Waterlooville comes alive with the sound of music

And that happy vibe will continue throughout the week as dozens of concerts are in the offing.

Waterlooville Music Festival, now in its 11th year, got off to a superb start on Saturday.

The launch was tied-in with the annual summer fete held at St George’s Church.

The theme was to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, so all the stalls and stallholders were dressed in the colours of the Union flag.

Performing in the morning were HMS Collingwood Band, Urban Vocal Group and Gospel Road Community Choir.

The festival got into full swing on Saturday night with the audience revelling in the big band sounds of the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, courtesy of the talented Langstone Big Band.

Yesterday there were memorable performances by The Festival Scratch Choir, which sang favourite Gilbert and Sullivan choruses.

Chris Gadd, one of the organisers, said the festival gets bigger and better every year.

‘We are as surprised as ever as to how well ticket sales have gone,’ he said.

‘This year we sold out more evening events earlier than ever.’

There are around 50 concerts in total, including Hampshire Police Male Voice Choir, The Octaves and The Foreverly Brothers.

The climax of the week is always a highlight with a Last Night of The Proms, featuring The Meridian Winds Concert Band.

Several local schools will be doing day concerts.

For details about all the events click here.