Tonight is the launch for Cult Called Man's new single 'Make It Easy' in The Grand Social. CCM are a band who have, over the past four years, played all round the country with intelligent, accessible music delivered with a style and élan often missing from the indie scene. It's easy to spot the band in the venue, they're the best dressed people in the room. They certainly have the loudest trousers.

'Make It Easy' is the follow up to last July's 'Mr. Wednesdae' which they launched in Whelan's. A year on and the debut album is in the can. Tonight is the beginning of the promotional campaign which will see them playing just about every festival in the country. There's a projector screen at the back of the stage showing TV static which sporadically cuts to a CCM test pattern.

The first six songs are delivered without pausing for breath with the Meath six-piece harmonising with apparent ease. Lead singer Razmo has become the frontman he always promised to be, with the moves and stagecraft to match his incredible voice. The band are as tight as ever. It's mostly new material tonight with old singles like 'Mr. Wednesdae' and 'The Walkyr' notably absent from the setlist. The band's performance is so unified that they even move alike. They appear to take real pleasure in performing these songs. 

The theatrical presentation of 'The Martian' has the guitar and backing vocals playing the part of a retro sci-fi alien monster. There's a touch of Talking Heads about them, particularly when Razmo yelps like David Byrne. The band are joined by a brass section of sax and trumpet for 'Shut Up And Glow'. The six becomes eight and the bass player has to sit at the front of the stage to make room for everyone. CCM have a restrained sound for a six-piece. They don't need every member playing all the time. As a result there is a real dynamism to the music with every note serving the tune and when they do all play together it is more effective. 

'Make It Easy', the single they are here to launch, has an '80s white soul feel, Like David Bowie around that time, with falsetto harmonies. It is short and snappy with some Queen style flourishes. The heat under The Grand Social canopy would be considered unseasonable if it weren't July but after six weeks of rain it still comes as a surprise. Thankfully there are a multitude of fans hanging from the rigging. The band inform us that they aren't doing an encore because the pretence of encores is lame. And there I thought they couldn't go up further in my estimation. They finish in truly climactic fashion. The brass section returns and the whole band dance in unison for 'Kaddilak Kids' and a prepared crowd-pleasing outro. Masterful.

This weekend we were fortunate to attend the Love Supreme Festival. Nestled snuggly into the sleepy Sussex village of Glynde this is rapidly becoming one of the best small festivals around. With our VIP wristbands and smug faces we descended on the site.

Saturday is a blustery overcast start but we are uplifted by the skanking sounds of the Riot Jazz Brass Band.  This is exactly what we need to get the blood flowing.  Now hungry, we turn our attention to the host of food outlets and plump for a hearty Mexican burrito.

There is a wonderful laid back vibe as we wander the various market stalls and catch little performances at the bandstand where we chill and drink for a while. We then turn our attention to the main stage where Ibrahim Maalouf, a wonderful French jazz musician who restores our connection to the continent. He is followed Syke and Ross formerly of Morcheeba.  They don’t disappoint and provide the perfect nostalgic trip hop sounds we all remember. With a new album in the offering we hope to hear much more from them. We sip our fruity cider and can feel the warmth of a strange yellow thing in the sky.

The festival is supported by a host of great names. We are now embraced by the wonderful vocal talents of Lianne La Havas who has consistently delivered since her explosion via BBC Sound a few years back.  With the sun setting we bask in her sumptuous vocals along with her laid back grooves that have the crowd swaying and swooning. We get now why it’s called the Love festival, and it's clearly not just because of the Coltrane album. The sea of smiling faces and wonderful vibes restores our faith.

Aside from the main stages the festival has an arena for a more dance related vibe. Top of the bill is Mr World Music himself the wondrous Gilles Peterson.  We feel like we want to dance and he does not disappoint with his Brazilian themed set he gets the whole tent jumping. We also catch the incredible a talents of bassist Stanley Clarke

We close the first night with the enigmatic Grace Jones. If you have never seen her live it is a spectacle to behold. Scary, engaging and a hugely impressive talent she delivered a simply wonderful set.

Sunday arrives a little fuzzy headed but we are excited as we feel this is the best line of the two days. Our spirits are immediately lifted by the incredible vocal talents of Avery Sunshine.  Her beautiful soulful jazz voice invigorates the crowd. A few Aretha Franklin covers engage the crowd before she dazzles us with a few of her own numbers.  We are charmed by the straight up jazz piano of Anthony Strong as we make full use of our VIP passes as he gives us a short private show.

Other notable highs that blast away our blues come from the wonderfully named GoGo Penguin who signed to Blue Note records and now the success of their album Man Made Object has catapulted them to a wider audience.  To compliment this we see the legendary Average White Band whose string of disco and funk hits get the whole festival moving as the pump out there hits we ‘Pick up the Pieces’

The Sunday main stage is dominated by two of the most exciting songbirds around with Caro Emerald and Kelis. Kelis has had a huge musical transformation.  Forget her milkshake days, since her amazing album Food released in 2014 she has transformed her sound and her soulful groove is wonderfully received. She is decked in white and look simply fantastic. She belts out some of her latest stuff and is even a reworking of milkshakes to great applause.

Caro is a stunning performer whose jazz vocals and distinctive sounds go down a storm. The Dutch Queen of swinging jazz is a perfect crossover act as she belts out her hits which allows hundreds of impromptu jive and lindy hop dancers who although have had clearly one too many glasses of Pimms provide us with great entertainment.  

