The Midlands’ mini Glastonbury continues to go from strength to strength and if it continues in this vein is surely set to become one of the ‘go to’ events in the UK festival calendar.
Run by the team behind the Moseley Folk and Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul festivals, this third Lunar festival marked a serious step up as far as the quality of the line-up was concerned.
Until now it’s had a small local flavour but this year saw a host of big names on the three-day bill.
They included former Charlatans’ frontman Tim Burgess, British Sea Power, Donovan, Temples, The Magic Band, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and the Polyphonic Spree.
As well as some star names from past and present, many local acts were on show too, including Goodnight Lenin, Pram and Horse Feathers.
Thunder storms and some torrential rain on the Saturday failed to dampen the spirits of revellers - despite the ensuing mudbath.
Friday and Sunday saw glorious sunshine and temperatures reached 71F for the final day.
There was also plenty to keep the crowds entertained off the stage.
The festival, set in the home village of legendary folk singer Nick Drake, had a variety of entertainment and activities for all ages.
Circus skills were on show, with workshops too and those with a head for heights could navigate a climbing wall.
There were also workshops covering everything from mask-making to sausage-making.
Other attractions included fruit healers, yoga, Indian dancing, Jamaican storytelling and more.
A festival cinema screened everything from the Mike Leigh classic ‘Nuts in May’ to ‘More Canals Than Venice’, the recent film by Steve Rainbow containing 100 facts about Birmingham.
There were also showings of ‘A Skin Too few, The Days of Nick Drake’ documentary, which paid homage to the singer-songwriter who inspired the festival.
* See our Culture section for a review of the festival.
