The Isle of Wight Festival burst into life on Thursday as thousands of music fans arrived on site for the opening day of this year’s event.

With a weekend of headline performances from Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris and The Cure still to come, the festival’s first day delivered a lively mix of indie favourites, nostalgia-fuelled singalongs and high-energy dance music.

One of the earliest talking points came courtesy of Elvana, the Elvis-fronted Nirvana tribute act, who brought their unique mash-up of rock ‘n’ roll swagger and grunge classics to the island. The band kicked off the party atmosphere with a set packed with reimagined Nirvana tracks, including a raucous rendition of “Territorial Pissings”.

Elsewhere, Hot Dub Time Machine transformed the crowd into one giant singalong, spinning a cross-generational soundtrack that featured everything from A-ha’s “Take On Me” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”.

Indie stalwarts Maxïmo Park also proved a popular draw, opening their set with “The Coast Is Always Changing” before rolling through fan favourites including “Apply Some Pressure” and “Books From Boxes”. Frontman Paul Smith acknowledged the festival’s seaside setting, telling the crowd it felt only right to begin with one of the band’s most recognisable coastal anthems.

As darkness fell, the Big Top welcomed Joel Corry, whose catalogue of chart-topping dance hits has made him one of the UK’s most-streamed artists. The DJ and producer delivered a high-energy set featuring many of the tracks that have helped him surpass four billion global streams.

Thursday’s action marks the start of four days of live music on the island, with Teddy Swims, The Kooks, Tom Grennan and Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter also set to perform across the weekend.