The festival is complete by the smooth sounds of the wonderful Mr Burt Bacharach closing the show. Our only gripe is that this is rather too laid back after the previous acts and we would have preferred him in a sunnier crooner slot earlier in the day.   

However is does allow us to wind down and collect our thoughts as we trudge through the masses reflecting on a wonderful uplifting festival which simply gets better and better. 

This weekend sees the welcome return of the Love Supreme Festival.  Nestled snuggly into the sleepy Sussex village of Glynde this is rapidly becoming one of the best small festivals around.

Situated close to Brighton and now boasting four main stages, it's moving away from a strictly Jazz-orientated line-up, to include a wide ranging collection of acts.

This year is no exception with headliners featuring the enigmatic Grace Jones on Saturday, followed by the smooth sounds of the wonderful Mr Burt Bacharach on Sunday evening. With a positive forecast and after a rather unsettling week we predict a love festival is the perfect antidote to a week we would all rather forget.

There is more to offer outside the headline acts.  This year's festival hosts a selection of great names. We are particularly looking forward to the vocal talents of Lianne La Havas who has consistently delivered since her explosion via BBC Sound. She is joined by two other exciting songbirds in the frm of Caro Emerald and Kelis who both appear on the Sunday.

Caro is a stunning performer whose jazz vocals and distinctive sounds are sure to go down a storm.  Kelis on the other hand has had a huge musical transformation.  Forget her milkshake days, since her amazing album ‘Food’ released in 2014 she has transformed her sound and her soulful groove are sure to be greatly received.

Aside from the main stages the festival has an arena for a more dance related vibe. Top of the bill is Mr World Music himself the wondrous Gilles Peterson.  Other notable highs we hope will blast away our blues come from the wonderfully named GoGo Penguin who signed to Blue Note records and now the success of their album Man Made Object has catapulted them to a wider audience.  To compliment this we see the legendary Average White Band whose string of disco and funk hits are sure to get the whole festival moving.

There are a very few tickets left and we urge you to heal you broken hearts and minds and indulge yourself in a wonderful festival that will aim to heal us all.

You can visit the festival's website here.

How can Saturday evening possibly get any better than Friday evening I hear you ask? By opening with surf-tastic instro-minstro's The Sine Waves that’s how. One of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing over the weekend. Unfortunately I only managed to catch their last two numbers. But it’s quality, not quantity right? What they did in those 8 minutes or so was utterly captivating. They sound just as good as they look; bassist and 'all systems are go-go' girl from another dimension, Spectrum, tantalises the crowd. They end their set with a corking rendition of The Mummies ‘The Fly’ - good choice. Another goosebumps-y moment courtesy of The Franklin.

No sooner are Dr Magnus Psyke and his chums off, than Medway three piece, The Mindreaders, are on. We are assured of a certain standard in the form of Russ Wilkins (The Milkshakes, The Wildebeest, Lord Rochester), and possible misdemeanors from the mystery that is Sexton Ming. You may know Ming best for his artwork, and poetic efforts with Billy Childish. We are warned in advance that anything could happen... and there is an air of trepidation as he takes to the stage. Tonight Ming treats us to stopping mid-song to read and answer a text message, later he produces a sizeable kitchen knife from his back pocket and after thinking about it for a short while, promptly discards it (thank goodness say a shrinking audience) and then gets into a mini-tiff with the missus about the phone. it’s both bizarre, and a bit ridiculous; that said Wilkins takes it all in his stride and they play a really good solid set. Mrs Ming, or rather artist and ethereal beauty Ella Guru (latterly of The Voodoo Queens), joins them on bass for their last number, a cover of MC5's ‘Looking At You’.       

Time for Thee Jezebels - good old-fashioned pub rock ‘n’ roll. Possibly the act that most punters have been waiting for. Their reputation of working and partying hard supersedes them, and they’re definitely up for a lark tonight. They plough through their set in a jovial manner with lots of cheeky banter. When Laura’s and Letty’s guitars are out of tune, they laugh it off and carry on, after a few attempts to manage to get them in sync. Tumultuously turning out tracks from their E.P.’s (released on State Records), and ending with a Wilko Johnson number ‘Going Back Home’. The girls are definitely a crowd favourite.

As if Lois Tozer hadn’t worked hard enough during her previous set with Thee Jezebels all of 5 minutes ago. She’s now back again with Freakbeat trio The Embrooks. And this isn’t an opportunity for her to take it easy, because The Embrooks take the roof off. Having seen them as recently as 20 years ago, my recollection is slightly hazy, but tonight they are absolutely on it, all that and they win the stripiest trousers contest hands down. They debut a fab new song, the new single perhaps? And old fave ‘Helen’. Their power-pop freakbeat Who-esque predilection is evident, but it’s their own sweat, tears and drive that make the difference. Absolutely stonkin’.

Oh! Gunquit are reserved for the finale of the Franklin Fest 2016, and quite rightly so. They know how to pound out those rhythmic hypnotic voodoo beats. (And is it just me, or do the band always appear to have a green light shining over them, like the lighting from a 60’s monster movie?) Anyhoo, that steady rhythmic beat is the link that keeps it all together, and the crowd entranced. Oh! Gunquit know how to put on an animated performance, and tonight they don’t disappoint. ‘Lights Out’, ‘Bad Bad Milk’ and ‘Sink Hole’ all go down a storm (natch), but it’s ‘Caves’ where vocalist Tina crawls through the legs of lucky Franklin Fest-ers, that things get just a little bit wild. They’ve reached the end of the set, and as much as we all don’t want this to end, it does. What a fitting finish to the weekend. Viva la Franklin Fest!