Piano-pounding boogie-woogie legend Jools Holland tonight kicked off a bumper weekend of live music in Montrose.
The 58-year-old brought his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra to the town’s East Links to headline the ninth Montrose Music Festival.
The big band and their guest vocalists whipped up a great atmosphere on an extremely chilly night as they steamed through a repertoire of jazz, blues, rock n’ roll and boogie woogie in front of 4,000 fans.
The show featured guest vocalists Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson and Pauline Black from ska pioneers The Selecter, and the boogie-woogie queen herself, the peerless Ruby Turner.
Here we go! @MoFestofficial @JoolsHollandGig @LCCLiveEvents #Montrose #Angus pic.twitter.com/YjEj38fM5e
— Graham Brown (@C_GBrown1) May 27, 2016
The big band all got turns in the spotlight during the two-hour show.
The performers were clearly having a ball on stage and the lively mix of music had the East Links crowd dancing along throughout the evening.
Support was provided by Red Sky July which includes husband and wife duo Ally McErlaine, guitarist in band Texas, and Shelly Poole, previously one half of Alisha’s Attic.
Montrose Music Festival vice-chair Anne Jenkins said: “We’d just like to say thank you to everyone who came along to the gig.
“It was great to see so many fans having such a great time.”
Organisers are hoping for record numbers this weekend with 120 gigs played out across 26 venues and a High Street main stage.
Last year’s MoFest attracted more than 12,000 music fans.
