THE rain did little to dampen the spirits of gig goers as Coleford Music Festival made its return on the weekend.
The ever-popular festival saw an eclectic mix of acts perform to huge crowds of locals and visitors across three stages on Saturday and Sunday (July 8 and 9).
While the weather could certainly be described as a mixed bag - with a few torrential downpours being intercut with glorious sunshine at times - festival goers still came out en masse to enjoy a varied programme featuring local musicians and those from further afield.
Highlights on the Saturday included local favourites Massai, who were performing live for the first time in seven years.
The band brought their ska-metal mix to the Main Stage with an accomplished performance that pleased old fans and saw them make plenty of new ones.
Headliners RSVP then got everyone in the town centre dancing with their high energy, interactive Bhangra experience.
The St John’s Street Stage saw local 2-toners The Skabeats warm up the crowd during the day, while ska-reggae three-piece King’s Alias were another firm favourite on Saturday night.
Sunday saw the festivities continue with The Scowles performing a set of acoustic classics in St John’s Street, and local rockers Damaged Goods drawing a huge crowd as the rain gave way to some proper July weather.
In the festival’s “Legends” slot, local singer-songwriter Bob Smith was a hit on the Main Stage with his band The Miff Identity, and the grooves kept coming thereafter with reggae outfit The Barefoot Bandit and the Congolese-influenced Cable Street Collective.
The weekend came to a close in style with a high energy performance from Madness tribute One Step Behind, who had the town dancing long into the night.