Charlbury's free Riverside Festival pulls in a record crowd

About 2,800 people descended on Charlbury’s Mill Field yesterday for the first day of Riverside Festival, enjoying a day of live music in glorious weather.

Numbers were expected to be significantly lower today with Saturday’s sunshine replaced by rain.

More than 30 bands and artists were booked for the weekend, playing everything from rock, pop and folk to punk, metal and electronic dance.

Now in its 26th year, the free festival is run entirely by volunteers – most from the Charlbury community – with no corporate sponsorship and exists on donations, and food and drink and merchandise sales.

The festival site is close to Charlbury Railway Station, but another train strike forced revellers to take buses or drive.

Riverside Festival’s Fergus McVey was delighted with Saturday’s turnout – and stoical about today’s gloomier conditions. He said: “We had our biggest ever crowd on Saturday which was amazing.

"The site can take 5,000 but we wouldn’t want that many. If there hadn’t been a train strike we would certainly have had to turn people away. As it was, it was perfect.

“We aren’t expecting as many today though.”

Musical history was made with reunion shows by two legendary Oxford bands: The Daisies and shock-rockers Smilex.

The latter enlivened, and perhaps terrified, an unsuspecting afternoon crowd with a set of driving punk-rock, charismatic frontman Lee Christian – coming onstage in a long leather coat, military cap and gas mask – screaming at the audience backed by ferocious drum and guitars.

Making a surprise visit was late 80s rave icon Adamski. The Killer and N-R-G star had played last year’s festival and loved it so much he wanted to return. Speaking backstage before his set, he said: “It’s a great little festival and it’s nice to be back. I love it.”

Other acts included Tiger Mendoza, Pap Nui, Juniper Nights and Self Help.