Paolo Nutini

Paolo Nutini
and Martha Wainwright

The weather picked its moment well, choosing Paolo Nutini's final encore last night to finally open the heavens as it had been threatening to do for the past two days. A rousing singalong of the beautiful Last Request made way for a pared-down cover of Ben E. King's Spanish Harlem and brought the 2010 Eden Sessions to a close.

This was the second show of the double-header Paolo and Martha Wainwright played, a sucessful first for Eden in the biggest Sessions season we've ever hosted. Martha was at her angsty, angry best on the first night, effortlessly segueing between her own acclaimed material and songs from her recent Edith Piaf record. Yesterday, she was calmer but equally brilliant and played to the majority of the near-6,000 strong crowd on both nights.

Paolo, introduced on the first night by Glastonbury supremo Michael Eavis and on the second by our 2010 MC Martin, opened both sets with the crowd-pleasing 10/10 and launched into an impressive roster of hits including New Shoes, Pencil Full of Lead, Jenny Don't Be Hasty and a brilliant, trumpet-heavy cover of MGMT's Time to Pretend. During his 90-minute set, it's easy to forget that Paolo is still only 23 years and two albums old, such is his mastery of stagecraft and showmanship and the breadth of his material.

It's his voice that really stands out though. Gravelly, soulful, sometimes sweet, sometimes strained, but impossible to mistake for anyone else. With the vocals up front in the mix - where they belong - Eden rang out on both nights to a voice which surely must rank among the best in the world at the moment.

The crowd, full on both nights, were enthralled throughout, with Tuesday's the more excitable and Wednesday's more considered. Credit must go to their vocal performances too - their help on Last Request was by far the most tuneful singalong we've seen at Eden (Tuesday's crowd pips Wednesday's to the post slightly though).

It would be churlish not to mention Ruarri Joseph and Ben Howard, who played the main stage before Martha on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Both played brilliant sets and were the perfect ambassadors for the south-west music scene.