A folk music festival at a craft centre? On Glastonbury weekend? Really?! Well, yes, when it's organised by the people from The Roving Crows and several great acts take time out of their Glastonbury experience to come and play.
At Willowman the week before, Rob Bazley mentioned he was going to this and when we heard the lineup our free weekend suddenly acquired a trip to pretty part of Worcestershire near Bromsgrove we'd never been to before. £23 each with camping seemed like a great deal for a one day festival with at least four top acts.
Claire Boswell
Camping was in a good grassy field right next to the single stage in a marquee with beer and food in an adjacent tent. The craft centre also had food (and all the other stuff you'd expect from a craft centre) plus proper toilets for campers! Luxury!
First on was Claire Boswell with some gentle folk guitar and singing. Perfect for the relaxed atmosphere at the start of a beautiful sunny afternoon. Her voice is superb, mostly put to work on her own songs but also covers like a particularly nice rendition of Fleetwood Mac's Dreams. She has an album out. Check it out - it comes recommended by none other than Mike Harding.
Foreign Affairs
Moving swiftly on to folk rock trio Foreign Affairs. This was the first of the acts that had made the trip up from Glastonbury where they were featured on BBC Introducing in the West. Their lively, up-beat guitar based sound is heavy on americana and not as folky as some similar acts I've seen. They've just released a new EP, "The First", launched at a sell out gig in their home own of Bristol. This is clearly a band going places and worth looking out for.
Gaz Brookfield
Up next was the brilliant Gaz Brookfield, also taking a sabbatical from the Pilton colossus. His set is gradually accumulating more songs from the excellent new album, "True and Fast" (which is thoroughly recommended by the way). Songs like Sailor Jerry's Kitchen, The Diabetes Blues and Ode to Ozzy are fast becoming mainstays of the live shows along with occasional goodies like Maps, which as a fellow cartophile I love. The early hour and relatively small crowd meant only a handful of hardcore dancers clustered near the stage with far more singing along to the old favourites from the comfort of seats a little further back.
The Leylines are a relatively new band that seem to be taking on the festie-folk scene one festival at a time. If you haven't caught up with them yet you soon will and you should. Led by the inimitable Steve Mitchell this is happy, dancy, fiddle-backed music delivered with enthusiasm and great character. The horribly catchy single "Sat in a Field" is fast becoming the sound of the summer. Have a listen and you'll wish you were "drinking cider in the sun, having festival fun" with these guys playing on stage. Although if it was me I'd not be sitting down. This was the point in the day the dancing started in earnest!
The Leylines
There's no doubt that Babajack splits opinions. I think if you've got any sort of blues background though you're gonna love it. I was really impressed when I saw them for the first time at Bearded Theory last month. Great skill and passion oozes from the stage as Trevor Steger's slide and harmonica blend with Becky Tate's vocals and expressive cajon or djembe. You can let yourself get lost in the performance as you feel the beats and melodies roll around you, sometimes like a train lumbering across the desert at others like a hot, lazy evening in a smokey bar. Rootsy blues at it best.
Babajack
Headlining were hosts The Roving Crows. The cider had really hit the spot by this time and the tent was packed with revellers well up for the party. Paul O'Neill led the folk-rock ensemble on a riot of fun tunes, occasionally lapsing into full-on hoedown with some great fiddle from Caitlin Barrett, and had us all dancing madly (my phone battery had gone but there might not have been any photos in any case). The marquee support in front of the stage saw some action from aspiring pole dancers and kids enjoying a bit of height above the crowd. The encores kept coming and it was a great show and a great end to a marvelous little festival. Huge thanks to Paul and the team for putting it on.
Well that was the comment I heard from more than one or two folk at the end of the latest weekend of hedonistic revelry. And I have to say I agree. You'd have to be really picky to find fault with this one. I am and I will (I really don't like the thick plastic wristbands) but my goodness this was very close to being flawless.
Let's start with arrival. After the fiasco of the campervan parking at Bearded Theory last month it was a joy to be directed straight to a marked pitch with no fuss. Likewise tent camping and parking was more organised with the only minor issue being the family camping was the furthest from the parking. We were soon pitched and heading into the arena, which was right next to the campsites, for the first performances.
