THE splendid summer sunshine naturally helped, but the feeling of discovering fresh sounding groups gave Sheep Music a special atmosphere at the weekend.

Groups like Daz Dolczech & the Destroyers will (unfortunately) never be heard by the masses on the Radio 1 airwaves. Thankfully, those at the Presteigne festival took their chance to hear the 15-piece band and joyously sweated out the Wye Valley Bitter to the up-tempo gypsy rhythms.

Modou Diouf & O Fogrum brought their drums all the way from Senegal and the look on their faces at the end of their set suggested they had never received such recognition.

Not all the musicians had travelled across the globe and local youngsters Oujamiflip proved they could mix it with the best with their street-inspired jazz funk sounds in the main tent.

Kate Hardy, Molly Budd and the Whisky Boys were another homegrown hit going down a storm, this time in the acoustic tent.

Music was not the only thing on offer and theatre, magic workshops, and giant pub games entertained the crowds. The highlight for many was the River Lugg, which provided some respite for the sunburnt droves.

The cool water separating Herefordshire from Powys was transformed into a hippy version of the French Riviera with young and old forgetting their troubles and splashing away at a festival made for the summer.