Summer Sundae Weekender ends on a high

Sunday started with a chilled out vibe with a series of morning acoustic performances in the Watering Hole. The first act indoors were Her Name is Calla, with a beautiful and intense performance of what I can only describe as Symphonic, Folk/Rock, featuring Guitar, Bass, Drums, Cello and Violin. ITW started the day with Midnight Wire, a fast paced, up-beat, indie four piece. A local band, Furies were next in the watering hole having won a competition to perform there, they held their own.

Next indoors were Hey Sholay purveyors of indie-electronica, their inventive sound went down really well in this setting.

Back in the ITW tent The Staves were showing what a truly magnificent instrument the voice can be with their pitch perfect three part harmonies washing over the audience like a wave of pleasure. More folk music of a spikier kind was being performed in the Watering Hole by Grace Petrie, a talented singer/songwriter whose blend of melancholy and protest songs (or 'angry' and 'sad' as she puts it) had the crowd backing her all the way.

The biggest privilege for me at Summer Sundae was being able to witness a set by Blues legend, 79 year old Lazy Lester and Friends. I could have just listened to him speak, let alone sing and despite (or maybe because of) his age the richness of his performance was spellbinding. Whilst, outside on the main stage, reggae-funksters The Black Seeds were busy showing the crowd how a sunny Sunday afternoon in August should feel.

Following Lazy Lester in the ITW tent was the legendary Billy Bragg with his 100th birthday tribute to the great Woody Guthrie. Preceding this was a preface by Rachel Rose Reid a wonderful poet and storyteller who set the scene perfectly for Billy's performance. Billy Bragg himself was as passionate and knowledgeable as you would expect, blending fantastic performances of Guthie material with amusing anecdotes and descriptions of Guthrie's work and material.

On the main stage Reverend And The Makers were starting their very own party with John McClure working the crowd like all great front men do, everyone was on their feet jumping by the end of the masterful performance.

Carrying on the local theme in the ITW tent were Leicester All Skas Reggae Big Band combining the artists of the biggest groups from Leicester’s popular Ska/reggae scene into one super group. The tent was packed and right from the first note from the brass section the crowd were literally jumping.

Last, but certainly not least, headlining the main stage were Public Image Ltd.. John Lydon has lost none of his performer's touch and he worked the crowd as only he could, goading, insulting, encouraging and finally complementing the audience. 30 odd years have seen the members of PIL improve and become more polished performers and this, although taking something away from the original rawness of the tracks made for a fantastic performance reaching a peak with 'Rise'. Great value all round.

And that is basically what this festival is. It may not be the biggest or the trendiest but the variety and quality of music on offer was truly astounding and the atmosphere was great, personified by the impromptu rave following PIL’s performance, outside the Jumping Bean Burrito stand. Its city centre location makes it extremely accessible and it was clean, friendly and well organised. Summer Sundae, I will certainly be back.

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