Exciting new music at Touchstones

Denis Jones - Feel Good Festival 2009

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An intimate and appreciative audience enjoyed a range of live music at one of the Feel Good Festival's fringe venues yesterday (Saturday 11 July).

Touchstones was away from the beaten track of the main stage and the food market but that did not stop a number of people wandering over to enjoy a coffee while they were watching the bands.

Preston and Manchester based duo Ivan Campo, named in tribute to the former Bolton and Real Madrid footballer, were first on stage and the audience grew as they sampled the sweet folk songs. The music was unpredictable but melodic and each tune was met with satisfaction from the crowd.

Lead guitarist and vocalist Adam Shaw said: "The venue was something a bit different for us but I enjoyed the atmosphere with people coming and going and hopefully everyone enjoyed us."

Next came the afternoon's highlight in the form of Denis Jones, whose self-taught guitar playing and unique vocals, given an extravagant electronic twist, drew in the largest audience of the day.

It took a while for the crowd to settle into some of the strange sounds produced by the combination of a loop station and megaphone but once they had familiarised themselves with the beat-box rhythms and other-worldly sounds then they were enthusiastic in their appreciation.

After his set, Jones said: "I've really enjoyed it and it looks like the crowd did too. I'm going to enjoy the other bands and stick around the festival for a while to show my support."

The audience continued to ebb and flow through the next two acts, Magic Arm, aka Marc Rigelsford, who gives a dark electronic edge to folk and pop, and Liz Green, a Manchester-based singer-songwriter who woke up just 45 minutes before she was due to play her set of anti-folk tunes, fired out with her beautifully mellow voice.

Touchstones provided a nice venue for people to feel their way into the festival, or to listen to something different, ahead of the more mainstream bands in the evening.