THE harmonies of hundreds of jazz artists bounced around Marlborough this weekend for the return of the Marlborough International Jazz Festival.

Sunshine, live music and drinks on tap made a recipe for success and saw thousands of music lovers descend on the town to get their jazz fix.

Over the three days, venues from the Royal Oak to the Conservative Club were host to a huge number of talented musicians and were bustling with people, some who had come as far as North Carolina, soaking up the atmosphere, dancing and having a good time.

Topping the bill of the 100 artists from 27 different countries was renowned singer Elkie Brooks. Tickets for her performance in the marquee at the Priory Gardens sold out in two days and she did not disappoint, as she gave a show stopping performance with her band on Saturday.

The festival started on Friday evening and a crowd of excited visitors mingled outside the Castle and Ball in the High Street to see it declared open by 17-year-old Alexander Bone, who was named the first ever BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2014.

Local talent is also celebrated at the festival and the St John’s School band and Marlborough Big Band gave an impressive performance, giving onlookers a taste what was to come. While a queue of people rushed to get last minute tickets and programmes from the festival booth, others dispersed to beer gardens to see the musicians playing all night.

This year marks the 29th year of the event and Marlborough Mayor Margaret Rose with her mace bearers and beadle were also in attendance at the festival opening, alongside her chaplain David Campbell who invited everyone to say a short prayer with him.

Nicki Bicknell’s fiancée Jasper Stunt whisked her to Marlborough for the festival as a surprise before they get married later this year in their hometown of Truro.

Mr Stunt said: “I heard about the festival through friends who have come before and they had said how amazing it was.

“Throughout the day we have just been going into all the pubs and stumbling across some really great talent.

"There is always someone performing, everyone is tapping their feet away and singing and the atmosphere is very relaxed. I think the character of Marlborough just adds to the charm of the festival and the organisers have done a cracking job.”

Veteran jazz festival attendee Hugo Martin added: “Everyone is here for a good time, what more can you ask for?”

Founder and festival consultant Nick Fogg has also hailed this year's festival another success, he said: “I thought it was one of the best ever. We had lots of happy people, it was great.

“We’ve had virtually nothing but good feedback. People have been stopping me in the street saying how wonderful it was.

“Everywhere was absolutely crowded. You only had to look at the number of people around to see the necessity with the street closures, as we are responsible for public safety.”