Any festival where you can eat a burrito in a boat in a field is absolutely fine by me. For that reason alone, Blissfields earns itself a good position on the ratings scale, but to stop there would be a disservice. 

As small festivals go, it's hard to find a more friendly atmosphere than Blissfields. Everyone seems to know everyone, from the stewards to the bands, from the media personnel to the people running the food stalls. And nothing epitomised that spirit this year than the two main stage headliners. The Mystery Jets last played here in 2006. Bastille have played here for the last two years, gradually working their way up the stages and up the bill. Both bands felt a sense of loyalty to Blissfields when we spoke to them. And you get the feeling that both will be more than happy to return for years to come. 

The Mystery Jets rounded off a scorching Friday at Vicarage Farm. Starting with a fair chunk of new material, it took the crowd a while to warm up to the set, but you could feel the mood shift noticeably once they dropped their 2008 single 'Young Love' . From there-on-in there was a plethora of crowd-pleasing songs from their albums gone by, including a strong three-song encore that had the festival dancing in the relatively recent darkness.

Earlier in the day, the likes of The Staves and Marika Hackman provided an altogether fitting soundtrack to the sunny day - albeit not hugely energetic - in fact it wasn't until Fenech Soler took to the stage that the momentum started to really build. London Grammar also appeared to captivate, with their Florence-esque soaring vocal lines and their ethereal sound. 

It's a strange vibe to have a festival climax on a Saturday rather than a Sunday, but it's one that really works for Blissfields. And this year's final day was all building up to one thing. Bastille drew the main stage's biggest ever crowd (at least according to the whispers going around the site afterwards), and you get the impression that they'd have really struggled to not please this crowd, even if they'd wanted to. Following excellent sets from Blissfields favourites Theme Park and quickly-rising star Chloe Howl, Bastille had their audience in the palms of their hands right from the off, opening with the title track of their hugely successful debut record 'Bad Blood. A slightly left-field cover version of City High's 2001 track 'What Would You Do?' provided a lovely - if unexpected - moment, alongside the inevitable crowd-pleasers 'Laura Palmer' and 'Pompeii'.  A rendition of Happy Birthday for drummer Chris 'Woody' Wood and impressive end-of-set fireworks provided a fitting finale to a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

"Blissfields has nailed the art of the small festival - it's friendly, fun, and never seems to rain!" 

Articles: Dave Cribb & Luke Franks