Glastonbury Is Go!

Just Jack, Jack Penate and Mr Hudson play Q festival launch night

Even though there’s a little more than a fortnight to go until Michael Eavis opens the gates to Glastonbury 2007, Q decided to start early. On 31 May, fifty competition winners descended upon Sony's 3 Rooms in East London - a hidden venue with enough plasma screens, PS3s and gaming paraphernalia to make even the most hardened technophobe salivate - for a sneak preview of some of the bands playing Worthy Farm on 22 June.
First up was the distinctly English R&B of Mr Hudson And The Library, who will be playing the Jazz World Stage on 23 June. The band’s debut album, A Tale Of Two Cities was released earlier this year and its mix of heartfelt song writing and shuffling soul grooves was no less slick live, even if normally dapper front man Ben Hudson had left his trademark white trilby at home. An ice-cool Too Late, Too Late was particularly slinky.
Far more rough and ready, but no less impressive was idiosyncratic south London songwriter Jack Penate, who’ll be bringing his knock-kneed Elvis dance moves to both the leftfield and John Peel stages over the festival weekend. He has the songs to match his Duracell bunny energy levels too - recent single Spit A Stars was a particular highlight - along with an effortless falsetto. Stardom beckons.
Joining Penate on the John Peel stage will be Brit rapper Just Jack, who reached number three earlier this year with his debut single Starz In Their Eyes. There’s more to him than that though, his easy charm carrying the audience through the terrace chanting chorus of Glory Days and the pulsing Goth In The Disco, which revisits the theme to cheesy ‘80s TV show Airwolf.
A fitting warm up for the world’s greatest festival: Glastonbury awaits.

Jack Penate: 'stardom beckons'