Kicking things off on the Paddock Stage after a well attended Sunday Church service which saw some additional Jenn Bostic performances was Joe Martin. To say it was a low key start would be an understatement and as he rattled through "Call Me A Liar" many were unsure if it was still the soundcheck as he had yet to be officially introduced.
It seems that with each time we see Joe he has managed to knock out another batch of great songs and today was no exception as he continues a rich vein of writing seeing inspiration in the smallest of things and yet able to transform it into something much more by using a bit of imagination.
The second song so new that it only has a working title of "Country song" was born out of one of those small observations and turned into a rich three minute story. of a man remembering his past.
In an event that has certainly never happened in the history of Buckle and Boots before the temperature in the paddock tent really started to soar in the heat of the middday sun - and so troubadour Joe was forced to dispense with his jacket. The next song, "Love Strong" which is to be the new single to hopefully be released in September gave Joe a chance to let rip on a soaring chorus.
The closing batch of songs were simply sublime "Daddy Gene" which manages to weave historic events of the final moon landing but shoots it though the prism of the last man on the moon's daughter who is more interested in going camping and is awaiting her Dad to "bring me a moonbeam". With a suitably big chorus this song gets better and better each time we hear it.
Next up another awesome piece of work born out of the slightest of events that many of us would probably ignore, but for the trained songwriters eye this stuff is gold dust! After watching a down and out left broken after approaching the driver of an expensive car for cash, the song ponders on what would happen if the rich person were to experience a unfortunate series of events that could lead to him being in the same position. "Money For The Needy" is the resultant song and a bit like "In The Ghetto" it is able to end exactly where it begins - it is a masterful piece of songwriting and possibly one of the best individual songs of the whole weekend!
Finally another song that just seems to require realising into a definitive recorded version as it is just about perfect, is "Letters of Regret". It continues to impress as the story has such a strong narrative, and Joe's delivery is able to imbue the song with enough pathos that makes the characters so vivid and real.