THE arboretum at Westonbirt was buzzing with excitement on Friday night as young girls flocked to see popstar Jessie J perform at the first of the July set of concerts hosted by the Forestry Commission.

The 25-year-old former The Voice judge's concert had been sold out for months but fabulous weather ensured the crowd, made up largely of families and groups of young girls, were in the mood for a summer party.

Support came from AME who, despite being relatively unknown, didn't have to work hard to warm up the crowd who, in a combination of sweltering heat and fevered excitement, were not far from boiling point by the time Jessie J hit the stage.

Opening with her biggest hit to date - Price Tag - Jessie looked the epitome of style with her newly-shorn scalp and skin tight body suit as she alternately performed and chatted to the crowd, interacting with everyone, especially when helping to compose the new tune ‘Wave your flip flop in the air!’

There is no doubt that Jessie can sing but her relative lack of familiar material and back catalogue meant that the older ones in the audience were pleased with the decent amount of cover versions, such as I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. And credit must be given to the band and backing singers, who were amazing when Jessie went off stage to ‘cool down’.

Jessie kept her other big hits - Do it Like a Dude and Laser light - for the end of the show, meaning that everyone had something to hum on the way home, hot but happy.

Mullet hairstyles were the order of the day on Saturday as a sell-out crowd of 7,000 Mod fans packed into the arboretum to see ex-Jam and Style Council turned solo artist Paul Weller perform a mix of old and new material.

Fuelled by a heady mixture of sun and cider, the audience was ready to rock from the outset. Opening with Heavy Soul, however, made for a subdued beginning for The Modfather who, as he is renowned, prefers to let the music do the talking barely saying a word between songs.

Followed by numerous lesser known tunes, it took some time to get the show off the ground but when Weller broke into Peacock Suit he and band Steve Cradock, Andy Lewis, Andy Crofts, Steve Pilgrim and Ben Gordelier hit their stride. Once they had started, the hits came in quick succession with That’s Entertainment getting everyone on their feet and The Changingman resulting in a crowd surge to the front.

Dressed in black with his legendary sideburns showing no signs of abating, Weller looked every inch the style icon and the 55-year-old’s vocals and guitar skills equally seemed here to stay.

If there had been a roof an encore featuring Wishing on a Star and Wild Wood would certainly have lifted it and the finale, the massive Jam hit Town Called Malice, had the whole of Westonbirt dancing and chanting ‘ooo ooo yeah’.

Sunday saw yet another change in the mood as renowned pianist and boogie woogie pioneer Jools Holland took to the stage with his entourage of talented musicians and accompanying singers.

A Jools gig is always a classy affair, so it was slightly unnerving to see a couple actually get thrown out of the concert early on, but for the most part a Panama hat-wearing crowd supped on something sparkling and enjoyed posh picnics as they warmed up for the two-hour fun-packed show.

Former Squeeze keyboard player Jools was warm and welcoming as he tinkled the ivories whilst introducing the band and young singer Rosie May, who was given the chance to show off her talents, while Louise Marshall, a regular vocalist to Jools, wowed the crowd with Valentine Moon and the upbeat Accentuate the Positive.

Former Fine Young Cannibals frontman Roland Gift brought things to life with a super smooth version of Suspicious Minds paving the way for the powerful vocals of Ruby Turner to entice more people than you normally see at a Jools concert to the front of the stage.

With couples romantically swaying, Jools ended a perfect summer’s evening with his ultimate feel good song Enjoy Yourself and so the sun went down on another year of memorable Westonbirt gigs.