THROUGH the late summer sun and a flickering of rain, the inaugural Beyond the Tracks doused revellers in plenty of festival fun over the weekend.

This little city-side gem – situated at Eastside City Park in Birmingham – arrived with good pedigree as the brainchild of the same promoters behind the popular Moseley Folk and Lunar festivals.

Spanning across the Friday to Sunday, it had something a little bit different on each day.

Opening headliners Orbital brought the party for those seeking electronica, sending crowds into the night with a dazzling light show to mark Phil and Paul Hartnoll’s return from a five-year hiatus.

Saturday was one for the rockers as The Twang brought their cheery guitar licks and infectious energy, while Britpop veterans and fellow Brummie’s Ocean Colour Scene were a crowd-pleaser.

Sunday was more alternative. Peter Hook & The Light was a welcomed choice who proved mesmerising on the main stage, even winding his way through a selection of well-received New Order and Joy Division hits.

And comebacks were very much on agenda on the closing day as The Jesus and Mary Chain and 90s shoegaze icons Slowdive took to the stage with their first albums in more than a decade.

New material – mixed with old – was the tonic for both. Rachel Goswell’s dreamy vocals on Slowdive’s “Alison” and “Souvlaki Space Station” pulled me in and didn’t let go.

Editors was a fitting pick to close Birmingham’s newest festival with a hometown gig – and a popular one too with an encore which featured “Open Your Arms”, “Bullets” and “Munich”.

The Coral hit the spot - although should have been given a later slot - as did Maximo Park, whose vocalist Paul Smith told us he was happy to be here in the heart of Birmingham.

He mirrored my thoughts. The city centre surroundings provided a distinctive allure. Eastside City Park, known to me as ‘that’ thin stretch of grass along Thinktank, worked terrifically well.

Fenced off in our cocoon of festival fun, we were walled by Millennium Point on the left and Moor Street rail tracks to the right, with food stalls, bars, and a charming set of fairground rides inside.

I didn’t win on the coconut shy, sadly, but the festival, as a whole, did win.

Rumour has it it’s aiming to come back after a year out, before re-launching in 2019. And while I’m not one for newspaper gossip, if true, I for one will certainly be there again.