Despite some heavy downpours at the weekend everyone seemed

determined to have a great time at Bloom Festival. It is the

first time the event has been held at its new location at

Hartley Farm in Seven Springs.

Compared with some of the bigger festivals, Bloom prides

itself on not having long queues, and with V Festival bracing

itself for 80,000 people this weekend, it was a welcome relief

to find a cosy spot in the food tents and not have to wait an

aeon at the bar.

Thankfully, Friday was a warm and dry evening and a dramatic

set by the London Breakbeat Orchestra on the main stage got

everybody in the mood.

Clad in red T-shirts, the two dozen or so musicians played

original orchestral pieces which were infused with Seventies

funk and drum and bass.

The Fly53 tent was packed for the entire weekend with people

dancing to a range of DJs from the Drummattic Twins to High

Contrast, and more club sounds emanated from the Lost Disco and

Funk Tents.

But it was Roisin Murphy's appearance on the main stage

which was a real coup for festival organisers. The electronica

singer can draw large crowds in her own right, and will be

playing at Manchester and Brixton academies later this year,

but a select Bloom audience was able to enjoy her robotic

dancing and eye-catching costumes from only a few feet

away.

The former Moloko frontwoman came out sporting her trademark

space-age glasses and changed her outfit for each song, donning

a glittering suit for You Know Me Better, and a range of

colorful head wear.

Disappointingly, there were technical problems during her

set, with the power cutting out altogether at one stage, but

she soldiered on with her dancers to put on a great show.

With incessant rain, Saturday turned into a bit of a damp

squib but it didn't stop a large crowd braving the elements for

Bristol-based DJ Roni Size and Reprazent.

The group released its iconic record New Forms in 1997 and

is back with a new album which is being released next year.

They played all the classic drum and bass tracks from the old

days including Brown Paper Bag and Share the Fall

and the energy and enthusiasm of Dynamite MC made everyone

forget the rain was coming in horizontally – at least for a few

minutes.

Festival headliners Stereo MCs introduced some catchy new

material from their sixth album Double Bubble, as well as hit

singles Connected and Step it Up, with lead

singer Rob Birch bounding on stage in a red hoodie and

sunglasses, dispelling his 40-plus years.

Bloom hasn't had an easy transition to its new home, with

atrocious weather and last minute cancellations, but hopefully

it'll be back next year with some more top acts.

Lucy Rutherford