Shania Twain

With rumours of possible headline appearances by Neil Young and Tom Petty coming to nothing, the choice this year of Shania Twain seemed odd, especially given the fact that the first two shows at this now annual bash featured a pair of living legends in the shape of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon

Amazingly, the show was a complete sell-out (apparently the Canadian pop/country diva is huge with Northern audiences and sure enough - every second car in town seemed to sport a Northern registration.)

She certainly gave them what they’d come to hear and like her or not, Twain is a seasoned performer with more than enough hits to carry a major event like this. Kicking off with one of her most popular numbers, ‘Man, I Feel Like A Woman’ she continued with songs from her breakthrough album Come On Over including the catchy ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ and her biggest hit, the schlocky ballad ‘Still The One’. Her new album Up (which has been released with both country and pop versions) was just as popular with the crowd - the current hit ‘Forever and For Always’ going down a storm.

On the downside, the performance relied way too much on gimmicks like smoke bombs and fireworks which erupted from the stage all too frequently, whilst an irritating trio of dancing fiddle players who looked like they’d wandered off a Broadway musical didn’t exactly add much by way of visual stimulation.

However, special mention must go to The Pretenders who put in a superb performance of greatest hits and a handful of songs from their current album Loose Screw. Chrissie Hynde, the original rock chick was in fine voice and as feisty as ever (“If you want a body like mine - meet me after the show.”)

Others present might not agree but personally, I’ll take Chrissie over Shania any time!