It was a fitting finale as Oysterband closed the Wickham Festival with their last ever appearance at one of their favourite events.
For more than a decade the folk rockers have been regulars on the bill at the picturesque setting near Fareham.
After announcing they would be quitting touring, they were delighted to be asked to return to Wickham one last time before hanging up their guitars for good at the end of their Long Long Goodbye tour.
This was their penultimate UK date with just a gig in Shrewsbury and another in Denmark to come and singer John Jones was clearly emotional at the deafening ovation from the crowd.
He said: “We have always loved playing Wickham. It is one of our very favourite festivals with a great atmosphere and we were thrilled to be asked to fit this date in.
“The fans here are amazing and the organiser Peter Chegwyn runs a wonderful event every year – I don’t know how he does it. We will miss coming here.”
Fittingly the band closed their 90-minute set with Put Out the Lights before standing arm-in-arm to drink in the special Wickham atmosphere one last time.
It was very much a case of going out with a bang as they powered through a greatest hits selection of crowd favourites in such electrifying style that they must surely be having second thoughts! Certainly the crowd made it clear they want them to carry on.
It was a fantastic finish to the festival which proved a real triumph after the bad weather on the opening day. The new grassed site held up well with not a hint of mud to spoil the enjoyment for the sell-out crowd.
The final day was a wonderful chilled affair with four fans even setting up their own Christmas tree complete with decorations and lights!
Highlights in the Little Top included a raucous crowd pleasing set from the Band from County Hell and a brilliant high-energy performance from Ian Prowse and Amsterdam.
He said: “We had a wonderful time here two years ago and had been hoping to be invited back so when we got the call, it was an instant yes. The crowd and the atmosphere here are amazing. We love it.”
They were followed by the Peatbog Faeries whose expert pipe and fiddle playing got the crowd dancing high-energy jigs and reels.
Over in the Big Top Reg Meuross brought his Fire and Dust tribute to Woodie Guthrie which was both musically excellent and deeply moving at times as the protest singer recounted historic injustices in the United States.
He was followed by the dulcet tones of Kate Rusby whose velvet voice and easy-going connection with the crowd made for a sublime show before Oysterband closed the festival in some style.
Tickets are already on sale for next year (July 30-Aug 2) with a £100 discount on a weekend ticket for a limited time www.wickhamfestival.co.uk/ticket
