The third Tenby Blues Festival took place over the weekend of November 14-16, with record audiences at venues all over town enjoying a wealth of talented blues performers. From Friday evening through to Sunday evening, this little seaside town was rocking!

The main venue once again was the beautifully decorated De Valence, with the exciting SPIKEdrivers opening the festival in fine style on Friday, followed by local jump jive heroes The Numbers Racket, then headliner, Texan soul blues sensation Eugene 'Hideaway' Bridges.

Saturday followed a similar pattern, with young blues star, the critically acclaimed Oli Brown nearly stealing the show with his incendiary guitar playing and equally firey vocals. He was followed by another Texan, Sherman Robertson, who proved himself well up to the task of performing after Oli.

The first highlight of his set was a walkabout in the crowd, with Sherman never missing a beat or a note and then, for a finale, he brought Oli back on stage to duet with him in a version of 'Shake Rattle and Roll'.

The Sunday lunch concert, transferred from the smaller rugby club because of ticket demand, started off in mellow mood with a powerful, passionate and witty show from legendary slide guitarist Johnny Dickinson.

By the time the hard rocking Sean Webster band hit the stage, the audience were in dancing mood and by the end, there wasn't a dry sock in the house.

The second venue on Friday and Saturday was the rugby club where, in more intimate surroundings, performers new to the festival were given a chance to strut their stuff.

As is usual at all good festivals, there were surprises from these new acts. Abi Budgen's delicate vocals were in sharp contrast to her abrasive guitar work. She nearly brought the house down with her rendition of 'The Muppet Song' in the style of Blind Blake and the Rev. Gary Davies! There were standout performances, too, from Sean Taylor and the amazing Big Mamma's Door.

There were late-night sessions at both the Fourcroft and Giltar Hotels, where several informal jams took place. Eugene 'Hideaway' Bridges turned up at the Giltar and played a sweet acoustic set.

Meanwhile, the pub trail, which boasted 12 hours of free music all over town, was a great success. So much so that the organisers plan to expand this part of the festival next year to accommodate those who couldn't get in, so packed were some of the pubs.

In the Crown, both blues trio Hideaway (featuring 16-year- old guitarist Luke) and Christopher Rees gave memorable shows.

There were two programme additions this year. Animal Jack busked successfully all over town and had Fecci's Fish and Chip shop jumping. And there was a festival fringe - on Sunday night the president, Pat Grover, took his new band, The Blue Hawks, through their paces at the Lifeboat Tavern.

Next year's festival will take place between November 13-15. Book your tickets now, for Tenby in November couldn't be hotter.