Latitude 2009

It's been an amazing day for startling-voiced female singers at Latitude. Having just been overawed by the ethereal primeval vocals from Bat For Lashes over on the main stage, I wandered into Joan As Policewoman in a busy Uncut Arena.

How many times have people written this summer about The Hold Steady being the unexpected hits of a festival? Enough times, I guess, for the hardest-working band in showbusiness to become blase about these sort of shows. The thing is, as Craig Finn surveys the crowd with undisguised glee, it's clear that this remarkable band's appetite for rock'n'roll is still heroically potent.

Something of a full afternoon, I have to report. So busy, in fact, I've only just got round to my first beer of the day. But, happily, I also had my first Latitude highlight: Bat For Lashes.

Afternoon, lovely day here at Latitude, pretty densely populated with singer-songwriters, it has to be said. I started the day at the lovely Sunrise stage in the woods(apparently, its strikingly mellow atmosphere was fractured yesterday when Les Rita Mitsouko got booed off).

The infamous Latitude 'catpeople' - apparently we're ALL cats inside. Come to their cabin to discover your inner feline self.

Or, what I did this morning at Latitude. Despite feeling relatively delicate today (ah, bless the pear cider), a gentle stroll round the Latitude site does wonders for the constitution.

Or the stuff that happens after dark. I'm reporting on Latitude's nocturnal shenanigans, the prime focus of which is Sean Rowley and his Guilty Pleasures empire.

So after much heated debate, here are our favourite things from the first day at the Uncut-sponsored Latitude Festival:

Making our way into the depths of the woods, to the Sunrise Arena, we half expected to be assaulted by a Jack o' the Green, or some ancient, primal force of nature.

Damn, what a band! I've seen Wilco so many times over the years, but they never cease to knock me sideways. And one of the great things - one of the many great things, actually - about tonight's show at Latitude is that the audience is not one of those over-reverential and often weird crowds that have frequently freaked out Jeff Tweedy when he's visited the UK.