Westonbirt welcomes a line up of award-winning artists

1:55pm Monday 19th July 2010

By Alexandra Womack

POP, rock and soul were the perfect combination for a weekend of award-winning performances at Westonbirt.

The Forestry Commission’s National Arboretum staged a second series of concerts to thousands of music fans on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Teenage girls screamed their hearts out as double BRIT Award winners and The X Factor finalists JLS brought their busting moves to Gloucestershire.

Aston, Marvin, Oritsè and JB could do no wrong for their adoring young fans as they performed their three Number 1 hits Beat Again, Everybody in Love and recent smash The Club is Alive.

Their dance routines were certainly well polished and the production on this tour was indeed flash, but for a quartet best known for a live singing contest, there wasn’t much in the way of melodies. In fact, all their upbeat numbers were mimed as the lads concentrated on their backflips and wooing of the front row and the few a cappella tracks we did hear were covers.

Parents in the audience were out of their seats for the Michael Jackson tribute half way through, as no less than five of the King of Pop’s greatest hits were given a JLS makeover but the band’s own repertoire was lacking. Support act and fellow X Factor contestant Diana Vickers went down well with young and old alike and her trumpet solo showed she has more than just a wispy singing voice.

On Saturday, die-hard Status Quo fans joined families who have lived with the loudest band in the business for some 40 years.

The crowd rocked to every number and went wild for the finale of Whatever You Want, In the Army Now and Rockin’ All Over the World.

Francis Rossi and co loved every minute of their one-and-a-half hour set and stayed on stage to wave goodbye to some of their most ardent fans.

On Sunday, James Morrison gave an impressive 90-minute performance to a captivated crowd, which seemed to span the generations.

His opening number The Only Night had every man, woman and child on their feet dancing, and that is where most of the audience remained.

Morrison gave a lively twist to all his tracks making them appealing to the crowds who swayed, sang and danced their way through the performance.

He played most of his well-known tracks Please Don’t Stop the Rain, Broken Strings, You Make it Real, however, he focused mostly on his second album forcing die-hard fans to wait until the end to hear You Give Me Something, his first ever hit.

The 25-year-old musician played the audience well waiting until the very end of his encore before playing Wonderful World, possibly his best-loved song, which sent the crowds into a frenzy and left them screaming for more.