This is a relatively small festival with a 5,000 maximum capacity but I don't think it reached that. A lot of the time it felt like a sub-1,000 event with people of all ages and plenty of families making for a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. The main arena was divided into two with the entrance and a few shops along the strip joining the two. One side had the main outdoor stage, another stage in a large marquee with a bar and a tent for dance music. The other side ("T'other field") had a large open area for games and activities and was also home to a good firepit with enough fuel to keep it going most of the night. Creative Intentions ran a colourful, popular cafe and hangout space and were responsible for the Acoustic Stage in one corner. This got a bit more than acoustic when it hosted a battle of the bands session for some talented young acts. I regretted not spending more time around this area but there was such a lot of good stuff going on elsewhere and you can't be everywhere, even at a small festival like this.
Parson's Lot
We arrived on the Friday so had missed the Andy Kershaw DJ session the previous evening and kicked off our festival with Parson's Lot. A fabulous, dancy folk-rock set with great covers and even better originals. Jeff "Jethro" Platts is not only an excellent frontman, vocalist and whistle-ist but all round great guy; a force behind the Creative Intentions space and the Acoustic Stage and rattling buckets to raise loads of money for Pegasus Children's Project. All told £1,500 was raised during the festival which will go some way to help the project's school and children's home in East Kathmandu recover from the effects of the earthquake in Nepal.
Frankie & the Heartstings
The two main stages operated alternately so music was continuous here without having to miss a single act (unless nipping over to the delights of t'other field). As usual I won't mention them all. Frankie & The Heart Strings were next up on the main stage and brought youth to a set that was musically strangely retro with almost a Roxy Music feel to it.
Neck
Neck were up next and much anticipated after storming the main stage at Bearded Theory a few weeks before. It was always going to be a tall order to top that, especially on the smaller, bar tent stage but they did a great job of pulling folk inside and getting plenty of us dancing to the riotous London-Irish folk-punk fiddle and whistle laden sounds.
Astralasia
To quote Monty Python; and now for something completely different. And there was definitely something slightly surreal about Astralasia as they took to the stage in the tent later Friday evening. Regular festival goers will be more used to a mix of rock, pop, folk, punk, ska, reggae and the like on the live stages but I had to look up how to categorise this psychedelic dance outfit. Words like acid house, trance and ambient dub mean very little to me I'm ashamed to say but apparently Astralasia have been an influence on these styles since the 90s. They certainly stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the live lineup. The hypnotic beats and tunes with wacky guitar sounds and freaky vocals from the feather-wielding lead went down really well in the tent packed with dancers and personally I loved it.
Astralasia
Echo & the Bunnymen
Headliners on the main stage Friday night were Echo & the Bunnymen but please, just look at the pictures. My mum always said if you can't find anything good to say, don't say anything at all. So, er... somebody clearly liked them because we could hear the encores from our van. There I found something!
North-east punk band Fire Lady Luck made an excellent job of getting Saturday underway despite some light rain early on and the North-east theme continued with the superb Charlotte Yanni Band. They played the acoustic tent here last year but this was the first time I'd seen them. The band is led by the talented, enthusiastic and excited Charlotte Yanni, originally from France but now based in South Shields, hence the name of her two piece act 'Frog on the Tyne' which she performs with the full band's charismatic double-bass player Kev Charlton. Although quite varied the music was distinctly rock and blues flavoured with great original tunes and a superb rendition of The Cranberries Zombie.
Charlotte Yanni Band
Sorry about the sound quality on the video. Phone was a bit close to the speakers.
Steve Williams and the Blues Deluxe
The Willowman Festival is the brainchild of Steve Williams and he took to the main stage next with his Blues Deluxe band and his flowing white locks. There followed a very professional example of jazzy rock and blues with some outstanding musicianship, especially on the Hammond organ.
