The blues, the musical variety at least, descended on Otago Peninsula and even crossed the harbour over the weekend as the second iteration of the Portobello Blues Festival expanded the event.
Festival director Isabelle Prosser said the second version of the biennial festival was bigger than the first in 2015.
That year, the festival was reported to have attracted about 1500 people.
Yesterday Ms Prosser said figures had not been collected but she was confident the total was well over 2000.
This year, the three-day event was held at a variety of venues, from the Portobello Coronation Hall to a gallery, cafes, a bowling club and even the Carey's Bay Historic Hotel.
Ms Prosser said the festival had attracted people from as far afield as Auckland, and one couple had travelled from Canada.
Yesterday afternoon, she said the festival had been ''great''.
''People who have come have absolutely loved it.
''A high-quality event, is what we're hearing.''
Ms Prosser lives and works in Belgium but is from Portobello.
She said the area was close to her heart and she had begun the festival after hearing from people in the Portobello Hotel who loved music but felt there was little happening in the area.
The festival still had room to grow, and there were calls for it to be held annually.
Organisers would have a debriefing this week to consider what worked and what could be done better next time.
