Singing the wise words of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger - and making their own pointed observations - the darlings of the peace-and-love era gave the 1960s a soundtrack of hope and compassion.

Peter, Paul and Mary still perform '36 times a year', Yarrow said - but for some of the other nine days in 10 the legacy of Yarrow's experience is shared with glamorous daughter Bethany, 27, proof that the music retains its message a generation on.

'We are one,' sang Yarrow early in this gig. But he had reckoned without the traditional local 'distance' which usually greeted performers, and at that point we were still us and they still them.

But Puff The Magic Dragon soon dissolved the diffidence. Up on stage went several children - the youngest about two, the oldest about 35. Up went the hairs on the back of the neck at the childhood memories, and down went the audience's reserve.

'It's overdue that you sing,' Yarrow said. So sing we did, with a little coaching: Blowin' In The Wind, If I Had A Hammer, Leaving On A Jet Plane, Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Anthems for peace, laments for love, and appeals for tolerance meant the lump was rarely out of the throat.

They came with the dextrous backing of Paul Prestopino on guitar, mandolin, dobro and harmonica, which made them Peter, Paul and Bethany. But what had not changed was the galvanising, spiritual content of the music. As this cynical world moves into a new cycle, this is the score much of it will turn to for reassurance.

Peter And Bethany Yarrow Arts Festival, City Hall