I’ve been to plenty of shows in my time, but I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as much as I did at my first Isle of Man Young Farmers’ Concert.

It was the opening night of the annual event, a fixture of the Manx calendar that, I’m told, has been going since 1971, albeit on a smaller scale back then - and it started brilliantly.

The evening kicked off with a tongue-in-cheek explanation that, thanks to our government, the four Young Farmers’ groups – Eastern, Central, Northern, and Southern - had more than enough material to get the crowd laughing. And laugh we did.

As the sketches rolled out, I kept thinking ‘where on earth do these young farmers find the time, the props, the costumes, and the energy to pull this off?’.

This is clearly no last-minute affair.

Every performance was meticulously rehearsed, perfectly timed, and brilliantly executed. It showed in every punchline, every prop, and every perfectly delivered gag.

I was honoured to be asked to judge the Thursday night show.

I’m fairly certain they were scraping the barrel asking me, but I was thrilled to attend my first ever concert. And as I sat there, I kept thinking ‘how have I never been before?’

Everything I write about or follow in the news was lampooned on stage - the 20mph debacle? Tick. Isle of Man Meats? Tick. Potholes everywhere? Tick. Allinson and Haywood’s sackings? Tick. Chief Minister Alf even had his own toyshop!

First up was Eastern, which I was particularly excited to see as my brother had a big part in it. His first gig in front of 600 people at the Villa and he looked unphased – the nicest I’ll ever be to him.

Eastern at the LAFTAS started strong, poking fun at Michelle Haywood’s 20mph scheme, a YMCA parody with DoI workers, and a Tesco monopoly sketch. It was tight, witty, and ridiculously funny.

Northern impressed next with Bryony Kneale and Dylan Groom’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the interval gave the audience a chance to grab a drink and chat to some of those involved.

After the break, Southern took the stage, delivering perfectly timed jokes about the Lieutenant Governor and potholes, including a moment where Percy Hampton of What’s The Skeet fame nearly fell out of a fake car - genuine stitches!

Finally, Central rounded off the night with excellent production and the smooth stewardship of chairman Michael Diehl.

The interval also saw cheques handed to two island charities from the Young Farmers’ Christmas Tractor Run - a reminder that these events aren’t just hilarious and entertaining, but also meaningful.

I could honestly write all day about this show, because it deserves it.

I caught up with some of the MHKs after the show, to see how they found it, after obviously getting a good battering on stage.

They took it super well, so full credit to them, because some of these jokes are brutal (but what we’re all actually thinking).

These Young Farmers are talented, organised, and brilliantly funny, and the Isle of Man is lucky to have them.

If you’ve never been, make sure you go next year, it’s an absolute joy.

More pictures from the event will appear in the Manx Independent, in shops on Thursday.