Bessie and the Zincbuckets
Kev Charlton appeared again a little later with his magnificently painted instrument on the main stage with Bessie and the Zinc Buckets who appeared to have brought their entire fanclub down from the north-east judging by the number of their t-shirts being proudly worn around the site. This was rockabilly madness with no classic song too sacred to be spared the bucket treatment. Great fun and good to see so many up and dancing this early in the day. They brightened up the day in more ways than one as this was the point at which the sun came out and stayed to give a beautiful afternoon.
While the sun shone, Manchester punks Goldblade were delivering a loud, energetic set to a pretty packed tent stage with a shirtless John Robb flying around stage and audience in stark contrast to the increasingly chilled and sleepy crowd now flopped out around the main arena. The next act on the main stage, Pearl Handled Revolver reflected this mood and thing moved on in a slow lazy way as we worked our way towards one of the weekend's highlights.
New Groove Formation
To say we like New Groove Formation would be understating it a bit! This is party-style ska at its absolute best. They never fail to get the dancers going and I invariably end up an exhausted, sweaty mess, and I'm not alone. This was another great show; their usual festival setlist with many numbers off the last album "Summer In A Glass" (a masterpiece of consistently great songs) plus great tracks like "Turkish Delight" and "Too Much".
Dreadzone
The sun was still shining low in the west on a stunningly beautiful evening as Dreadzone hit the main stage. A familiar feature on the UK festival scene for many years and still delivering a superb blend of dub, reggae, dance. Great band and great performance, rightly well appreciated and a great way to see the sun go down, Following them in the tent was Toasters and I regret taking a break at this point and missing them. By all accounts this 80s New York ska outfit put on an excellent show and I'll be looking out for them again in future.
Headlining the main stage was Peter Hook & the Light but this wasn't really our thing so it was at this point we retired to the firepit in t'other field and watched Venus and Jupiter set together after the sun and the odd shooting star as we chatted and played a few songs into the never-really-dark solstice night. One of my only tiny criticisms of the festival was the firepit was a bit close to the Creative Intentions tent so the music from there was making the impromptu firepit jams hard to hear. Picky I know, but a slightly different location would do the trick.
Electric River
The final day was to be relatively short with a very early curfew and first up was a band that had taken Bearded Theory by storm. Despite them playing 5 sets there I managed to miss them so was keen to see what all the fuss was about. Electric River are a 3-piece from the South-east playing heavier-than-average rock verging on metal at times. A very slick act, perhaps a little too polished as it could come over a little clinical at times but this was an enthusiastic and energetic set. Again it went down very well with the early crowd and this is an act going places.
The Bar-steward Sons of Val Doonican
I caught a snatch of Big Red & the Grinners belting out some fun bluegrass then it was time for the brilliant Bar-steward Sons of Val Doonican, covering all your favourite song and butchering them with comedy lyrics. If laughing and dancing isn't you're thing then stay away. Not many did; it was packed! The tank-top toting, wig-wearing jokers had the crowd in stitches as always. I was again struck by the understated skill of the young Bjorn Doonicanson (Dan) on fiddle and banjo. It's sad that not long after this performance the old fella who gives his name to the act passed away and the dedication penned by leader Scott is a testament to the genuine affection he is held in by the band. They will continue to keep the man's legacy alive by entertaining and rocking us, but gently. They got the biggest shout for an encore of the whole weekend, which threatened to turn into a riot when it was refused. Their popularity is richly deserved
Hazel O'Connor
Hazel O'Connor was on last on the main stage and, although very good - especially the sax, failed to wow me and was rather too downbeat as a headliner for my liking. The same could not be said for the very last act of the festival. Winding up proceedings in the Willow Wobbly tent was the outstanding Ferocious Dog.
Ferocious Dog
What can say about the lads from Warsop? This is folk punk like you've never heard it before. Fast, furious, exciting, emotionally charged, it has it all. Been following the band for a fair while now and with every gig the ranks of the Hell Hounds (fans) swell. For some this is just jump around music, for some a chance to marvel at the mohawks, tattoos and musical talents of the performers, for others a sing along to the politically-charged lyrics and for some a headfirst dive into the friendliest, semi-naked, sweaty moshpit in the world. The choreographed crowd surfing is yet another part of the overall experience but whatever you get out of it you will want more. Ferocious Dog is as addictive as it is brilliant music. A new album will be released shortly featuring many of the songs that are now firm favourites in the live shows and will include the single Ruby Bridges available to download from the usual places.
