The first night of Cargo's Live Boutique Festival of "music from the French World scene" was marred by problems, from the non-appearance of Senegal's El Hadj N'Diaye to a lack of promotion, resulting in the non-appearance of an audience of the size that the two remaining performers deserved. After hasty re-arrangements, the headliner mysteriously became the opening act, and so the celebrated instrumentalist Titi Robin began his London return by playing to a sadly empty room.

It didn't seem to worry him. Looking like a swashbuckling musketeer with his red shirt, moustache and long hair, he showed why he has become one of France's leading roots musicians (he hates the terms "world" or "fusion") with a set that matched North African and gypsy influences with a dash of blues, as he switched between oud, bouzouki and guitar. He was a restless performer, forever changing styles, from delicate and meandering, ambient sections that sometimes went on too long, through to passages where he acted like a jazz musician as he playfully swapped phrases with his inventive accordion player Francis Varis, and then gave sudden demonstrations of his quite extraordinary virtuoso rapid-fire playing, spurred on by his percussionist and hand-claps from the crowd.

Then the mood changed once again, as he introduced his daughter Maria Robin. Now Robin acted first as quietly sensitive and then rousing accompanist for her songs, that switched from scat chanson to North African balladry and a furious gypsy-influenced piece in which she demonstrated some impressive barefoot dancing. It was a triumphant ending to a classy, if sometimes uneven set.

Soha, the unexpected headliner, is a glamorous Algerian-French singer-songwriter who was backed by accordion and guitars. She looked tremendous, covering anything from French pop to reggae and soulful Latin ballads, but was overwhelmed by her brash and boisterous band.