One band making its world debut and another, reformed for a special project, proved that folk-rock is alive, well and still able to thrill at this year's Cromer Folk on Pier festival.

New group Trad arr, featuring key members of festival favourites Little Johnny England, plus others from the Northants music scene, closed yesterday afternoon's Pavilion Theatre concert in excellent style.

With a strong musical line-up mixing guitars, bass and drums with keyboards, fiddles and a bit of brass, and four lead singers, prospects were looking good.

A well-chosen set of traditional material, arranged with taste and care, set the seal for success.

Classic songs including Genlogie, Adieu to all judges and juries and Wild Mountain Thyme were complemented with a poignant version of Dancing at Whitsun (The Whitsun Dance) by Austin John Marshall and a couple of rousing morris tunes led by guest musician Simon Care on melodeon.

Care, a familiar and popular fixture at Folk on the Pier for several years, returned to the stage last night with old musical colleagues in the folk-reggae fusion band Edward II.

Long-time member Gavin Sharp explained the Manchester area group had reformed to perform new musical arrangements of early 19th century political, radical and social comment songs gathered together in the songbook Manchester Ballads by the late Harry Boardman.

When I Came Down to Manchester proved to be a strong opener and was followed by With Henry Hunt We'll Go (about the 1819 Peterloo Massacre) and a song about the merits (or otherwise) of mixing work and beer!

The old Manchester songs were mixed with recent classics from the city (or Salford) including Love Vigilantes by New Order and Dirty Old Town by Ewan MacColl.

Fans of Edward II were then treated to some old favourites by the band including Dashing Away, Brilliant Pebbles and the reggae anthem Night Nurse.

Not surprisingly a good number of the audience accepted an invitation from fine lead singer Glen Latouche to dance in the aisles.

Earlier, singer-songwriter Pete Morton played a highly entertaining, lively and thought-provoking set of his own songs to an appreciative festival fringe audience in The Albion pub.

Ghost of a sailor and The farmer's boy – included on the new CD The Frappin' and Ramblin' Pete Morton – all cleverly mixed new verses with familiar old folksong choruses.

Pete showed his more sentimental side on The Love of You and sang his early classic Another Train as an audience request but risked local anger with the line 'Won't sing of Nelson and the glory that's gone' in his superb new song Rambling Through Old England.

Three talented singer-guitarists from the Norwich acoustic music scene pleased an appreciative audience in the Hotel de Paris for the second of Richard Penguin's three Tea-Time Showcase concerts.

Andy Kirkham with his dextrous guitar playing and well-crafted songwriting, and Shane OiLinski with a large repertoire of enigmatic songs – reminiscent at times of Syd Barrett – have many long-term fans on the city's ever-lively music scene.

Chad Mason, a new name to me and about to release his second album, May 14, won many new friends with a strong set of songs, entertaining banter and self-deprecating humour.

The third and final Tea-Time Showcase, with three different local acts, is at the same venue tonight, 5-7.30pm.

All festival concerts in the Pavilion Theatre have been long sold out but there is a wide range of acts appearing today, for free, on the festival fringe.

Highlights include festival patron Ashley Hutchings and Friends, a Friends of Norfolk Dialect (FOND) session, and the Richard Davies Memorial Session, all in the Cliftonville Hotel Ballroom from noon to 4pm today.

See www.folkonthepier.co.uk

BRIAN GAUDET