was welcomed to Whitehaven with open arms over the weekend and strummed his way to victory in front of a packed-out crowd who screamed their appreciation at him one lyric at a time.
The 29-year-old singer-songwriter made up part of line-up – also featuring The Vaccines, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor – and his appearance undoubtedly brought the seaside town to life.
Taking over the sunset slot, his set list filled the salty air with an ode to pop indie’s past and beautifully cut through the atmosphere with the grit the hitmaker’s most loved for.
He stepped out onto the festival’s main stage and reminded the audience plain and simply why he had so fast all those years ago.
Echoing his no-frills attitude, the star donned an all-black ensemble for the occasion wearing a plain t-shirt as he switched between acoustic and electric guitars for one blissfully sound-tracked hour.
Jake had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he plucked his guitar strings and continued to captivate throughout the evening – despite some sound issues that were seemingly no fault of his own.
Squeaking microphone feedback aside, the humble star repeatedly thanked ticket-holders for listening to his set that was expertly delivered by the veteran musician – whose experience on stage shone through in his effortlessness and innate ability to entertain.
He launched into his much-loved hits and really turned up the vibes for the festival-goers with his Trouble Town.
Acknowledging the songs part in the TV show, he had to concrete floor of the arena vibrating as he vivaciously played and belted the track, creating a real standout moment from the performance.
Offering a unique sense of intimacy while also very much emulating a festival atmosphere, the singer cleverly juxtaposed two styles of performing with his song choices and was met with deafening screams every time he strummed his last note as a result.
Lightening Bolt slowed things down and offered the audience a chance to truly appreciate the vocals that made him a household name following his 2012 debut and added a layer of raw emotion to the fun-fuelled Saturday night.
Singing himself out on a classic crowd-pleaser, the star flashed a smile as he announced his final tune of the night would be All I Need and well, that’s all the festival-goers needed too as they began jumping around to the upbeat song.
Jake’s appearance was nothing short of what we’d usually expect from the Nottingham local – simply effective undistracted soulful ear candy from a man who never forgets to say thank you very much.
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