As a venue Eastbourne’s Winter Gardens is best known for variety clubs, school concerts and tea dances. But Zach Condon’s Beirut turned it into a joyous pleasure palace with his sole English gig of 2010.

Displaying much more confidence than one might expect from someone who creates the majority of his music in his bedroom, Condon proved a perfect MC, with his trumpet casually resting on his shoulder as he sang or enjoyed easygoing banter with the sold-out venue.

What marks Beirut out is Condon’s combination of pop songwriting with music one might otherwise only hear on Rough Guide compilations. His seven-piece band brought the traditional music of Mexico, the Balkans and Paris firmly into the 21st century, marrying accordion, brass, ukulele, and keyboards with bass and drums – not a guitar to be seen.

The music created the sort of uplifting atmosphere you might feel on a dream New Year’s Eve, underlined by the venue’s glitterball and beautiful chandeliers. In a similar way to Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Condon’s vocals are more about the sound of his voice than any lyrical message, although he got the whole crowd singing along on second album highlight A Sunday Smile.

As well as drawing on favourites from his back catalogue, Condon unveiled some new songs. One newbie, which he claimed to have been working on since he was 17 and had just finished two weeks ago, suggested where the wunderkid composer might be heading next, revealing a poppier side to his muse.