternoon. She projected honest emotion through the beautifully endearing lyrics of her own songs such as 'Ships' and 'Wolf Eyes'. There were moments her voice wavered slightly on the big notes and she still has a little way to go yet in terms of building on vocal strength – however for such a young artist she seemed to sing years ahead of her time and has the potential to become someone very special with enough dedication. My heart strings were well and truly pulled and I was totally hooked from start to finish. She did a great job covering Joni Mitchell's 'Big Yellow Taxi', and received a very warm applause at the end of her set – definitely one to watch and I personally look forward to seeing more of her in the future.

The main stage set the scene for some superb acts such as Land of the Giants, more local talent hailing from Plymouth. The 6-piece outfit belted out a soulful, high octane performance, a fusion of infectious ska, indie and dub mashed together with some very funky baselines and sizzling guitar twangs. Their positivity was all-encompassing and they had the crowd like frenzied putty, enthusing all with raucous energy and catchy numbers such as 'Joanna' and 'Best Days'. Front man Andrew Quick made for a great showman with his stage antics, jumping while delivering fast-paced raspy vocals. That said, every single band member played hard with everything they had, no one held back and this translated into the crowd where people of all ages were stomping and bobbing with heart and soul. Special mention goes out to Gaz LePage on the trombone, bringing a healthy dose of sunshine vibes and carnival flavour to party.

Mad Dog Mcrea continued the excitement, exploding onto the stage with plucky fiddles and furious whistles of nostalgic gypsy folk. The band looked the part decked out in vintage clobber, waistcoats and hats with lead vocalist Mike Mathieson donning a rather superb purple top hat and pirate stripes to boot. Lyrics from songs like 'Am I Drinking Enough', 'Stupid Things' and 'Johnny No Legs' got me giggling, painting hazy scenes of drunken mishaps, lost loves and the many unexpected surprises life throws. The performance was one big adventure, diving in and out of traditional folklore, and again the crowd whole heartedly lapped up every flute note piped and every banjo string pinged. In front of the stage looked like one big barn dance, with many a strangers arm linked and hops and skips flying around in mayhem. A gutsy, unique performance that left me reeling from musical intoxication, worthy of any pirate ship soiree!

East London cool cats The Skints played the sunset slot, entertaining us with their feel-good reggae and big basey ska. The foursome appeared hugely comfortable on the main stage exuding great chemistry and quick-witted attitude, as they dropped bundles of underground punk-tinged grime courtesy of tracks like 'Rat-a-tat-tat' and 'Rubadub-Done Know' – impossible to keep still to. The set was refreshingly interspersed with tracks like 'Ring Ring'; chilled out, harmonised sweetness overlaid with tropical Caribbean steel drums. Great to see such rich diversity from a band and testimony to the depths of their ability.

Headliner Lucy Rose gave a predictably solid performance, and although she has a fail-safe formula to her sound I couldn't help but feel I had gotten more from some of the earlier performances of the day. That said the fact she had been touring relentlessly since starting out solo was quite apparent, engaging with the crowd with increased eye contact and seeming generally more confident than the last time I'd seen her. Even a female front-row flasher only managed to throw her off-course for a few seconds, and she quickly managed to contain her giggles. A good set infused with her trademark, soft, poppy folk comprised tracks such as 'Lines', 'All I've Got' and 'Middle of the Bed'.

Other acts I need to mention are Hysteria – Kids Rock Band. Aged just 10-13, these 5 fledgling superstars from Torbay absolutely tore things up on the 'Locally Grown' stage – unbelievable raw talent for such little people! Smashing out some old school rock with more chemistry, skill and authority than bands I've seen 3 times their age, they had me laughing to myself in disbelief especially at the screaming guitar solos and strong, self-written lyrics. Yes, SELF-WRITTEN! The band have only been together two years and already they are writing and producing their own music. In awe.

The site set-up was small and intimate, consisting of the main stage, the Locally Grown stage, a little acoustic tent and two dance tents – one of which was playing out some decent underground house and techno courtesy of local boy Louis Edwards. I must admit it was pretty refreshing (and surprising) to stumble across this in the middle of a little West Country festival. Well-chosen tracks like 'Nuthin' Wrong' by Tyree and 'Optimus' by Nail were dropped, and I was even more surprised to later hear that nightclub venue the Attic in neighbouring seaside town Torquay had recently been booking the likes of Richy Ahmed, Clive Henry and Timo Maas. Fingers crossed local DJ talent like Louis will continue to champion quality house and educate the English Rivera masses!

This David amongst the Goliaths of the festival world did a great job in all that it had to offer. The food stalls were well varied – providing usual burgers as well as Thai, Mexican, Spanish, and Indian – not to mention some fantastic Cornish pasties and amazing cakes courtesy of two lovely ladies running one Funky Beach Hut. We sampled around 10 different flavoured ciders from the real ale and cider bar, and had a mooch around some quirky craft stalls. Typical of the area people were very warm and hospitable, and the crowd in general was extremely well behaved with very minimal security needed onsite. Even the queues for the loos were relatively short and had to be the cleanest most well-stocked facilities I've ever encountered at a festival!

All in all I would highly recommend Lemonfest as a great value-for-money, family-friendly festival. If you like your music eclectic, enjoy discovering well-selected, raw talent and appreciate being able to see your headliners in an un-crowded environment where you're pretty much guaranteed to be able to pick your way to the front of the stage, this is the festival to hit. My only criticism would be a lack of set times in some of the tents, and the fact most of the good ciders ran out half way through the day. Otherwise thank you Lemonfest and I look forward to next year!

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