Iced T in the Park

Travis stole the show at T in the Park

By BBC News Online's Katie Hamilton

Entering its seventh year, this Scottish music feast has it all - a knock-out line-up, a gorgeous setting in the lush hills of Balado and a warm and enthusiastic crowd. A bit of sunshine was all that was missing.

Saturday

Those brave enough to stand in the rain at the main stage would have caught a surprisingly strong All Saints. The usually glamorous girls were clad in huge macs, and as they belted out Lady Marmalade, Bootie Call and Never Ever, their hair got wetter and their mascara streamed, but their singing didn't falter.

Run DMC's Walk This Way provided the perfect excuse for the girls to strut their stuff - the big adidas macs a fitting tribute.

Spirits were far from damp in the Bacardi B Bar - a collection of Cuban DJs mixed up funkily frantic latin sounds which went down well with the scantily clad crowd of whistle-blowers and maraca shakers.

Mac to basics: All Saints came prepared for the weather

One plucky lady was so convinced she was living la vida loca that she got up on a table, stripped to the waist and salsa'd for Scotland.

Another refuge from the ceaseless rain was the Café Club Tent, where you could grab a steaming café latte, take a pew and chill out in an intimate crowd to some live acoustic sounds.

We caught Holly Tomas's act - an unknown with a sweet voice and a big heart.

Old favourites Morcheeba filled steamy Stage Two with their gorgeous, wistful vibes. The adorable Skye Edwards melted her dark chocolate voice over Big Calm tracks Friction, Part of the Process and Down by the Sea.

The crowd were loving new tracks Love Is Rare and Rome Wasn't Built In a Day - an altogether funkier sound quite reminiscent of the Brand New Heavies.

Beth Orton emerged from a big black jumper and breezed through her hits from Central Reservation, with a smattering of Trailer Park. Achingly beautiful vocals, dreamy strings and hypnotic images on a projection screen lifted the hearts of a pretty soggy crowd.

Respect

Just before eleven, Balado fell silent for one minute as a mark of respect for the deaths of eight people at the Roskilde festival in Denmark.

Thankfully T in the Park safety precautions had been stepped up to keep things well under control.

Shakin' all over: Moby revelled in his role as man of the moment

The divine Lynden David Hall crooned his way through his ultra-smooth new album The Other Side to a depleted yet appreciative audience - well he was playing against man of the moment, Moby.

The wee American zoomed around the stage, playing bongos, guitar and keyboards and raced through a pacy mix of old and new. Warming a damp crowd up with current favourite, the quiet yet beautiful Porcelain.

Moby then got us sweating with his first UK hit, Go, the James Bond Theme and Feeling So Real only pausing to speedily mutter "thank you, thank you, thank you".

His other break in an energetic hour-long set was a tongue-in-cheek solo blues intro to Honey "for all the beautiful ladies in the audience". We were putty in his tiny hands. He ended his set standing inanimate, bare-chested on top of his keyboard while the electro-beats of Thousand and blue flashes played around him. Wow.

Sunday

We needed a lot of arm-twisting to venture back to Balado - after a morning of non-stop rain the ground had dissolved into pure mud. We engulfed ourselves in waterproofs, took a deep breath and became one with the brown stuff. Well almost.

Groove Armada were our saviours on Stage Two, filling the crowd with a warm summer glow despite the quagmire outside. The vibe was definitely funky and energetic, mellowing down for At The River with the laid-back trombone taking centre stage. We emerged feeling completely blissed-out, and waded over to the main stage.

Crazy lady Macy Gray was up next, striding onto stage clad in neon orange water-proof trousers, looking more than a little bewildered. "My pants are falling down," she squeaked in that Marge Simpson voice of hers. "If mine come off you have to lose yours too," she threatened.

Macy Gray dared to suggest her performance was pants

She oozed all over the stage to Sexomatic, belted out I Can't Wait To Meetchu to her maker (only to be answered by a very heavy downpour), and pleased the crowd no-end with the ode to screwed-up lovin', Still. The over-played I Try got everyone singing, and was given a reggae-feel with a bit of Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry mixed in.

And so to the finale of the festival, the headliners and kings of T in the Park - Travis. The band have come a long way since they first played the festival six years ago - slotted in between acts in the comedy tent.

They delivered a mesmerising set - Writing To Reach You and Turn were stunning and the crowd roared to a heartfelt Why Does It Always Rain On Me.

Fran Healy admitted it was like playing for his family, and with a little impromptu slide-show of their fifteen months on the road and his concern for the people getting a bit squashed at the front you could see how he got his warm and fuzzy reputation.

We went home muddy but happy - when we got out of the car park, that is.