As this years summer festival season starts to seriously gear up, Plymouth's Volksfest event is the latest new entry to join the heaving pack. Now in it's second year Volksfest is part Volkswagen get together, part music festival and part open air market.

Building on last years quiet beginnings, this years Volksfest is a bigger, better and busier event; with all weekend and camping tickets sold out, the sun shining and a relaxed, feel good vibe, this is one of the more impressive small festivals on the UK calender this year.

On paper, the actual musical line up is somewhat less than impressive, headliners The Sex Pistols Experience, Dreadzone, Stereo MC's and Hazel O'Connor a mix of covers bands, eighties has beens and early nineties one hit wonders. In actuality though Volksfest proves a much more satisfying experience than initial impressions suggest, the overall vibe and feel of the whole making it much more than a sum of its parts.

With three smallish marquee's comprising the main musical venues, there's enough going on at all times to keep you entertained during the three days, the usual festival experience of flitting between stages and discovering new bands and artists amidst the more established names proving the real draw.

The Belfast Busker is an acoustic troubadour who does pretty much exactly what you'd expect, bashing out alcohol fueled cover versions interspersed with good natured Irish banter. Takes on the likes of Snow Patrol and The Pogues prove the most audience friendly, with The Belfast Busker interpreting the originals with gravel throated ease; uninspired and nothing you won't hear being banged out by an acoustic wielding singer outside the majority of train stations and shopping centres across the world, but feel good and satisfyingly familiar all the same.

The Van Daniels, Cosmo Jarvis and Two Spot Gobi offer up decent indie rock experiences, perhaps not the most incendiary, inspired bands you'll ever hear, but again satisfyingly good natured sets. Two Spot Gobi prove the best of the evenings bunch, this a band infused with enough charisma and stage presence to genuinely impress; certainly ones to watch in the coming years and a band you could well excel with a touch more experience, exposure and a few more impressive songs.

Plymouth's own Mad Dog McRea offer up a set of spirited folk as the night draws in, obviously a band inspired by the Irish bluster of The Waterboys, the band deliver a crowd pleasing hours worth of material all fiddles blazing and gruff melodies. With enough anthemic folk singalongs to keep things buoyant and bustling, Mad Dog McRea prove one of Volksfest's more energetic moments so far.

Closing the night, dub-dance pioneers Dreadzone take to the stage and unleash their familiar sounding bass heavy sound. Though looking a little older and grizzled than their early nineties heyday, Dreadzone still know how to deliver the goods, their anthemic calling card Little Britain still proving to be the most familiar and satisfying number, going down particularly well tonight.

All in all, Plymouth Volksfest 2009 proves to be a rousing success, it may not have the most impressive musical lineup or the recognition; but as an up and coming festival on the calender it is quickly establishing itself as one of the better small events. A winning blend of sunshine, feel good atmosphere and a decent musical diversity makes Plymouth Volksfest 2009 a winning start to the summer.