BURNLEY was a town getting the blues in more ways than one on Saturday.

While Clarets fans were left deflated in the rain at Turf Moor following their thumping by Manchester City, music lovers were enjoying the 22nd National Blues Festival in the town.

This year it may have been festival lite – down to just one day from the normal three due to lack of funding – but the quality remained undiminished.

As ever, the Mechanics was home to the festival with stages in both the main hall and the Press Room.

Gone were the big name American acts but the organiser served up a menu of purely British fare which more than ticked all the boxes.

The Stumble’s driving blues was followed by the Blues Band’s Paul Jones and Dave Kelly, who performed an acoustic set of over an hour. Jones – Radio Two’s bluesman – showed deft touches on harmonica with Kelly’s light touch on guitar the perfect accompaniment.

James Hunter brought the sounds of Stax to the stage with their soul-drenched blues.

He was clearly out to have a good time and served up the perfect appetiser to final act.

Mike Sanchez, the ultimate showman, replete in bright red drape suit, brought a blues review feel to proceedings.

With Big Boy Bloater initially on guitar, Sanchez turned the festival into a party.

Then came a real treat. First he introduced guitarist Andy Sylvester, then saxophonist and harmonica player Ricky Cool.

As a result the Big Town Playboys were reunited on a stage they graced at the first festival over 20 years ago.

One casualty of the shortened festival appeared to be the atmosphere, with many ticketholders bringing chairs in out of the bar and plonking them down in the main hall and refusing to move.

Surely with a party in full swing, you should be up and dancing?

That said, what it lacked in the number of days, the Burnley Blues Festival proved it’s still a major event to be reckoned with.