A FEEL good fusion of jazz, punk and rock is the combination that singer-songwriter Nick Heyward says he’ll bring to Cookham Festival, as he recalls the influences that set him on the musical track.

The 47 year-old former 80s band Haircut 100 member is eager with anticipation as he gears up to headline the May Bank Holiday open air concert Rock the Moor - the climax and centrepiece of this year’s arts and culture bonanza.

Henley resident Nick, who says Cookham is a regular haunt, aims to uplift the crowd with an array of his hits.

The song he hopes will reflect the occasion is ‘Fantastic Day’, his and many friends’ personal favourite.

Nick, whose father introduced him to the off-beat tunes of some of the top jazz musicians when he was a child before he discovered punk and rock, said his music has gone through a number of transitions.

"It’s about the joyful celebration of life, that's what it is, especially the early stuff. The 90s stuff got a little bit of ‘moany’ and now it's even more of a celebration really, I don't do the ’moany’ ones any more.”

Fans should be pleased with the choice of song line up on the day, Nick said: “I’m going to play the tracks that played on the radio mainly the ones I really love doing and all the ones that feel positive and right for the day because it's a family day out.

“I feel excited about the concert from the first breath in the morning to the last one at night - you never know when it will be your last. “You have got to celebrate every moment and that is what I will be doing on stage and getting everyone to sing along.”

Nick will be supported by acts from around the Cookham area including Soul’d Out, Temposhark, The Plants and Burdock.

He said that that the event is a great opportunity for the young bands to show what they can do and added that nurturing young bands is one of the things he enjoys doing most.

"I love helping young talent as much as possible, it's like doing gardening, you just plant the bulbs and wait fro them to grow in the right season,” he said.

“During the day it's all about new talent in the area and supporting the community - it's about joining the community together and that’s exactly what the arts and music does.

“Music is like the food of love - it has an amazing power to transform you immediately.”

Nick, who listens to Elgar's Nimrod in the morning to inspire him, hopes to have a similar effect on festival goers.

Tickets for Rock the Moor can be bought on-line at www.cookham.com or from The Stationery Depot, Station Hill, Cookham; Sainsbury’s High Street, Marlow; Martins, The Parade, Bourne End; and Sainsbury’s, Providence Place, Market Street, Maidenhead.