LARMER TREE FESTIVAL THURSDAY NIGHT

I’VE never been a fan of doing anything in the pouring rain, but I was determined the wet weather wouldn’t stop me from enjoying my first Larmer Tree experience when big names Tim Minchin and Paloma Faith hit the stage on Thursday night.

Before Minchin came on stage the compere asked the audience to put down their umbrellas and despite the fact it was still raining heavily the mood among the crowd visibly lifted as everyone forgot about the rain and concentrated on enjoying Minchin’s infectious and hilarious brand of musical comedy.

His excellent repertoire of witty songs included his thoughts on Jesus, cheese and defending his fellow red-heads, and even included a song from award-winning musical Matilda, which Minchin co-wrote with Dennis Kelly and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The songs were not only funny, but catchy as well – he had everyone laughing and singing along.

I managed to get closer to the stage for Paloma Faith and had a great view throughout the set of the quirky singer from Hackney.

Faith entertained the crowds with all the favourites from her first album Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? and a whole host of songs from the new album Fall To Grace, including the single Picking Up the Pieces and the next single 30 Minute Love Affair.

Her voice was incredible enough to scare away the rain and she had the whole crowd dancing and swaying along to her upbeat pop tunes and grand cinematic ballads.

In between songs Faith talked with members of the audience and was both charming and funny. Her band and backing singers were brilliant and I came away feeling like I had been a part of something really special.

Corey Ross