A SONIC showcase of a "fantastic" line-up of north Essex musicians took over a seafront - and a "jolly time was had by all."

BreezeFest returned to Clacton's promenade with a stage set-up outside the Seabreeze Café and under the warming sun.

Throughout the two-day extravaganza artists such as Ed Talbot, Serena Grant, Hooligans, Laura Wyatt, Ely Tree and A Light Left On all performed.

Foxtrot Oscar, Lyric Deep Limited, James Morgan, Mr B and the Wolf, Indigo, Jamie Williams, Bex and Frieda, and many more also provided a soundtrack for beachgoers.

At one point, The Harmonettes even found themselves singing pitch-perfect melodies as roughly 1,000 half-marathon and 10k runners whizzed by.

In addition to music, a sandcastle competition saw youngsters go head-to-head in the sand before Bonnie, 5, and Bailey, 11, took the top prizes with their excellent designs.

David Brown, a songwriter with A Light Left On and musician of more than 20 years, founded BreezeFest alongside his friend and instrumentalist Kevin Barnes.

It was first launched with a view of helping cheer people after the first 18-months of the pandemic, which proved a difficult period for the entertainment industry.

Mr Brown said: "It was another successful BreezeFest this year with a fantastic selection of musicians.

"Some of the highlights were the amazing Harmonettes and Mr B and the Wolf getting lots of people up and dancing.

"A special delight was Omar who stepped in at the last minute to perform some hang drum when we had a band pull out of the bill on Saturday.

"The reusable cups from the Un-Sealed shop were a great addition to the festival this year and the weather remained lovely throughout both days, so we were very lucky.

"Big thanks to AJ at Black Cactus Studio as well for providing an excellent PA system and running the sound.

"A jolly time was had by all."