If parts of Saturday left me feeling deflated then all those thoughts and feelings were lost on the Sunday which to be frank was one of the best days and music related experiences I have had for a while.

Sunday saw an early start on the Church Stage and that was reflected by the attendance for La Famille Catastrophe. Simon played a few songs accompanied by the yelps from his children in the audience to which he smilingly reflected that you shouldn't bring your family to gigs. Sadly his light humoured lo-fi set in which he covered Lucky Misu's Vivalla ran into the appearance of A Smile And A Ribbon on the main stage and saw the already small number deplete further. I want to see them too he quipped as we headed out the door!

I am sure he enjoyed them because as they took advantage of the improved sound A Smile And A Ribbon were simply charming. Singer Rebecca explained she was learning some new English expressions such as I am dropping my friend off at the pool to laughter from the bleary eyed but appreciative crowd. Their last live appearance I caught was very Talulah Gosh like but here they expanded on their sound including a very rock and roll track which out swung indie swingers Friends Of The Bride at times. Their début album due out later this year is becoming a very mouth watering prospect indeed.

Sadly not many people were left as Friends Of The Bride played a set of the highest order. The bands music is a diversion from the standard definition indie pop with elements of swing. If Frank Sinatra was the vocalist for an indie pop group Friends Of The Bride would be that band. Mind you singer Bobby is certainly no poor substitute for ol' blue eyes and his charismatic stage presence banded with drummer Billy's banter drove the band even higher. Buckle Up Sunshine sounded better than it did on record and it surely cannot be too far now to when the band get the critical acclaim they deserve.

It was back to the church stage and for Horowitz and the largest crowd I saw on that stage all weekend. The band, who feature Pete from The Rosehips, have a fuzzy DIY guitar pop that flirts with your brain. Their songs such as Traceyanne and Pop Kids Of The World Unite pay homage to those days when indie pop was king and seek to usurp the throne once more as the indie pop revival gathers pace. Excellent.

Horowitz were followed onto the Church Stage by the Chiara L's who were possibly the find of the weekend for me. I had caught them at Twee as Fuck a few weeks back but having a clear head meant that I managed to appreciate how exciting a prospect they are. The Leeds based band are fronted by Italian front woman Chiara who reminded me of the powerful female post punk singers of the late 1970's and early 1980's. I have read comparisons to the likes of The Darling Buds but for me their sound goes back earlier than that. Check out songs like Odio and Knives and you will see what I mean and comparisons to Penetration, Blondie and X-Ray Spex spring to mind. Indie post punk pop! Can I claim that as a genre?

It was then time for my first visit to the steam train and we bundled into the mail carriage to see an acoustic set of Santa Dog songs by their front woman Rowena Dugdale. There is something serene about listening to songs on a steam train on it's journey through England's Peak district. Hearing the songs in this form for the first time also makes you appreciate how fine a lyrist she actually is.

We stayed aboard the train as The Pocketbooks sing along which was lucky because the carriage became very packed indeed. The band handed out song sheets and music shakers to the crowd who also joined in by dancing, clapping and blowing whistles as we sang our way through (and in my case murdered!)songs such as Ticket To Ryde and Bye Bye Baby as well as their recent single Cross The Line. I haven't had so much fun on a train since I was a kid heading to the sea side. A fantastic idea and well appreciated by all.

It was then back to the church for The Cut Outs. I have seen this band, who feature members of Airport Girl, The Fat Tulips and The Lucksmiths, a few times now but I have never found their cartoon 1960's pop sound that appealing. Still plenty of people did and that's the main thing.

The Electric Pop Group were next on the main stage and who wasn't blown away by how good they sounded? The band draw on the early Creation and Sarah records sound but here for the first time I noticed a strong shoegazing undercurrent. Standing in the crowd this aural wave just washed all over me as the band aired a number of new songs in support of those which appeared on their début album towards the end of last year. Popgirly sounded so good and the best of the new songs was My Only Inspiration. Performance of the weekend for me.

The last time I saw Persil they were lost on the vast plains of the main stage at Truck Nine in 2006. Whilst the stage was still too large for the pair of them (and they invited people to dance on stage for the last couple of songs) they provided that chainsaw sound that had been missing for most of the weekend. Singer Martine showed off the weekends slickest dance moves whilst David got thrashy with his guitar. Both made noises that made the ground move via their samplers and keyboards and it was good to hear Happy and Light Up My Light Life played live again! Almost band of the weekend.

Festival closer was Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern. Hayman is generally a hit or miss affair with me but tonight was definitely a hit with the added bonus that he didn't play the shocking bad recent Bad Police Woman single. He stuck to with older solo material and also tracks from Hefner & The French. His set, complete with his ukulele, was littered with wit and the best moment was when he presented indie tracks organiser Stuart with a programme signed and on behalf of all the bands. This is from all the wankers who lost you money he quipped. He finished with a rousing Pull Yourself Together and finally closed with Hymn For Cigarettes as chosen by the crowd who joined in by moshing to their delight.

In summary it was an excellent weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Congratulations to Stuart for organising such a wonderful event. The highlights for me included The Pocketbooks sing along, the steam trains, the venue, The Electric Pop Group, the re-erected Church, catching up with some old friends and meeting some new ones, seeing smiling faces at every turn and the local ales on offer. To be honest there are too many to mention but a thanks should also be given to the hard working Midlands railway staff and others such as sound engineers etc. who worked the weekend.

As for the low points (the low turnout and the food for starters) I am sure that the organisers have filed them in their lessons learnt report for next years festival which I am already looking forward too. Choo Choo! All aboard!

Emma from Pocketbooks has a blog. She has written about indie tracks as well.