And so it was back to the firepit for the final night to sing and talk and relive the experiences of one of the best ever music festivals. Great music, great camping, great loos, great for families, great vibe and a special mention for the bar staff who worked tirelessly and we barely had to wait to be served even when it was busy. Super early bird tickets are already on sale for 16th-19th June 2016. I've got mine. I hope you can make it too.
Wow! That could have been the shortest review ever. Or it could yet be the longest. There's so much to say about this event it's going to be hard leaving stuff out.
First impressions weren't that good. Organisation of arrivals left quite a bit to be desired. Many tent campers were having to make huge treks over awkward ground and we were sat queuing to park up in the campervan field for far longer than was necessary due to some poor marshalling.
The festival started on the Thursday with just the Something Else Big Top stage operating but what an outstanding lineup it was on that stage. It would have been better to take the afternoon off but work commitments are a fact of life and combined with the parking issues we had to listen to The Bar-steward Sons of Val Doonican and Mark Chadwick while waiting outside the arena - very frustrating. From the cheers it sounded like they went down a storm.
We were sorted in time for 3 Daft Monkeys though. One of the best festivals acts around and they did not disappoint. It's always a dancy experience but not sure anyone was prepared for the lively mosh that ensued - not sure the band had ever seen it before even. Children and others at risk from flying bodies were thoughtfully and quickly moved stage side of the security barriers and a great time was had by all.
The rest of the weekend went by in a blur. The festival has a really great vibe, a complete range of ages represented and a very friendly atmosphere everywhere. The arena area broke down roughly into three areas. The hub, closest to the camping, was centred around a funfair surrounded by food outlets, bars, the Disco Shed and three under-cover music venues. I won't comment on the funfair and food as I didn't really use them but this clearly provided a very family friendly area and focal point for the festival.
This was home to the Something Else Big Top stage and its little sister, the Tea Tent both hosting great music throughout. The fixed line-up on the Big Top was complemented by sets on the small, mainly acoustic stage in the tea tent that were filled dynamically throughout the weekend. The final music tent was Magical Sounds which mainly pumped out dance music but also hosted a few live acts. This is the first time I've come across this sort of dual use and I think it's a mistake. It's too easy for live music lovers to write off the venue and miss good acts.
Beyond this area two 'streets' of shops selling mainly terrific festival clothing but also other natty stuff and some more food led to the area of the main Pallet Stage. Enough room for a few thousand people with a raised area set well back for wheelchair users and similar. More food stalls and a bar peppered the perimeter.
The final zone had the Woodland Stage at its heart. This was a simply joyous place to be. The stage itself was a beautifully lit wooden construction with a great sound. Catering by Nana's Kitchen and a bar completed the picture (although we didn't use it we heard great things about the pre-booked Sunday roast from Nana's Kitchen). The woodland area was colourfully decorated and lit and even when no bands were on people were choosing to hang out there. If it had been wet I can see this and the approach path would get a bit muddy (last year's festival at the same location was extremely muddy across the whole site).
The way to the Woodland Stage had more stalls and, near the entrance to the main arena, a last minute addition to the attractions, the rather lovely Floating Lotus Stage. We'd seen some great acts on this last year at Boomtown and sure enough, despite having to fill their slots with suitable artists from those at the festival at short notice, this was once again entertaining. There's a relaxed, hippy feel to the venue and a selection of hot drinks and cakes made it a favourite place for many to chill.
There was far too much music to be able to comment on all of it and with 6 stages you inevitably miss a lot. So I'll just mention a few highlights which tended to be away from the main Pallet Stage.
Star Botherers
First up on the Woodland Stage I give you the Star Botherers. Probably mentioned them before but a great pair of lads and I love the catchy songs. "You charge too much for your jams and preserves" goes the song "My National Trust" decrying the idea of paying to walk around someone else's house and "I Wanna Be A Bad Guy" is a work of genius,
Blind Fever Band
Dave Drury (on the bass 'uke' for Star Botherers) also featured in the act that followed them with his son Brad on drums (both formerly in Ferocious Dog). The Blind Fever Band are also from Nottinghamshire and play a great set in a Bluegrass, hillbilly, skiffle kind of way.
