THOUSANDS of people swamped Nantwich to see the 19th Jazz, Blues and Music Festival.

More than 40,000 people attended the festival between Thursday, April 2 to Monday, April 6, with over 100 performances at sixteen venues in Nantwich.

Headline acts included Thea Gilmore, Andy Fairweather, Connie Lush, FM, The Blues Band, King Pleasure and The Biscuit Boys and The Stumble.

It is estimated that this year’s festival has brought around £1million worth of investment into Nantwich.

Phillip Martin, owner of the Crown Hotel, in High Street, has organised the festival since its inception in 1996.

He said: “The weather has been fantastic as always. For 19 years, we’ve never had a bad weather weekend. The sun was shining. People came from, Iceland, Holland, all over. It was just absolutely brilliant.

“The shows very well received and the licensees were all delighted. We had some great acts this year. I was really pleased with them.”

With the festival barely finished, the festival’s organisers have already turned their attention to next year’s landmark event, and Phillip says he has no plans of giving up the reigns just yet.

Phillip said: “We’re getting our heads together to see what we can do for the 20th festival. We always start planning straight away.

“I’ve been at the Crown Hotel for 33 years, so I think I’ve still a got a few years left in me yet.”