COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

BRIT Award winner Jessie J arrives in Warwick tonight (Friday) to play this year's Warwick Castle Summer Sounds Concert.

One of the British music industry's rising stars, Jessie J will perform chart-topping hits including Price Tag, Do It Like a Dude and Who You Are.

The singer-songwriter was also seen recently as a mentor on prime-time BBC talent show The Voice.

She describes her style as 'pure ghetto-pop fabulosity' and it has won her the Critics Choice award at the Brits in 2011 and was nominated for Best British Breakthrough Artist and Best Single in 2012.

Jessie J and Proms at Warwick Castle



WARWICK residents opening their windows over the weekend were treated to two very different styles of music as the outdoor concerts came to the castle.

Attracting some 20,000 music fans, pop diva Jessie J on the Friday and the full scale Last Night of the Proms on Saturday, were the latest offerings in what has become a popular event.

Fresh from the panel of TV's The Voice Jessie J brought a youthful crowd to their feet with a very winning combination of well-choreographed hit songs and off-the-cuff banter.

Behind the high-energy presentation and self-effacing charm, she also managed to show that she has a real talent – not a note out of place in an object lesson many from the welter of talent shows would do well to absorb.

Mud and rain seems to be the going rate for British festival goers, but few, from the wig-clad youngsters to the somewhat older would have let that spoil an excellent show.

Saturday's audience was altogether more family orientated with many ignoring the wet conditions to set up picnics ranging from the simple to the ostentatiously elaborate.

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, under the exuberant baton of Jae Alexander, provided a popular programme ripped straight from the Classic FM schedules. Singers Sarah Ryan and Nicky Spence used considerable lung power (and the help of the vast stage speakers) to drive the listeners back into their deck chairs with a handful of opera arias and popular songs.

In keeping with the evening's support for military charities, the Military Wives took to the stage and there was a wartime theme to one section combining Walton with 633 Squadron as a vintage Spitfire patrolled the skies over the castle.

The inevitable soaking may have sent the crowd scurrying for their waterproofs but the gloomy clouds only made the flag-waving, anthem-singing finale more defiant.

The Last Night of the Proms has always done rampant patriotism well and the sight of thousands of Union Jacks stretching back up the hill to the castle shows that it's a bit of British eccentricity that's still firmly in favour these days.

Weather did not dampen Jessie or full orchestra

DESPITE the disastrous weather conditions, managers at Warwick Castle have declared their summer concerts a “resounding success.”

More than 20,000 Jessie J fans made their way to the castle on July 13 and last week the Military Wives Choir performed alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert that ended with a crescendo of fireworks and a Second World War air display of Spitfires.

Castle general manager Tim Harison-Jones has already received some positive feedback from residents of the town centre and been told by one business owner that his shop had benefited on both days from the thousands arriving for the two events.

Mr Harrison-Jones said: “We are delighted that our Summer Sounds Concerts have once again proved such a popular success, despite the weather.

“We work hard to make sure the castle maintains complete authenticity while hosting current events to appeal to our visitors.

“It was great to see families enjoying the grounds and our prestigious artists juxtaposed against a backdrop of the River Avon was a sight not to be missed.”

Jousting is now set to begin in the castle fields.