If last year’s line-up (Shania Twain, Pretenders), seemed a little below par following previous appearances by Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, the fourth Source Festival was very much back on track with a much stronger bill.
Earlier in the day, home grown talents of the calibre of Juliet Turner, Kieran Goss and Bob Geldof entertained the sun-soaked crowd – the latter giving it a lash with a brace of well-received Rats classics. Katie Melua – not my cup of tea it has to be said – was up next and she delivered her mix of jazzy cabaret tunes to a highly receptive audience.
James Taylor is perfect for a festival like this. Dependable and familiar sounding he mixed older classics like ‘Fire & Rain’, ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ and ‘Shower The People’ with more recent material such as ‘Sailing To Philadelphia’ and tracks from his acclaimed October album. Despite his laid-back reputation he can let fly when he wants to and he upped the tempo on ‘Steamroller Blues’, his hit version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)’ and the ever-popular ‘Whenever I See Your Smiling Face’.
Though Taylor was the headline act he was followed by Bryan Ferry, who thanks to a strictly observed 11pm curfew only managed to fit in seven songs. Even still he was the highlight of the day for many and despite a mid-song PA failure he looked and sounded magnificent as he crooned and swooned his way through gems like ‘Love Is The Drug’, ‘Let’s Stick Together’, ‘The Thrill of It All’, ‘Avalon’ and ‘Slave To Love’.
Short but very sweet.