Glastonbury veterabs Scratch got the main stage underway wuth a well-received set of what could best be described as Irish rock. With typically immaculate Moseley timing they finished, leaving just in time to wander over to the adjacent Janice Long stage where Man the Lifeboats whipped up a storm of alternative folk as the sun began to set.

Tucked away this year was Speakers Corner, where Carl Chinn took the stage in hos own unique fashion. Carl’s become a regular at Moseley, delivering a talk on the biggest cultural phenomenon to hit the city this century, the Peaky Blinders. You might think that this overly-glamourised bunch of petty criminals have been done to eath but every time you hear Carl on the subject he adds a new angle to the story, and every time he holds the audience spellbound as he speaks passionately about the hardships of surviving in the backstreets of the city at the turn of the century. Although his stories might be different every time, a constant feaure of Carl’s talk is the belief that there was nothing heroic about the gang and the people who should really be praised were the decent, hard-working people they preyed on.

Flogging Molly were up after that, on the main stage. They weren’t as Brummie as Carl. They were, though, a bit more musical and were another band who got the audience singing, dancing and enjoying together.

Back at Speakers Corner Mark Steel started off with what was quite frankly a stereotypical bit about Birmingham and Brummies that surprisingly went down well. Then he changed tack, possibly to avoid being lynched. The crowd loved him even though I didn’t. But humour is a personal thing and everyone else on the slope was laughing loudly enough so it was my fault and no-one else’s.

Meanwhile, back in the main area Beans on Toast was entertaining an appreciative audience with a blend of humour and pathos, laced with a message that steered away from lecturing. One man and a piano held a growing crowd spellbound, winning a well-deserved encore.

And then it was time for the headliners. As we were told before they came on, the Levellers are the ultimate festival band. Their Glastonbury ap[pearance in 1994 has passed into folkore and although the crowd here might have been a bit lower the passion is still there. It’s hard to deliver the same message for three decades, particularly when for most of that time it’s seemed as though the country wasn’t particularly listening, but the Levellers deliver every time.

The crowd are singing along from the off, One Way raises the temperature on and off the stage but it’s far from the only song in the same vein of anger, fervour and, yes, passion again. The ultimate festival band indeed.

Due to an unfortunate clash I wasn’t able to get to Saturday’s festivities until later than I’d have liked, which in turn led to the first disappointment of the weekend. I missed the start of CMAT, who to my shame I hadn’t heard before but that will be put right at the earliest opportunity. Folk, country or if you prefer, Americana, I can only concur with one music expert, “She’s going to be massive.”

And back to the comedy. Lindsey Santoro is from Northfield. She’s filthy, gynecological and very funny. Again, she might not be to everyone’s taste – in fact, ‘taste’ is probably a word best avoided – but if you like your humour well below the belt, she’s the one for you. The unenviable task of following fell to Matt Bragg, who also had to deal with a particularly annoying heckler.

At just before quarter past nine, catching a few of us by surprise, the star of the show strolled unannounced onto the main stage and into a version of the Bee Gees You Don’t Know. Kevin Rowland, dressed in a natty pink suit and white beret, said we’d know the next one and we duly did – a soulful rendition of Tell Me When My Light Turns Green. From Young Soul Rebel to lounge lizard is a long way but Kevin has managed the journey with style, even if he’s sometimes lost a chunk of his audience along the way.

Not that anyone here was complanining. This was a long way from a Greatest Hits package; the recent single Coming Home showed that the voice is still there but it was the material from a few years earlier that, naturally, got the crowd going. Plan B can still kick up a storm and from then on the arena belonged to Kevin Rowland.

The band’s horn section moved front stage as Kevin gave a heartfelt mention to Kevin Archer, dedicating the next song to his former songwriting partner. A keyboards intro gave way to the horns and recognisable sound of the classic Geno, taking us back to the days of the Cedar Club and Barbarella’s. Jackie Wilson Said followed, minus the Glastonbury/Top of the Pops backdrop and from then on Kevin Rowland, anti-hero, was the star of the show.

The floral display at the front of the stage came in for a few wry comments, and the final song had everyone singing with the slope of Moseley Park full of school disco dancing. You can guess which song it was.

There was just about time for an encore, where Kevin showed that he can do the old-fashioned rock’n’roll bit by talking about “the right time, the right place and the right city.” This Is What She’s Like, and this is what Kevin Rowland is like. Take him or leave him, he’s never going to change.