Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra

I don’t profess to being a big Jools Holland fan but was keen to seen Walton Hall & Gardens used as an outdoor concert venue as Warrington continues its bid to climb the cultural rankings as a destination.

I suspect the vast majority in the near 2,000 crowd were Jools Holland fans and musically they were not disappointed as the Rhythm & Blues legend strutted his stuff on his beloved piano, of which he confessed his long love affair.

Along with special guests Pauline Black and Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson from The Selecter, together with guest vocalists Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Mabel Ray, there was also plenty of variety with ska and reggae thrown into the mix.

Did I enjoy the concert? Yes. Could it have been better? Yes.

Having to queue for the best part of 45 minutes to get a drink at the start of the show didn’t go down well with the vast majority in the crowd.

Paying £2 for a small bottle of water on top of £5 a pint, also didn’t go down well, especially when you discovered free bottles of water were being handed out in another part of the venue.

Hopefully joint organisers Walton Hall & Gardens and Culture Warrington, will have learned some lessons from staging this event and with a little bit better organisation logistically with serving food and drinks, those in the audience can enjoy all aspects of a venue which has great potential for further musical extravaganzas – although speaking to Jools Holland fans after the concert – they would much prefer to see him back on stage at the Parr Hall.

I guess you can’t please all of the people, all of the time, especially when word got round that some people got half price tickets in the lead up to the event.