Kicking things off early on in the afternoon were IP1 favourites Rob Castellani and Anna Pancaldi providing a set of chilled-out tunes; the perfect soundtrack for a sunny day. Their short but sweet set certainly sealed Castellani’s reputation as one of the finest local guitarists around, with Pancaldi taking her opportunity to shine equally as brightly.

Up-and-coming funk trio Crab Meat Moon played a purposeful set of upbeat workouts reminiscent of early Chilli Peppers. Crab Meat are clearly at ease with what they do and proved why they’re worthy of local and national radio airplay, never more evident than during their cover of Everybody Dance Now.

Established Essex pop band The Floe came through adversity to perform for an expectant Radio Suffolk stage audience and delivered a fine set of piano driven commercial pop numbers. On the strength of this set their album No Looking Back is well worth a listen with a mix of upbeat and mellow songs, suiting this event perfectly.

Blacktop Harrison are a local hard rock/metal force to be reckoned with; mixing infectious vocal grooves in the style of Reef and Alter Bridge with some of the finest guitar riffs that Pantera and Black Label Society never wrote. One of the tightest bands of the day, Blacktop clearly are experienced at performing live and with the band obviously enjoying themselves, they rounded off an enjoyable set.

Amazing indie band Ideals have had huge success so far including support slots for Babyshambles and The Automatic, and on the evidence of this set it’s clear why. Mixing a retro pop influence with their own unique indie sound via some interesting brass parts, this band have the potential to be as huge as The Killers or Franz Ferdinand.

By far one of the day’s most popular artists was Framlingham acoustic singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, defying categorization with an infectious mix of funk, R n B and pop. The comparisons to artists such as Newton Faulkner and Jason Mraz are inevitable but his music speaks volumes about his success and originality as an artist.

Rounding off the day were Caution Horses with a healthy 40-minute set of retro pop numbers ending a laid-back event in a suitably chilled style.

With this event getting bigger each year, all eyes are now on next year to see just if this year’s line-up can be bettered!

Words: Jason Noble
Images: Jen O’Neill