LOVE was in the air on Saturday night as the music, the memories and the legacy of the Island’s first music festival, 50 years ago, were celebrated in the guise of All Wight Now.

All Wight Now, at Tapnell Farm – just across the road from the iconic 1970 festival site at East Afton – remembered the 1968 festival at Hayles Field, Whitwell, with plans to repeat the retrospective for both the 1969 “Dylan” event next year and the mega 1970 event in 2020.

The 68 festival was a relatively modest one-night affair in front of some 10,000 festival goers but it set in train a massive festival movement that is still running today.

And at Tapnell, three acts, starring refugees from the inaugural 1968 event, came together to feel the love all over again.

Fairport Convention founder-member Ashley Hutchings was there with his trio; The Pretty Things’ Dick Taylor and Phil May teamed up with the Island’s own JC and Angelina and the original god of hellfire, Arthur Brown, added a huge splash of technicolour.

Before the main acts unfolded, Paul Athey, IW guitarist with 68 festival band Halcyon Order, displayed his mature talent with a fine acoustic performance in the exhibition area including an exquisite version of George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.”

Another Island act, The Alberts, got the ball rolling in The Cow, converted to a performance space for the night, with some firm nods to 1968’s festival agenda including The Move’s “Fire Brigade” and headliners Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love”.

Outside, the exhibition hall had CH Vintage Audio’s impressive collection of WEM original mixers and sound stacks from the 1969 and ‘70 Isle of Wight Festivals.

The licks of Jimi Hendrix’s “Live at the Isle of Wight” boomed from the stacks. Alongside, Neil Everest had a brilliant collection of his late father Charles’s festival photography on display, images of Hendrix, The Who, Free and Rory Gallagher perfectly complemented the vintage sounds next door.

Outside, in the sun, celebrated sculptor Guy Portelli worked on his Isle of Wight Festival mosaic, featuring tiled handprints of rock glitterati with links to festivals both old and new from 1968-2018.

For more, see this week's Isle of Wight County Press.