The sixth year of St Albans MusicCity was the biggest so far in terms of both participating venues and the total number of gigs and events.

The week-long festival organised by the district council is a celebration of the vast range of different styles and genres of live music available in the city from rock to folk, blues, country, jazz, roots, indie, metal and pop.

There were tribute bands, a chamber choir and music quizzes as well as events at St Albans Cathedral, The Pioneer, the Alban Arena and The Horn, as well as churches and pubs, the museum and Empire Records.

A full day Gospel Music Festival was held at the Alban Arena and there were also outdoor events in the city centre including performances by samba dancers and a St Patrick’s Day Street party at The Swan.

During the week the city hosted eight open mic nights and there were guitar workshops, a rap workshop and a drum circle.

The festival attracted thousands of local people as well as music lovers from further afield and at the heart was St Albans music family the Rodfords.

Local legend Jim Rodford played at the festival launch event at The Pioneer Youth Centre, returning the following day to talk about the rich musical heritage of the city with tales from his life as bass player with The Zombies, The Kinks, Argent and the Swinging Blue Jeans.

He demonstrated the development of rock and roll throughout the years with his own band, The Rodford Files, featuring two of his sons, Russell and Steve, and vocalist Derik Timms.

Jim’s musical career began at The Pioneer and the packed audience saw his first band The Bluetones perform on stage together again for the first time in 52 years.

The Rodfords also led the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Ruby Tuesday, a weekly gig at the White Lion, which attracted a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters.