“WHAT a festival! What a beautiful part of the world! WEST COUNTRY!”

The Hoosiers’ Alphonso Sharland couldn’t have better captured the buzz of Watchet Live 2013 as the band played the rip-roaring set Saturday night’s crowd had been waiting for.

Mark and Jackie Bale had bust a gut to lay on this year’s Watchet Live – a firm fixture on the UK’s serious small festival circuit with its 5,000 ticket holders – securing a line-up of The Specials’ Neville Staple, Dreadzone, The Skints, 3 Daft Monkeys, Showaddywaddy, The Wurzels, Doctor & The Medics and, of course, The Hoosiers as headliners.

The County Gazette went along to feast on Saturday’s Watchet spread, the sweet centre of the eclectic high-calibre music sandwich that was Parsonage Farm’s three-day festival weekend.

On arrival, fusion string band Appalachia were bringing the bluegrass sounds of the New York-to Mississippi strip to England’s west coast with riffs and refrains dating back to 1928 – later, they’d share their skills in a songwriting workshop.

In the walk from the main stage at one end to Watchet’s own circus top ‘Udder Stage’ at the other, hungry festival goers had their pick of flavours, from French crêpes, Mexican and liquorice to black bean burgers, while a stream of pints of local ciders were carried out from the on-site bar.

Chalky’s Circus Skills Workshop never emptied of youngsters trying their hand at unicycling and stiltwalking, backing on to a curious cut-throat barber surrounded by stalls.

Against the backdrop of mirrorballs, boutique fabrics and Ed Miliband inspired haikus, the Something Else Tea Tent had a wall-to-wall run of acoustic acts, and among them was raw singer-guitarist talent Louis Howells, 12, followed by Taunton finger-picking dynamo Darren Hodge, who belted out Merle Travis’ ‘Cannonball Rag’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Billy Jean’.

Hours later, trilby-wearing one man band Funke and the Two Tone Baby sang in rough-hewn Jack White style, layering the sound with a loop pedal, two microphones and a mouth organ.

Amazing Bollywood rock fusion group RSVP, fresh from Glastonbury, were the main stage’s early hit of the night, getting festival goers on their feet with their unique Bhangra rhythms.

Meanwhile, over in the packed cow print-lined Udder Stage, the Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican kept up the rousing spoof and satire with such hits as Chris De Burgh’s ‘Lady in Greggs’ and Kings of Leon’s ‘Your A*** is On Fire’, picking up where Combine ‘Arvester earlier left off.

A strong sea wind had the giant red and yellow festival flags flying high and bright from dawn until dusk, and come nightfall a strip of lights along the South Wales coast was the stunning sight across the water as music fans thronged, chatted, danced and sang.

Jackie said: “It has been a lot of hard work – a lot of personal sacrifice to get it to this level this year – but when you’re standing on the back of the stage watching Neville Staple playing you know you’ve achieved something really special.”