GEORGE EZRA and an outdoor venue go together as naturally as a cold drink and a Summer’s day.

The slow-setting sun gave Dalby Forest a real festival atmosphere - you almost forgot you would be going home to a warm bed later and not a rickety tent.

Promoting his second album, Staying at Tamara’s, George Ezra took his guitar and iconic deep voice to the outdoors as part of the Forest Live 2018 concerts, following Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott the day before.

Supporting was Brixton-based singer Dan Caplen who warmed the crowd and set the tone for an impressive evening.

George Ezra and his “lovely band” kicked off their set with the upbeat favourite 'Cassy O' to get everyone up and out of their deck chairs.

He introduced songs with short anecdotes of his travels, taking the audience on a well-trodden tour from ‘Barcelona’ all the way to ‘Budapest’.

Playing to a score of fans, George showed some love to old favourites such as ‘Listen to the Man’ and ‘Blame It on Me’ disguised between new hits like ‘Paradise’ and ‘Shotgun’.

The singer-songwriter entranced the crowd, getting everyone sing the introductory “Do-do-do’s” in ‘Don’t Matter Now’, and chant “Don’t we all need love? The answer is easy” in ‘Pretty Shining People’.

Thanking everyone for having a good time, “even though it was a Sunday”, George disappeared all too soon. Before you knew it, the stage lights were switched off, the spell was broken and all that was left was for hundreds of fans to squeeze their cars out of one, cosy forest clearing.

Paige McDermott