The first day of Larmer Tree 2016 dawned bright and sunny with just enough breeze to get the avenue of flags marking the arrival snapping in the wind.

Early arrivals to the site were lucky enough to be treated to two sets by very different artists on the official opening night of the festival.

First up was Jack Savoretti the Italian/English singer/songwriter/guitarist who has been around for a good ten years but has really come to the attention of the wider public over the last two or three.

His set was excellent with that great voice just perfect for the evening.

He seemed as surprised as everyone else that the rain stayed away as he remarked that he had played a number of festivals and this is the first one where he had played to a dry crowd.

The crowd really took to the man as he proved to be an excellent choice to open the festival.

Next up was the Wednesday night headliner Jamie Cullum.

Taking time to have a chat with two of the festival guests before he hit the stage he seemed full of energy and genuinely pleased to be performing at the Larmer Tree.

People know him mainly as a jazz performer but he is an excellent all round entertainer.

He kept the energy levels high throughout the set and kept the crowd on their feet and moving.

The evening may have turned slightly chilly but the fans didn’t seem to mind as the performance showed just what a talent he is.

If the rest of the acts are as good as the first two then the Larmer Tree would have once again provided an excellent weekend of music, comedy and just about everything else.

With Download and Glastonbury both suffering from the dreaded festival mud let’s hope this glorious weather keeps up until Monday.

If it does this promises to be a wonderful few days.