When The Blue Notebooks was originally released in February 2004, it did not seem to be an album which would have the afterlife it has enjoyed. It had little context. Max Richter’s second album was his first for the 130701 label which, at that point, had not yet set out its stall.

Arriving back onstage for an encore a broadly smiling Gary Numan bathes in roared football chants of “Numan! Numan!”. He tells us it’s just over 40 years since he released his first single, “That’s Too Bad”, but that he and his tight four-piece band are going to make a “bad attempt” at playing it. He’s wrong. It’s one of the best-delivered songs of the night, sounding Seventies punky to the delight of the crowd, many of whom clearly recall the era. It’s not a song he usually plays and not typical of his set, but it has a freshness.

Cornbury Festival holds a very special place in my heart. When the babies were young, we realised that if we were going to be up all night without sleep we might as well be sat in a field listening to music rather than staring out of the window at a dreary North London street. Luckily for us, we accidentally picked one of the most family-friendly festivals out there.

Summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the street. To vinyl. Only theartsdesk on Vinyl doesn’t just cover music for dancing, it covers every style of music imaginable (with a good showing for pop this month). Whatever your taste, from the heaviest rock to the lightest ambient music, theartsdesk on Vinyl will review it along the way. Enough intro, though. More juice.

"Homeward Bound – the Farewell Tour", they were calling it. But with a show this strong, nobody would complain if that farewell were to turn out at some point not to be absolutely final.

Hailing from Canada and born from the ashes of cult indie heroes Women (the band responsible for that chiming Calgary guitar sound), Preoccupations haven’t let up since their first LP Viet Cong was released just three years ago.

Music from Sudan is overshadowed by the country’s recent history. At the end of June 1989, Colonel Omar al-Bashir assumed control and it became a one-party state. Shariah law was introduced. Osama Bin Laden was resident in capital city Khartoum from 1991 to 1996. Tension between the mostly Muslim north and mostly Christian south undermined any facade of stability al-Bashir sought to impose. The south was declared independent in 2011. Conflict in Darfur, in the west of the country, left 300,000 people dead and led to just over 3 million displaced people.

“We have come here tonight,” announces Mavis Staples, “to bring you some joy, happiness, inspiration - and positive vibrations!” It’s a declaration that the irrepressible Mavis, celebrating her 79th birthday today, routinely makes at her concerts - and she never fails to deliver.

Tonight is the second of two sold-out nights at Islington’s beautiful Union Chapel, a much-loved venue that’s perfect for Mavis’ brand of joyous, reverent and powerful music and one she clearly adores. She’s played here a few times, including a special show on her 75th birthday in 2014. “It’s my birthday,” she said happily that night, “and I’m in a beautiful church with my friends.” She’s delighted to be back with her friends again, tickled by the audience’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”, brandishing an England football scarf (“England has already told me that they will be winning,” she claims ahead of the World Cup semi-final) and teasing excitable fans who shout out in their “terrible accents”.

After coming on stage to rapturous applause from a thrilled audience already up on its feet, Mavis kicks things off with the Staple Singers’ “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)” – which must be bittersweet for her to sing without Yvonne, her older sister and fellow Staple Singer who frequently toured with her and died in April this year. It’s one of only a handful of Staple Singers’ songs tonight, including “What You Gonna Do” and a scorching “Let’s Do It Again” - the Curtis Mayfield track that the Staples covered, causing churchman Pops to balk at its saucy lyrics. “Oh Pops,” Curtis reassured him, according to Mavis, “the Lord won’t mind!”

The bulk of tonight’s set is instead made up of rich pickings from Mavis’ solo albums, featuring amongst others a sublime version of “Far Celestial Shore” from 2013’s One True Vine, a brisk “We’re Gonna Make It” from 2010’s Jeff Tweedy collaboration You Are Not Alone, and the achingly moving title track of the same album. 

Most heavily mined, naturally, is Mavis’ current record, If All I Was Was Black. Race relations in today’s America, the Black Lives Matter movement and families being ripped apart at the US border are all touched on in powerful tracks including “Little Bit”, “Who Told You That”, “Build a Bridge” and “No Time for Crying” – the latter featuring Mavis’s intent to “march right up to that big house” and tell “that man to sit down”.   

An encore comprising a reprise of “Little Bit” and a rousing rendition of the Staples’ “Touch a Hand, Make a Friend” – with Mavis taking her own advice by shaking the outstretched hands of delighted audience members near the front – brings the show to a close, surprising fans expecting to be sent out dancing to “I’ll Take You There”. But while there might have been a few changes to tradition – there was no sign of the Staples’ version of “The Weight”, either – this was a very special evening in the presence of one of the all-time greats, a tireless performer who shows hardly a sign of slowing down in the pursuit of righteousness, human rights and the bringing of joy, inspiration, happiness and positive vibrations.  

“I tell you, there’s just no stopping me!” laughs Mavis at one point, seemingly surprised at herself. But, as she sings in “No Time for Crying”, “we got work to do.” And Mavis is not going to stop while it’s there to be done.

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Overleaf: Watch Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy perform an acoustioc version of "You Are Not Alone"