If you’re off to a Seth Lakeman gig you can rest assured he will put everything into the evening and you can leave with a smile on your face.

I’ve seen the folk fiddler a couple of times over the last two or three years and he always manages to get the slightly static reserved English crowd if not exactly dancing, at least giving their feet a good old tap.

The sheer energy of his set, where he sings, plays frenetic fiddle and a drum at the same time is infectious and never better than in the sublime Kitty Jay, from his first album.

Stark spotlights combined with the dark and dramatic droning violin make this a sure-fire crowd pleaser and the rest of the set didn’t disappoint.

His new album features loads of songs about the sea and sailors and, even though we were about as far away as we could get from the lapping ocean, the mournful, percussive songs made it seem a just that little bit closer.