I will admit that as a first timer to the West Coast Blues ‘n’ Roots festival, I had expectations. My Fremantle friends have raved each year about this festival, yet in my first hour I failed to see their five star ideals.

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Entry to the new site of Fremantle Park was quite quick and refreshingly easy for a festival of its size. Yet once past the entry gates, the narrow laneways and overpopulation bore itself visible, despite how the sun seemed to be at a perfect blinding angle.

Needless to say, this certainly didn’t help the sweaty crowd equation.

After running ten minutes behind schedule, Angus and Julia Stone entered the stage to a dense crowd chanting their names. The crowds’ patience paid off as the brother sister duo from Sydney delved straight into their set, starting with a playful song sung by Julia.

The crowd erupted as she launched into a sad yet inspiring trumpet solo to be followed immediately by a display of skill on the piano. Angus matched his sisters’ piano abilities two songs later as they both continued to win the crowds affection with an acoustic cover of “The One That I Want” from Grease.

Their set came to an exciting finale as The Pixies – yes, The Pixies – entered the stage for their final song. The Stones and The Pixies left the crowd brimming

Now, filling a stage with only three people may seem like a daunting task, yet the John Butler Trio know exactly what it takes by kicking off their set with crowd pleasing “Good Excuse”. Dusk was turning into night as the Fremantle born band gathered an enormous crowd of dancing and singing fans all the way to the back fence.

As the crowd became uncomfortably dense I took the opportunity to visit the Theatre Stage. I found myself a few minutes later listening to Old Crow Medicine Show and linking arms with strangers, spinning around and round in what we all named “The Hoedown”. It was at this point that the night erupted into the great expectations I had had passed down to me, as finally the sun set and released an energetic relief through the crowd.

Energy levels soared as the night grew darker. Half the population of the festival descended onto the Park Stage to watch headlining act Crowded House. If time had taken any toll on the writers of Don’t Dream It’s Over, it certainly wasn’t shown through their stage performance. The bassist, dressed all in white, jumped alongside lead singer Neil Finn as they worked the crowd into a frenzy of fun.

As the crowd dispersed – smiling and tired – there were those lucky enough to catch the wonder of Gogol Bordello. It was here that you could find some of Freo’s finest Thai-pants, dreadlocks, pirates and gypsies as the crowd danced to folkish rock tunes complete with costume changes, electric guitars and accordion solos. The set hit a high as a drummer stepped onto the flat of his drum and crowd surfed two songs before the entire evening came to an end.

Despite the dense crowd and blinding sun, this years Blues ‘n’ Roots created a vivid atmosphere of fun and frivolity, a sharing of good times between good friends. And as for the expectations I had? Simply put, they were superseded.

Kirsty Herbert