Sweetchunks Band
After a quick nip over to the Something Else Tea Tent to see Pete Bailey of Leatherat do a solo turn we found ourselves at the main stage watching a good high energy, hip-hop laced set from Sonic Boom Six. Then it was back to the Big Top for The Sweetchunks Band. The Southampton-based blues/folk group inject their music with more than a splash of humour and covers and originals strong on the theme of drinking. The usual steampunk look was not as obvious as frontman Stuart had lost his hat, replaced by Keith the chicken - a hugely popular addition to the band with the audience as it turned out. Beneath the humour this is a skillful outfit with great guitar, banjo and cajon work.
Babajack
OK, time to get back to the Woodland Stage. BabaJack are an established band that I've not seen before and one hell of an act. The music itself is a very engaging fusion of blues, roots, folk, funk and tribal rhythms executed with enormous skill. Becky Tate's vocals and cajon carry the performance along with a curious blend of the sensual and the frenetic. This was one of the performances of the festival for me.
Babjack
So one of the great things about festivals like this is the impromptu events that can pop up out of nowhere so when we bumped into Scott Doonican and he said he was on the way to busk we naturally tagged along. What followed was a brilliant jam involving The Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican, Sweetchunks Band, Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs and the odd audience member. Wino Tyrone's ad breaks promoting random items from the jerky and dried fruit stall next door were bloody brilliant. Everyone was singing, dancing and clapping along and the hat that someone thoughtfully passed around suitably bulging. Magic!
Gaz Brookfield feat. Ben Wain
Still Friday! So much good music. Another dip into the Tea Tent for Maelor Hughes - brilliant - and then we're starting to work up the bill on the main stages. All 3 main live stages had top acts in their final three but we chose to stick with the Big Top for Gaz Brookfield followed by John Player Specials. I'll go on about Gaz at any opportunity but this is getting too long already. Suffice to say he had an overflowing venue eating out of his hand. Most were singing along to every song showing what a following he now has. I love it when he plays with Ben Wain and this was an outstanding set.
John Player Specials
I first saw John Player Specials last year at Something Else A Bit North festival and loved the fast, punky, ska-based full sound. They suffered a few sound system glitches but nevertheless delivered the same again to an increasingly lively crowd.
Jaya The Cat
To finish off the second day we were back at the Woodland Stage for some reggae from The Netherlands. This was a great opportunity to catch Jaya The Cat in the UK as they are mainly touring Germany for the rest of the year. Another first for me and I liked the relatively laid-back, mildly punky ska performance. A good way to round off an amazing day of fun and music.
Neck
We kicked off Saturday with some uncharacteristic Pallet stage action. First off was Neck. I managed to miss them on tour earlier this year so this was a treat. I'm a bit bit biased as this sort of celtic folk-punk is right up my alley but this really deserved a higher billing. However despite the relatively early hour there was a good crowd and the band nailed it. Just love the whistle.
Skinny Lister
Another act that could well have been a headliner followed. Skinny Lister are an amazing festival band with some original gimmicks. The huge stoneware flagon of rum went down very well and a crowd-surfing double-bassist playing on his back is not an everyday sight. Not that we got to enjoy that as we left the set slightly early to get back to The Woodland as rumour had it The Leylines were going to be on early due to a prior act pulling out.
The Leylines
As it turned out they more or less started on schedule and did not disappoint. At the folkier end of the folk-punk spectrum this is a superb act.
Another peek at the main stage revealed The Mahones then we were back in the Something Else Tea Tent for one of the funniest things I've ever seen. The Bar-steward Sons of Val Doonican are funny enough anyway but with sign language interpreter Sarah involved as well it was side-splitting. Check out this video of "Zipper Caught Me Balls" (to the tune of Winner Takes It All by Abba) and I'm sure you'll agree. The rest of the set was also hilarious.
I've talked about KilnAboy before so I'll just say I had a great time at their Woodland stage gig and particularly enjoyed Joe Yorke's involvement.
