V Festival - Weston Park - Saturday 16 August 2014

The rain held off for the V Festival this year again for what proved to be another varied range of acts appearing across the weekend.

Chic featuring Nile Rodgers were a great act to warm up the crowd with their mid afternoon set, essentially performing the same set as Rodgers has played at various festivals and gigs across Europe this summer, who can argue with a set list with songs such as We Are Family, He's The Greatest Dancer and Madonna's Like a Virgin (all tracks Rodgers has either written or produced). His Daft Punk collaboration from last year, Get Lucky is now included in his set, though it does sound different when performed by his two female backing vocalists. Inviting members of the audience up on stage with him to perform Good Times, it certainly was a good time everyone appeared to have.

Katy B performed a bass heavy set, accompanied by 4 dancers; her songs always seem to rise above the standard pop formula, having more depth than what some of her contemporaries sing. Crying for No Reason, a tender ballad showed a different side to her whilst Little Red and 5 AM got the crowd dancing in high spirits.

Rudimental have been one of the most successful dance/pop acts of the last year. It is easy to see why: they have some classic tracks that lend themselves to the dance floor and the festival circuit too. Always seeming like they are having a party on stage, this infectious enthusiasm is not lost on the audience. The set dipped mid set as they play some new tracks, Cool To Love Me sounded good although the audience really wanted to hear their hit songs. They were soon back in dancing mode though when the band dropped Waitin All Night and Feel The Love.

Jason Derulo can hardly contain his excitement at being at the festival "you are the best audience of the year" he informs the crowd. Dressed in red and black he looks like a cola bottle, he certainly fizzes as he does a handstand on stage too. The hits follow and from being a poor copy of Usher he goes into superior mode with hits such as In My Head, Ridin' Solo and Talk Dirty.

With a Number 1 album and a sold out autumn tour coming up Paolo Nutini drew a large crowd. His soulful tracks with a hint of the blues are more suited to a more intimate venue so that some of his tracks are lost on the crowd. He appears to be enjoying playing live more than he did in the past. Cherry Blossom Smile, a track from his latest album was one of the highlights, though his big hit Candy was the most enthusiastically received.

Yorkshire's very own Embrace headlined The Futures stage, playing greatest hits set tracks such as Gravity and Nature's Law. The songs have stood the test of time and sound just as good as they did when released over 10 years ago. Bathed in green and blue lights the sombre mood of the lighting was in perfect tandem to their tracks.

The Killers headlined the main stage and it was easy to see why. They have the songs that appeal to a wide age group. Lead Singer Brandon Flowers looked to be in his Element. Opening with Mt Brightside it was a set that sounded like a Greatest Hits album; Somebody Told Me, Smile Like You Mean It and Human are already classic tracks. A perfect end to an eclectic day of good music.