I was invited to attend the inaugural Perfect Day Festival held at Powderham Castle on Sunday 3rd July with a line up full of chilled artists. The weather was holding up nicely as we queued to get in and we were lucky as the sun looked like it would be present all day! The day before at Powderham was the 80’s themed festival ‘Let’s Rock’ which I’d heard anecdotal reports of problems with toilets and rubbish! But luckily today the area was kept clean and tidy all day.

The entertainment kicked off with Wildwood Kin a trio from Exeter who provided beautiful harmonies that echoed over the Devon hills. They commented how nice it was to be performing on home turf and judging by the reception they received their fans were keen to have them back too. Their set was full of upbeat numbers and included a new song called ‘Sunrise’ which Beth wrote in lockdown.

Next up were The Shires, one of the UK's most successful country artists of the past decade. The duo performed hits such as Friday Night, and Daddy’s Little Girl which was quite fitting as Crissie mentioned she was pregnant with twin girls!

They also treated us to a cover of country classic Islands in the Stream.

Fresh from her performance at Hyde Park with Adele, Gabrielle was looking gorgeous in an all black ensemble. She graced us with fan favourites such as When a Woman and Sunshine along with a cover of Teardrops by Womack and Womack and said of performing Rise that after twenty years she can sing it without crying!

Gabrielle also gave some good life advice to the crowd before performing Out of Reach, saying “If you’re in a dark tunnel, remember there is a way out. Reach out to friends and family”.

Tom Odell was next on the bill but as he was running late, James Morrison kindly swapped!

James’ effortless husky vocals were a real highlight of the day. He was note perfect and sounded just like the record. A slowed down version of Broken Strings broke some people in the crowd with a few tears spotted.

James commented it's hard to believe that You give me Something is fifteen years old! Before performing his latest single Who’s Gonna Love Me Now.

As the crew prepared the stage for Tom Odell’s performance, a shiny black grand piano was wheeled on. Tom arrived on stage in an all black suit and said “Sorry I’m late!”

While Tom performed Heal, the crowd fell silent and the emotions of the song hung in the air. Tom played his new single Best day of my life which he talked about in an interview with Total Entertainment, “I guess the idea behind this song was from my experience of sadness. After you’ve been through a really hard time, there are these incredible peaks of euphoria, these moments of almost uncontrollable joy, which you’re almost suspicious of.”

There was a huge cheer for Tom’s 2013 hit Another Love which has featured on over two hundred thousand TikTok videos

The festival’s headliner was David Gray.

Before he began his performance, a mysterious QR code appeared on the screens adjacent to the stage which linked to a charity donation page for Curlew Action. You can join David in supporting the charity HERE

David wore a white suit which fitted nicely with it being the twentieth anniversary tour of his White Ladder album. He performed the whole album in sequence which was a real treat for fans!

There was a great sing along with Babylon and as the sun set at 9.30, This Year’s Love played out to the crowd, many of whom took the opportunity to have a romantic embrace.

My personal favourites of the day were Gabrielle for the nostalgia and Tom Odell for the feels.

‘A Perfect Day festival’ really lived up to its name. The vibe was chilled and family friendly; and we were so lucky with the weather. I will be looking forward to next year!

Words and Pictures by Lauren Costello-Fox