NANTWICH was packed to overflowing with party-goers and music lovers alike last weekend as the Jazz and Blues festival went off with a bang.

It was standing room only in all of the participating pubs as dozens of top acts entertained the masses.

The evening gigs at The Crown Hotel and Civic Hall were also immensely popular with every one a sell-out.

Organiser, Phillip Martin, from the Crown Hotel, said they had laid on 11 extra gigs to cope with the number of people who came on Sunday and Monday.

The Saturday afternoon umbrella parade was also a hit as Nantwich Town Centre filled up and Mr Martin said: "We are delighted with the way it went.

"We have never seen so many people around the Square, the children in the parade were great, they put a lot of effort into it," he added.

Mr Martin added that they would be looking into improving the festival next year with more events on the Saturday for the children and the umbrella parade will return too.

The atmosphere was truly electric on Free Sunday and Free Monday when music filled the air as people walked the Nantwich streets and tunes could be found to satisfy any taste including traditional jazz, guitar music, rocking blues tunes and fast paced boogie.

With every pub packed the only complaint was that people sometimes struggled to see the bands and the bar service was stretched to the limit in most places.

Special mention should go to Chris Farlowe and the Norman Beaker Band and The Spencer Davies Group who lit up the festival when they appeared at the Civic Hall on Saturday and Friday nights.

Big Blue House kept the Frog and Ferret customers rocking on Sunday with an exceptional set and one of the highlights was the foot tapping tunes of keyboard, guitar and drum combo, Mojo, who were one of the must see bands of the festival.

Special mention should also go to Nantwich business, Schofield Brothers, who stepped in to fund the Red Rose Band after the council was unable to.

Picture - A real New Orleans-style vibe filled the air on Saturday afternoon when the Red Rose Jazz Band led the Umbrella Parade, Mardi gras-style. Photo SANT 8207-27A.