MORE than 130 local musicians stood side by side as they performed a rip roaring rendition of the Madness anthem It Must Be Love.

And the song could not have been more appropriate as the large collection of musically-minded individuals, both young and old, have one thing in common – a huge love for Hexham-based music hub Core Music.

The scores of musicians had all performed at the organisation’s anniversary concert, Core 7 Live, to celebrate the diverse range of genres emanating from its base in Gilesgate.

All of the 15 acts on the evening have a strong link to Core Music, whether through volunteering, teaching or learning, and they showed that music is alive and thriving around the hills of Hexham and surrounding areas.

A personal favourite of Sound Check, teenage indie three-piece Blind Buffalo joined the concert’s line-up for the first time and received one of the largest rounds of applause for rocking the Queen’s Hall Theatre.

Ahead of the release of their second EP The Circus, the upcoming trio entertained with their excellent originals of Vacant Smile and Alone Tonight, and the only disappointment from the evening was they weren’t able to perform a third track as originally planned due to a tight time schedule.

There was plenty of young talent on display throughout the evening, and the concert was a great opportunity for Core to show off the good work of one of their workshops, the Rock Foundation.

The annual foundation had concentrated on songwriting this year, and the six teenagers on the course had written their own track, Opposites, and performed it live to great success.

Another youth workshop the organisation is rightly proud of is the Young Ukes project which teaches young people how to play the ukulele.

They were able to show off the talent coming from the programme as three past members of it treated the crowd to quirky renditions of modern hits Warriors by Imagine Dragons and Half the World Away by Oasis.

Another past member of the Young Ukes, Joe Ducker, has now progressed on to playing the guitar and gave an excellent acoustic version of the technically difficult Jerry’s Breakdown.

It was clear that brass instruments are popular in the district, and Core has helped develop two popular bands for young people through the Tyne Valley Jazz Ensemble and the Tyne Valley Youth Big Band.

The former is for musicians aged between eight and 12 and all members showed great maturity as they stood up to the plate to perform solo pieces throughout their three tracks.

One day, they will progress to the Big Band which again demonstrated the excellent standard of performance with great versions of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams and the uplifting Salsa Amigo.

Ahead of the grand finale song It Must Be Love, the crowd at Queen’s Hall were treated to a guest performance from Malcolm Bushby, the Scot regarded as one of the world’s best young fiddlers.

Then followed a vocal performance from Anna Priestley to bring a fitting end with her take on Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World.

Both acts were accompanied by the Core House Band, a talented collection of tutors, volunteers and weekly club regulars who can turn their hands to almost anything.

And they even gathered to perform Edgar Winters’ Frankenstein as a four piece – guitarist Johnny Carr, bassist Owain Bennett, keyboard player Noah McNeill and drummer George Hutton – producing a track which was like a polished jamming session between accomplished musicians.

Bringing plenty of entertainment to the stage was six piece, all female, a capella singing group EnCore who are fun personified.

Running through Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass and two Abba tracks, the ladies showed instruments aren’t always needed with huge vocals like theirs.

More great fun was brought to the proceedings through country-inspired Hexham Bluegrass and ukulele wizards The Ukeeteers, who both performed four tracks.

The occasion got off to a swinging start through jazz and funk collective Subtone, also known as Jazz Jammers, with two funky arrangements.

A new addition to the line-up was mixed choir Jubilate, a group of singers from the local area compiled in the past three years who aim to raise money as well as entertain.

Since their formation, they have raised more than £6,000 and were key perfect in their performances of You Raise Me Up and Deep River.

Hexham Village Band, a large rabble of musicians, had a selection of traditional tunes up their sleeves as they got things started again after the interval.

And of the highlights followed soon after with entertainment from The Cherry Pickers, who all play their part in completing the whole package. Fronted by Penny Grennan and the distinguished vocals of Jan Croot, the band will have won many admirers through their performance of three tracks on stage.