Singer Matt Dusk provided the support with slick versions of the American Songbook, playing old favourites including As Time Goes By and the My Fair Lady staple Get Me To The Church On Time. His voice may not have the gravitas of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin, but his polished delivery and enthusiasm for the songs makes up for it. He rounded his set off with All About Me, a track from his new album. The crowd appeared subdued throughout. Perhaps spirits were dampened by the weather, but the rain held off long enough for Matt to finish his set without getting his shiny suit wet. Headline actJools Holland swept on to the stage accompanied by a troupe of musicians. Aware that the crowd may be feeling the chill in the air, he soon livened things up. "Let’s warm up by having a bit of a boogie," he announced. After cranking up the mood, he introduced Louise Marshall who sung a more than competent version of Georgia On My Mind. For such a small person she had a fine set of lungs! Maybe it was because of the weather or maybe it was because they didn’t want to let Holkham Hall down on its first weekend of music shows, but Jools and the band really went for it.  | | Matt Dusk warmed up the crowd |
His unique blend of blues, swing and boogie-woogie was punctuated with crashing chords and deafening finales. A windswept Jools appeared possessed as his fingers danced over his keyboard in a blur which gave the impression he had extra hands. He was keen to involve the crowd in everything he did and was in a jovial mood. "Let's have some applause for an inanimate object – ladies and gentlemen, the harpsichord," joked the main man. And they complied. Worryingly with as much, if not with more vigour than for any other event during the evening! Guest singersJools was accompanied by his long-time guest singers Ruby Turner and Sam Brown. With the latter performing her old school country blues in her trademark breathy voice, there was enough musical talent on stage to satisfy any crowd. From frantic drums to mean-sounding saxes and a fleet of trombones, the orchestra whipped up a storm.  | | See more gig photos in the gallery |
One of the evening's highlights came when he performed a track from his forthcoming album, Moving Out To The Country. Jools and his orchestra seemed to get a kick out of playing it live. The crowd seemed to enjoy the show even if there was a little too much English restraint on show. They fans dance but in a reserved manner. From a distance it was more of a collective bobbing of heads than full-on dancing! That wasn’t going to stop Jools though. By the time his brother, Christopher, joined him on stage to play the piano everybody seemed to have forgiven the weather. Jools and his gang know how to put on a show – the ideal act for an opening weekend. Jools Holland And His Rhythm And Blues Orchestra played at Holkham Hall on Saturday, 2 September.Photo credits: Wendy Back. | 
