Thousands of fans at Sandwell Valle festival Judgestock

Birmingham band The Twang and Burntwood rocker Mitchel Emms who starred on The Voice were among the acts at the event at Sandwell Valley.

Boyband Blue and chart-topping R 'n' B singer Lemar were due to close the annual festival tonight. During the weekend, a host of tribute acts to groups such as The Beatles, Kings of Leon and Foo Fighters as well as homegrown bands such as Black Country group Stripey Oss took to the stages in two tents set up in the country park.

Last night's headliners, The Twang, bounced on stage to cheers and applause as they played fan-favourite Either Way. Their set also included While We're a Crowd, Back Where We Started and Barney Rubble, which were all lapped up by their fans.

Addressing the crowd, lead singer Phil Etheridge said they were pleased to be performing at the festival, adding: "Thanks for coming to see us, it means a lot."

Among those who were there to the see band were David Dale, aged 37, his wife Sarah, 36, and 10-year-old daughter Olivia, from Bilston. Mrs Dale, a full-time languages and linguistics student, said: "It's the first time we've been to the festival. We wanted to see The Twang and the warm-up act Alabama 3. It's nice to come to a festival which is so close."

Postman Simon Fawik, 33, from Wolverhampton, and Kimberley Biddleston, 25, an administrator from Wednesbury, said they were also attending the festival for the first time. She said: "It's a great line-up. We've really enjoyed it. We wanted to see The Twang most of all." Walsall firefighter Chris Hickerman, 34, who went to the festival with friends Kevin Parker, 26, and Carl Parker, 29, from West Bromwich said: "I had never heard of the festival before until my friends asked me if I wanted to go. It's great for West Bromwich to have this event."

The warm-up act for The Twang was Alabama 3, who are best known for their track Woke Up This Morning being the theme for the opening credits of TV show The Sopranos. Among the other groups appearing yesterday were Beatles tribute act Help and Wolverhampton group The ClockTower. On Saturday rock band The Quireboys headlined the main stage. Finalist on The Voice, Mitchel Emms, also performed with his alternative rock band Mister Nothing.

Originally called Fudgestock, the festival has raised more than £110,000 for charities during the past 16 years. Since the death of organiser Lee Judge's close friend Simon Turton, who lost his battle with cancer in 2011, Judgestock has focused its efforts on raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Money raised will also go to the Mayor of Sandwell's charities Birmingham Midland Eye Centre and Better Understanding of Dementia in Sandwell (BUDS). For the first time, the festival has been combined with the Sandwell Community Show which saw thousands of people descend on Sandwell Valley Showground for the first day of the two-day extravaganza. The fine weather held yesterday with families making the most of the entertainment.

The event was running for a second day today when thousands more people were expected to turn out. Attractions included a circus show, a Kiddies Paddock offering a range of fun for youngsters and the craft and countryside pursuits paddock.

A heavy working horse was also demonstrated in front of the crowds in the main ring, while car enthusiasts could enjoy the display of historic vehicles. There was also a horticultural and leek show. Among those who exhibited was retired driving instructor Colin Higgs from Walsall who is a member of the Midland Leek Society. He picked up a number of prizes for his leeks, potted leeks and onions as well as the award for heaviest potato – with his weighing in at almost 2lb. Mr Higgs, aged 65, said: "We had a lot of people visit our show. There is a lot for people to see and do."

Sandwell Council events manager Tony Potter said the first day had been a great success. "We probably had about 25,000 people visit the show," he added.