Forest Live 2016: James Bay, Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott and Kaiser Chiefs wow Cannock Chase crowds

On Friday night it was singer-songwriter James Bay who got this year's Forest Live concerts under way.

He was followed on Saturday by northern duo Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott.

And finishing with a bang last night – in the third sell-out show of the weekend – was Leeds' rockers Kaiser Chiefs.

Cannock Chase seemed more like the fields of Glastonbury as BRIT award-winning James Bay performed to thousands of adoring fans.

The singer and guitarist, who shot to fame in 2014, wooed the crowds with his soulful rendition of Collide and Craving, both of which got fans waving their arms in the air from the outset.

A mixture of Bay's more well-known numbers, including Best Fake Smile, were played out in full to the cheering audience alongside a series of energetic new tracks from his forthcoming album.

See also:

• Review and pics: James Bay, Forest Live 2016, Cannock Chase

• Review and pics: Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, Forest Live 2016, Cannock Chase

• Review and pics: Kaiser Chiefs, Forest Live 2016, Cannock Chase

What set Bay apart however, was how he reflected the chilled-out, relaxed atmosphere of the Chase, where families were sitting enjoying picnics.

Perhaps the best thing about the performance was its simplicity. Bay's delivery of Scars, accompanied as it was by red flashing lights, and spirited vocals were as technical as the show seemed to get.

The simpler it appeared, the more impressive Bay's vocals and musicality were revealed to be.

With just his hat, his signature outfit of all black and a guitar, he even made his brief playing of Elvis Presley's I Can't Help Falling in Love With You all his own.

On Saturday, the fans were treated to the charming company of Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott.

The northern duo rose to fame as The Beautiful South in the 1990s.

It can be said that 2016 hasn't been too bad for Paul and Jacqui after killer sets at Glastonbury and the Royal Albert Hall – but on Saturday they swapped the glitz and glamour to perform amid the 3,000 acres of fern and fauna.

The crowd were treated to a mixture of classics from The Beautiful South, Paul's first group The Housemartins and their new record Wisdom, Laughter and Lines.

It didn't take long to get the crowd up on their feet as they kicked off the evening's affairs with the new and upbeat Wives 1,2 & 3 before working their way through old favourites. "I am the President and this is the First Lady of pop." said Paul as he introduced the band.

In his thin-rimmed glasses, zipped up parka and beaming grin, his voice sounded as good as ever for Housemartins 1987 number I Can't Put My Finger On It.

"She's a perfect 10, but she wears a 12! Baby keep a little two for me!" Hips were swinging as the set wound down for crowd pleaser Perfect Ten before melodically finishing things off with their famous rendition of The Isley Brothers's Caravan of Love. The pair left the stage before returning for two encores. First up, they smashed through Beautiful South tunes A Little Time and You Keep It All In as confetti and giant balloons soared through the sky.

It came to an end with the lovely Woman In The Wall.

Closing out this year's gigs were the energetic Kaiser Chiefs. Led by the charismatic Ricky Wilson they had the crowd jumping from almost start to finish as they blasted out fans' favourites such as Ruby and I Predict A Riot. Ricky was in fine form, leaping, jumping and drawing the crowd in.