COLNE'S 10th annual Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival burst into life last night - with the first of the 600 performers due to appear over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The international stage was host to three of Ruf Records' finest acts. First up was fresh-faced Aynsley Lister, a cool customer who has come a long way in a short time, now playing alongside the Blues elite with a maturity beyond his years.

A packed audience warmed to 60s Blues heavyweights Canned Heat after a laboured start, hampered by barely audible vocals on band anthem 'On The Road Again.'

It was, however, Blues master Walter Trout, no stranger to Colne, who brought the evening to a Bank Holiday boil. Big on personality and technique, he had the crowd spellbound as he played every trick in the guitar book.

At the British stage, if you weren't jiving to 10-piece Sugar Ray's Flying Fortress, you weren't there. The brass section blew up a storm and had the house jumping. Surely a festival highlight.

There's an outdoor festival tomorrow and Monday and record attendances are expected, so without fine weather the pub and fringe venues could burst at the seams.

DAVID HAYNES

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