Juan les Pins welcomed back BB King for a performance of his legendary blues on Sunday evening, as steady rain lifted just minutes before the show began. It was a fine line-up; with British star James Hunter kicking off the evening with his exquisite Rhythm and Blues. Hunter's set was so good it was looking like this might be one of those cases where the support act makes a bigger impact than the headliner, but a few minutes of BB King's guitar and vocals were enough to underline his genius.

King is 85 years old, he can hardly walk, he plays the entire set seated, and yet his force of personality, his voice, and those beautiful solos on his beloved guitar are all still there. He doesn't play very long sets anymore, (this one seemed very similar to the one he played at Nice Jazz two years ago), but the audience loved every moment.

The show starts off with a couple of instrumentals from his band, driven by a strong horn section. It's one of the key ingredients for blues and soul singers, this kind of band that plays tight and loud. King comes on stage for the third number, and moves into "Every day I have the blues", complete with the fluid and exhilarating guitar solos that are so recognisable.

BB's in a playful mood, and has lots of jokes with other members of the band and with the audience. He spends a very long time playing "You are my sunshine" and getting all the ladies in the audience to join in. Thundering version of "Key to the highway", "Rock Me Baby", and finally "The Thrill is Gone" make up the set of the King standards, sung with a voice that shows none of his years.

The end of the show is a bit chaotic, as King insists on letting people come up to the front of the stage, take photos and shake his hand. As the security guards look increasingly worried, King takes out a huge handful of plectrums and throws them into the adoring audience. By now this is a huge and genuine outpouring of affection between the King of the Blues and the Juan crowd.

First up this evening was James Hunter, the Colchester boy with the voice of Sam Cooke and the guitar sound of Elvis's partner Scotty Moore. He fronts a six-piece band with two saxes, drums, upright bass, keyboards, and himself on an antique styled Gibson Les Paul. They play beautiful rock and roll and soul music that has the audience on their side very quickly. Hunter is a comical character, he laughs at himself most of all, but behind the humour there is a true professional, delivering fine music. Pick of the night, "Hand it Over".

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