By organiser Huw Weston

With stalls in place, food outlets ready and soundchecks on the Monument and Jaywalk Guitars stages complete – and the main tent shimmering in the summer sunshine – all that was needed at Welliestock was the audience.

As the gates opened at 11am, the queuing public made their way to the lush green grass area and set up their homes for the day. The atmosphere was one of excitement and delight by the time Allana and Ross opened the festival with haunting original and cover songs on the Jaywalk Guitars stage. Following a very warm reception from the audience, Genesis Theatre Group treated us to a number of songs from their forthcoming production. Moving onto the Monument stage, Mandy Steve Music delivered a set of original and cover acoustic songs accompanied by their state-of-the-art sequencer.

By now the place was bustling with families and friends settling down under the beautiful blue sky for the event we had been planning for the last ten months. With stalls ranging from glitter painting to home-made bows and hair extensions alongside cleverly-made picture frames from Always Lovely and festival clothing From Nurtured By Nature, which also happened to be the official merchandise stall, those attending were able to browse and pick up perfect treats while listening to the wide range of music on offer.

Young Wellington band The Fens soon welcomed us into their musical world and were followed by the hugely popular surf sound of Palooka 5 on the main stage. New this year to Welliestock was the Gamelan Orchestra of community music group Action Track, which consisted of pupils from Kingsmead School.

Returning to the Jaywalk Guitars stage we were treated to the huge sound of The Kris Barras Band. A guitarist who is taking the world of Blues by storm and is playing festivals around the world this summer, Kris launched into a high-energy set that attracted a great audience under the afternoon sun. Next was one of the mostly highly anticipated performances of the day. The Wellesley Park School Choir always seem to save the best performance of the year for Welliestock and again this year they sang, smiled and danced on the stage as if they had been performing there since their birth. What a treat this was and clearly showed why Welliestock is so popular with people of all ages. By now the site was awash with colour, laughter and that by now legendary game of football that would last until closing time. Where do they get their energy from?

Hot Meat then appeared on the outside stage delivering an energetic set of classic pop and rock songs taking the temperature up another degree or two. Inside the main tent a large crowd was gathering as people waited for the debut performance of Wellington duo Sky City. With their fusion of dance and rock music, the boys launched straight into their debut single and showed us why they are one of the most exciting musical acts emerging in the South-West. Following Sky City we enjoyed the folk, pop sound of The Legendary Snake Snake Snake and then it was onto local funk band the Blue Room Baboons who performed a mix of their original music along with tracks from legendary funk artists. Closing the Jaywalk stage we had the brightly coloured and incredibly groovy Datura who served up some of the finest reggae and roots that had the large crowd on their feet dancing and swaying on this hugely successful and beautiful day.

The Wood Pryers then burst onto the Monument stage with the trio mixing up the styles and sounds bringing the main stage audience to life with their music. Around the site atmosphere and numbers were building with small compounds being created and it seemed everyone looking for the chance to talk to the wonderful staff from Platinum Gate Security company who were keeping a watchful eye over proceedings.

Named and Shamed were up next with their clever 1980s sound that had the growing audience singing away to hit after hit. As the audience waited for Hundred Faces to set up, Ez Dickens produced a stunning solo performance showcasing some of her music off her debut EP.

We were now at the business end of the festival and the Hundred Faces entertained us with their mod, retro-style music that had the whole audience bouncing and singing along. Not to be outdone, acoustic trio Rushwood and Co followed with a huge set adding their distinct three-part harmonies to their unique guitar and banjo sound that has become a huge part of Welliestock over the past two years.

Having to cut their set short due to the 11pm curfew, FILTA entered the stage to a huge reception and immediately encouraged the audience to join with them on every step of their musical journey. The tent was now jumping and the boys didn’t disappoint as they built up their set to the huge dance climax that was embraced by all there. Joined on stage at the end by Rushwood and Co, organiser Huw Weston simply thanked everyone for their support, fantastic behaviour and the way they had respected each other – and with the familiar lines at the end of a Filta show, ‘good night, God bless we will see you soon,’ Welliestock was over.

As the audience left, carefully marshalled by security and stewards, neighbours, organisers and security stood by the gates to Wellesley park delighted by the hugely successful Welliestock 2017 music festival.