THIS year’s Romsey Festival will play host to one of the smallest orchestras seen in the town – the FB Pocket Orchestra, purveyors of hot jazz, ragtime, blues and dance music from the 1920s and 1930s.

The Orchestra consists of just three players – Ollie Corbin on tuba, accordion, cornet and bass drum, Jenny Russell on clarinet and washboard, and Paul Stevenson on guitar and banjo – but delivers a powerful musical and vocal punch.

Despite its small size, though, it gathers rave reviews for giving classic tunes and songs a contemporary vibe, and performing them with consummate skill.

The FB Pocket Orchestra takes to the stage at the Lantern Theatre, Mountbatten School, on the evening of Thursday, July13 .

Supporting it at this special Romsey Festival Folklights will be local guitar virtuoso Chris Whitfield, a former finalist in the BBC’s Young Folk Musician of the Year awards.

“We like to book an act that’s unusual and exciting for each Festival Folklights show,” say organisers Pete and Ali Campion.

“When we saw the Pocket Orchestra we were blown away by their talent and felt they’d be a natural fit for the Festival.”

Tickets are available through the Romsey Festival website or via the Tourist Information Centre in Church Street. All profits from the event will be donated to Romsey Opportunity Group.