PICTURE GALLERY

Saturday was the hottest in Leicester since 1911 and Sunday was punctured by thunder and lightning but come rain or shine, Summer Sundae blazed a trail which kept thousands of music lovers very happy.

In its third year, Summer Sundae presents an eclectic programme of newcomers and old timers.

Keane were a hard act to follow

Indoors
I arrived on Saturday just in time to catch Keane - who come with a Steve Lamacq seal of approval. Lead singer Tom's epic vocals are sumptuous. Young pretenders to the Coldplay throne. Listen to Bridget Blair's interview with the band.

Sunday's highlight was Richard Hawley and his band. This Sheffield singer-songwriter sounds like a cross between Morrisey and Roy Orbison and follows in the speccy geek trend. The measured intensity of his songs along with swoony keyboards and chugging drums was up there with Jimmy Webb.

Main Stage
Finger lickin' good Rodrigo y Gabriela are a Mexican guitar duo who went down a storm at WOMAD and are a big hit in Ireland where they now live. What virtuosos - how fast can they move those fingers? Interview with the band.

Laura Cantrell was a highlight of Saturday's set

They were followed on the main stage by Laura Cantrell, one of the highlights of Saturday. It's no surprise that this pale and interesting musician is a big favourite of John Peel's. Great harmonies, wonderful slide geetar and Teenage Fanclub's drummer ensured an inspired set, the highlight of which was the kick ass All The Same to You.

Chumbawamba and Alabama 3 injected real humour into the proceedings on late Saturday afternoon. Both are large bands who obviously don't take themselves too seriously but still provide great live music.

One way to keep cool?

The Vessels were among my favourites on the main stage on Sunday. It may have been their hangovers from celebrating drummer Neil's birthday or the fact that they have recently been dropped by their label which resulted in a more downbeat performance from when I last saw them at The Musician, but the songs were still as lovely as ever. Autumn single Look for me in any crowded room has echoes of Dylan, Lou Reed and Johnathan Richman. Listen to Bridget Blair's interview with the band.

The Musician tent was a huge success over the whole weekend providing both shade from the scorching sun on Saturday and from the pouring rain on Sunday. It was also the beer tent, but despite these advantages I'm sure it would have been packed out anyway. It was great to see so many local artists holding their own against national and international acts. Leicester's own Cathy Bonner's gentle county was very favourably compared to the bigger names on the bill. Allstar Acoustic Blues played some cracking Robert Johnson style tunes. I was drawn away from the line-dancing shirt stall (perhaps as well) by the gutsy sounds of Dan Britton and Chris Conway. And on Sunday local hero Pete Morton summed up the spirit of the festival with his combination of poingnant and feel good numbers, especially The Battle of Trafalgar.

The Rising Stage, showcasing mainly regional talent, augmented the festival with some of the most left field sounds of a weekend.

While othere stages were ulling everyone with more West Coast inspired sounds, the Rising Stage featured everything from the real African deal from World On Your Street showcase Jyhojy to the hardcore drum and bass of Skinny Sumo. Along with other local outfit and Dreadzone soundalikes Dub Factory I could see them really working the crowd on a bigger stage.

Other notables on the Rising Stage were Misterlee - which might euphemistically be described as challenging but was easily the most adventurous stuff of the whole weekend. The addition of Michale Curtis Oxtoby on wah wah violin made it even more wild.

No boundaries with this man who is planning an Autumn tour as well as some dates in New York where I imagine he will be quite at home. Listen to Lying Down here.

By no means local, the final act on the Rising Stage was Rosie Thomas. The cute squeeky speaking voice morphs into a fragile and intense singing vocal breathing life into songs of astonishing beauty. Don't Leave her brought tears to my eyes. Looking forward to seeing her again asap.

The Sunday night lineup on the main stage and, for many the whole reason to be there, was the Concert for a Landmine Free World featuring Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Chrissie Hynde, Billy Bragg and Steve Earle was a grand, if rather sedate finale.

Looking rather like quiz show contestants, the grand dames and dudes provided a heartwarming few hours of great music, great anecdotes and great spirit. Founder of the campaign and Vietnam vet Bobby Muller gave a rallying cry against landmines.

Were you at Summer Sundae? Who were your fav's, was it as good as last year? Have your say on the Summer Sundae message board.