by Alan Quick

THE 11th Lapstock Music Festival at Lapford Mill last weekend has been heralded as a resounding success by organisers despite torrential rain late on Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

A staggering 1,600 festival-goers descended on the village and defied the weather to hear more than 30 acts over two nights including a free session for new and undiscovered local talent on the Friday night.

London-based “Tankus the Henge” headlined the event fresh from playing Glastonbury and stole the show with a magnificent set amid the Saturday evening rain.

Festival organiser Steve Keable said: “In terms of the atmosphere created, it was the best Lapstock yet with a fantastic family atmosphere and great humour.

“Festival goers are a very resilient bunch and take on bad weather as a badge of honour. Everyone got wet but nobody’s sprit was dampened.”

Mr Keable went on to say that the Lapstock crew have already started planning for next year’s event and are aiming to break attendance records yet again.

“Lapstock is essentially a community-run initiative so, on behalf of the organising team, I would like to thank all those local businesses that supported us this year and, in particular, the small army of local volunteers who helped on the day as stewards, bar staff, barbecue cooks, car park attendants, lifters, shifters and bottle washers. Every one of them did a great job and everyone helped to raise funds for Devon Air Ambulance Trust.”