SUNDAY afternoon at Womad festival is always a pretty chilled one, after a weekend of listening (and dancing) to a selection of the best bands from around the world people are relaxed, feet and heads are sore.

And yet, last Sunday when we settled at Molly’s Bar, a stage which guarantees a great band, we were met with such a joyous set, that the large marquee was soon filled with smiling face and dancing feet. What made it even better was that that band was from Stroud, better still, they were our next generation of excellent musicians.

Perhaps it’s unsurprising that the town which BBC Introducing refers to as the music capital of the South West has produced such an extraordinary group of young musicians, but to see the front of the stage crammed with around 400 people, with more pouring in to appreciate their infectious sound, was a pretty special sight.

The Mighty John Street Ska Band are a group of you musicians in their teens, playing ska tunes from the 60s and 70s across very accomplished rhythm, percussion and brass sections. Their glorious hour long set included favourites Guns of the Navarone, Swing Easy, Hawaii 5-0 and, my personal favourite, a rendition of the James Bond Theme so slinky and tight, with a boisterous Caribbean vibe.

The soloists were faultless, the performance life-affirming and the applause was, justifiably, rapturous. Judging by the Mighty John Street Ska Band’s performance on Sunday it’s safe to say that Stroud’s musical future is in very safe hands.