When the Sun Shines

The world’s a happier place when the sun shines. We dig out our most colourful clothes, hook up with friends on school nights and dance like no one’s watching. That was the picture at Lusty Glaze last week.

Both The Levellers and The Proclaimers played headline acts at Lusty’s Sundowner Sessions, sharing their legendary tracks on consecutive balmy summer evenings.

The Levellers took to the stage on Thursday, and boy did they draw a crowd. The venue was truly packed, well, as packed out as Lusty Glaze allows. That’s the beauty of the beach, a sold out gig still allows plenty of room for those who prefer their very own dancing arena, just a few metres from the immediate atmosphere and bustling crowd.

The sun sets at Lusty Glaze Beach

The Proclaimers played a pretty special set too. With a slightly more mellow fan base, the band were precluded by the soulful Kezia and upbeat tunes of The Jar Family. Very contrasting bands for the crowd to limber up to on a Friday night, as they tucked into paella and ice cold beer, kicking off their shoes for the evening.

Some fans relaxed on lime green deckchairs and quietly absorbed the music, other groups of friends congregated outside the beach huts enjoying the barbeque with the comfort of tables and chairs. And a few hundred dug their toes into the sand and swayed and jumped with unashamed abandonment to ‘I would walk 500 miles’ and ‘Letter from America’.

There comes a point during every Sundowner Session when the band isn’t the most important thing happening. That’s when the sun dips down behind the ocean, the sky lights up in colour and every soul with a smidgen of romance in them grabs their nearest loved one to enjoy the sunset. 

Sorry Wembley, you don’t come close!