The Dharma Bums are fast gaining a good reputation for their epic brand of folk rock, and it was their set that prompted the previously wary crowds to set up camp in the festivals main arena on Sunday afternoon. Opening their set with ‘Robot Eyes’, they had the audience in a trance from the off, weaving together ethereal guitar lines, violin, clarinet, flute and piano amongst other things. With their ambitious arrangements it is easy to get lost in the full sound, but the Bums are also quite a spectacle, with eccentric vocalist Johnny Powell dramatically miming along with the songs, and Chris Derrick, the bands pianist and woodwind virtuoso, skipping between his instruments with amazing speed, much to the delight of the Bums newest converts beside me. Other songs to impress were ‘Square One’, and the beautiful ‘The Marks of the Days’, which highlights Powells extravagant vocal delivery, coming across at times like a male Kate Bush, which is, without doubt, a good thing. This bands star looks set to continue its rise in the South West, and hopefully their originality will see them expand their horizons even further in time to come.

Anthony Clifford