The Lewes Live festival initially had the atmosphere of a giant family barbecue; local bands, local people and lots of lovely local brews. That continued to be the case throughout the weekend until late evening on Saturday night, when the headliner and highlight of the festival, Hayseed Dixie played.

The barrier of the scaled-down festival stage was suddenly lined with people, all singing along to the brilliant ‘hillbilly’ bluegrass covers of classic rock songs. The banjo and mandolin playing, dungaree-clad band members had great energy and interaction with the crowd. Tennessean vocalist John Wheeler hilariously chanted “Coldplay suck! Coldplay suck!” while, much to everyone’s delight, he continuously glugged on the locally brewed Harvey’s Ale.

The previous bands such as Paperboy and Scott Free provided a welcomed soundtrack to a sunny camping weekend. The penultimate band, The Black Fields, managed to rouse the crowd from their picnic blankets, preparing them for the fantastically boisterous Hayseed Dixie.

The festival successfully combined lazy summer days, a sense of Lewes community and great live music.

Yet again this town managed to pull-off a great music event, with a fantastic final act.