Click for photo of all the acts on stage for the encore

"A good time was had by all" at this new departure from the conventional Acoustic Sussex presentation, confirmed by feedback received from many of those who attended. For Martin and the rest of the Acoustic Sussex crew, this must have been an extremely heartening experience.

The evening began with Sadie Jemmett on Appalachian dulcimer, acoustic guitar and vocals, who performed her set with a more than respectable set of introspective songs with interesting lyrics and a strong vocal. Sadie currently lives and operates in the London scene, although she admitted that it was nice to appear at a venue near her original home. She has a lot going for her and just needs to do the time and polish her act, to gain success in her chosen career. I am sure she will succeed once her name gets around the circuit. 

Next up was Andy Whittle, a singer songwriter from Nottingham who has appeared previously as a support act for Acoustic Sussex. Since his last performance he has improved considerably and I look forward to the time when he will return as the headlining act, perhaps in the not too distant future. This time, he appeared on his own and gave us a superb rendition of his powerful songs together with some fine guitar picking and a unique melodic voice. 

The third act to step up to the microphone were the recent winners of BBC's 2009 Young Folk Award, Megan and Joe Henwood; and it's not hard to see why they won. Megan, just twenty years of age on acoustic guitar, accompanied by her brother Joe, just-turned sixteen on alto and tenor saxophones. If you weren't there you may well think that this is an odd combination of instruments and I suppose in the conventional sense, it is. But occasionally, musicians appear in the public gaze and give us something original, fresh sounding and jaw dropping. The music was not so much conventional folk music (oh, how I hate those accursed genre pigeon holes, but I find myself having to use them) but a blend of folk and jazz, a slight hint of KT Tunstall was evident and some indefinable quality which just grabs the audience by the scruff of the neck and forces them to sit up and listen. This was one such occasion. 

The most remarkable thing a far as I am concerned it the tender age of these young performers. Megan has a intelligent delivery of inter-song banter, albeit with a young sounding voice, but when she started singing it is difficult to believe it was the same person giving the introduction. The resultant sound is tonally near perfect and extremely mature and coupled with intelligent lyrics makes the whole experience a pleasure to listen to every note proffered. As a guitarist, Megan is no slouch either and her playing undoubtedly adds to the amazing sound. Joe Henwood, plays saxophone with an ability that belies his age. How does anyone play that well after only six years of learning his craft? His contribution was electric and hauntingly beautiful. Just listen to the five songs on Megan's MySpace site and you will understand what I am trying to get across.

Finally, the star of the show - one of my all time favourites and enormously popular with Acoustic Sussex audiences - Anais Mitchell. Over the past three or four years, I have had so much to say about this remarkable young lady that I fear I may well run out of superlatives. To paraphrase one of Anais' lyrical lines "How can so much light shine through such a small window?" But sure enough, it does, with dazzling beauty.

Considering that Anais' flight from New York was cancelled on Monday she put on an amazing performance; battling tiredness, about three hours after getting off her flight on Tuesday afternoon. Anais just gets better by the day and every time I see her, she presents us with ever-more polished performances. Tonight was no exception.

Did I forget to mention that, by sheer co-incidence, Anais happens to be one of Megan's favourites too? The story goes that when she was offered the gig by Martin, she burst out crying with happiness. Well, during Anais' set she invited Megan to get up and sing with her on stage. Poor Megan was overcome with emotion and didn't quite give as much to the song as, indeed, she is capable of. Later, Joe accompanied Anais with his saxophone, giving the music an atmospheric edge and his sax appeared as if it was intended to be there all the time. Towards the end of the set he played some astounding solos on Cosmic American and it was nothing short of sublime. This young lad and his sister will surely go far if they keep this up. 

Joe said to me afterwards that he did not know the song and as a consequence did not know which notes were coming next, but magically his fingers just automatically went to all the right places. A truly astounding performance. 

Anais's set ended with everyone on stage performing a Bob Dylan number, which turned out to a bit of a "train-wreck" - but great fun. Undoubtedly, this showcase was a roaring success and I look forward to the "guitar showcase" next month with bated breath.

Maximum Bob