Royal Wood in the Royal City (Hillside '10)

Dressed to impress in a vest and tie, with his signature slicked hair, Royal Wood must have been warm while entertaining an Island Tent crowd early Saturday afternoon. I suppose sitting behind his piano (keyboard) for the first three songs mustn't have been hot work but after that jumping up to play some acoustic guitar the sweat must have been trickling down his back.

Come to think of it Royal was glowing throughout the set but that may just have been due to the great reception his beautifully composed music was receiving. Bringing his songwriting to life with a three-piece backing band Royal fed off the energy and for single On Top of Your Love he could be seen pounding the keys of the rather wobbly keyboard. A Mirror Without was such a strong ending to the set that the crowd wasn't about to let Royal go. In the first authentic and deserved encore I'd seen on the weekend we embraced him as he returned to the stage alone with his guitar for one more gem, Lady in White, to great ovation.