KilnAboy
with Joe Yorke
Ushti Baba
Next came an absolute highlight and probably my favourite gig of the whole festival. We first encountered Bristol-based gypsy-folk rioters Ushti Baba at Boomtown festival last year and were instantly hooked. Ursula Billington is simply amazing on the violin. I'd seen they were playing on the Floating Lotus stage, which wasn't listed in the festival guide, so I'd been telling anyone who'd listen that they needed to go and see them. So it was a relief when they put on an excellent show that went down brilliantly with a packed tent. Word got around afterwards and when they played again on the Magical Sounds stage at around midday they had a much bigger crowd than you'd have expected for that time of day.
Inner Terrestrials feat. Joe Yorke
The day finished off with a massive mosh-off in the Big Top to one of my favourite bands. Inner Terrestrials are hard-core, full-on dub/ska-punk and I bloody love it. Once again there were a few sound issues but the crowd couldn't care less and with another welcome inclusion of Joe Yorke playing whistle on Free The Land this was an fabulous, exhausting end to the day's music.
Please Y Self Skiffle Band
Sunday. A day of sore heads and slow starts and we both had bad colds by now. We made the effort for Ushti Baba but the rest of the day was taken very carefully. The Please Y Self Skiffle Band were good (Woodland Stage again) but nothing was really grabbing us until the late evening. Big acts like The Beat, Misty In Roots, The Buzzcocks, Quercus Burlesque, Skewwhiff passed by while hanging out with friends and checking out the shops.
JB Conspiracy
So the last couple of acts I'll mention both played on what really became home for the weekend, the Woodland Stage. It was interesting to wander in there while huge acts like Buzzcocks and James were on the main stage and find all our mates there. This was where the best atmosphere was and many of the best bands played.
The Neville Staple Band
The JB Conspiracy were another great ska/reggae act. Similar enough to John Player Specials but from London rather than Manchester. Then it was a short wait in good company for the final act. We could hear James behind the wood on the main stage but it really isn't my sort of thing. The Neville Staple Band however really finished things off beautifully. In the best setting, the original rude boy and the relatively gentle ska beats took us through some familiar two tone classics. A perfect end to a near perfect festival.
The Neville Staple Band
So the overall verdict is of an outstanding festival - with what everyone said were the best festival loos any of us had ever encountered. Such a range of top music and a relatively intimate feel considering it was at its 10,000 capacity. Only criticisms are over the management of the parking and the rather nasty plastic wristbands - could we have some nice fabric ones next year please. Looking forward to next year already.
The Leylines are a relatively new band that seem to be taking on the festie-folk scene one festival at a time. If you haven't caught up with them yet you soon will and you should. Led by the inimitable Steve Mitchell this is happy, dancy, fiddle-backed music delivered with enthusiasm and great character. The horribly catchy single "Sat in a Field" is fast becoming the sound of the summer. Have a listen and you'll wish you were "drinking cider in the sun, having festival fun" with these guys playing on stage. Although if it was me I'd not be sitting down. This was the point in the day the dancing started in earnest!
There's no doubt that Babajack splits opinions. I think if you've got any sort of blues background though you're gonna love it. I was really impressed when I saw them for the first time at Bearded Theory last month. Great skill and passion oozes from the stage as Trevor Steger's slide and harmonica blend with Becky Tate's vocals and expressive cajon or djembe. You can let yourself get lost in the performance as you feel the beats and melodies roll around you, sometimes like a train lumbering across the desert at others like a hot, lazy evening in a smokey bar. Rootsy blues at it best.
Headlining were hosts The Roving Crows. The cider had really hit the spot by this time and the tent was packed with revellers well up for the party. Paul O'Neill led the folk-rock ensemble on a riot of fun tunes, occasionally lapsing into full-on hoedown with some great fiddle from Caitlin Barrett, and had us all dancing madly (my phone battery had gone but there might not have been any photos in any case). The marquee support in front of the stage saw some action from aspiring pole dancers and kids enjoying a bit of height above the crowd. The encores kept coming and it was a great show and a great end to a marvelous little festival. Huge thanks to Paul and the team for putting it on.
