TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Does anyone know who is at Towersey this year and when they will announce their acts? Trying to make a decision?  ???

No! They keep going on about it's their 50th but NO sniff of any acts. Shrewsbury will be sold out soon!

Ditto Cambridge 50th - PR poor, don't think they realise they are in a market place environment!

In the case of Cambridge it may be because they are sold out every year, pretty much irrespective of what the line-up - evidence last year. Still frustrating, even though I've bought my ticket.

Did eventually sell-out the week before however still think that it's a bit presumptuous and to be frank the line-up last year was pants!

Let me know the next time it doesn't sell out.  With a 60% turn out I might consider it myself.

Re Cambridge, I've asked asked several times on FB and Twitter when the line up will be announced but have had no reply

ronnie

An odd phenomena occuring with festivals this year from my own personal perspective. They all seem to be incorporating at least one day when there is nothing that interests me.

Cropredy - Thursday & Friday look good. Saturday not so much.
Wickham - Thursday - Saturday terrific. Sunday I shall be making an early exit.
Moseley - Saturday & Sunday look promising. Friday I am ambivalent.

This is both bad and good news as not attending for entire durations will save me a couple of days leave from work, which I seem to be in short supply of this year.  :-\

I quite enjoy a day where I'm not keen on any of the bands. Sometimes you get a nice musical surprise, plus it gives you chance to wander about. One year at Cropredy we spent most of the admittedly sunny afternoon sat outside the van, reading and drinking and just generally chilling. The music and general Cropedy sounds were still there in the background but it was just a lovely relaxing day.  {:-)

A day spent pottering along the canal and around the village at Cropredy is a joy.  A day wandering around Moseley?  Hmmmmm.

 ;D ;D

Moseley's alright!  It has some nice pubs and a few hippie shops.  I can take you on a guided tour of flats and houses I've lived in!   :D

Jules

Wa-haay! Who needs the National Trust with an offer like that on the table!  ;)

For me it's the Friday at Cropredy that doesn't do much for me - apart from the Aussie Pink Floyd at the end of the day.  But that's probably because I don't know most of the bands, and I'm sure some will grab me, even if others leave me snoozing in the sunshine (I was going to write 'leave me cold', but I hope it'll be a warm sunny day!)

To me, 'the Thursday - and Fri morning - in the village' (when the festival was just second half Fri and all day Sat) was what made Cropredy different (and better than the rest)...

I haven't made it to the village at all during the last couple of Cropredy's that I attended. I agree that I used to find it a very special part of the weekend and would often spend Saturday afternoon sitting somewhere up the canal, reading. But the pressure to find your place on the field now seems to make those simple pleasures so much more difficult.

We still need that like button. Seconded.

blah blah the good old days blah blah   ::)

it's still better than the rest  {:-) and I like it spread over 3 days - you can pack more in!

But it isn't imho. I am however willing to concede that it may be me that has changed more than the festival. :(

I think you should try more festivals to be honest ;)

I agree and I will once a few logistical issues are sorted. :)

That's one of the reasons we stopped going for a few years.  However, on our return last year we picked up some folding seats about the size of a laptop bag (with a large beer pocket on the back).  Basically just two squares of foam with strapping/material between them to form a backrest, but they work really well.  We then just wandered around and crashed out where ever we fancied, providing there was enough space for two people to sit.  As they are so light you wear them across your back if you are standing down at the front and they don't get in the way of you dancing.

The other advantage is that as you are basically sat on the ground you can sit quite close to the front without one of the stewards trying to move you on.  :)

Tried those a few years back bit I couldn't get to grips with them.  Kept falling backwards.  ;D

Folk by the Oak, Warwick and Cropredy for me this Summer (so far...!)

It's not good old days Brij, it was what made it different. Stewarding was different, it was less corporate, more relaxed, no queuing, no rush down/up the field to get 'your'spot Now , with the exception of having only one stage, it is like any other fest and we seem to be preferring  more idiosyncrsatic fests recently, Larmar Tree, Upton, Ely, Warwick, Fest at the Edge, Moira , Ireby. Moseley etc.
I loved our 20 plus yrs at Cropredy. memories, friends, music and a complete retreat from the world of work, I never thought I'd stop going but little attracts me to the main field now. We will be at the v relaxed Festival at the Edge which still has that eccentric/aging hippy vibe (man!) :o ;D  I hope you love every minute. Enjoy.
Sheen has really lost her love of Cropredy. I'll be at the fringe on the Sat but I think we may have done our last Cropredy.

Cropredy has changed over the years as the band have chosen to extend it and expand it and I too preferred the more laidback only Friday evening/Saturday ones.  But we can't expect it to remain static forever and I'm perfectly happy to accept that it has moved on and I haven't.

That said, I shall be doing my 29th Cambridge this year.  That too has extended and expanded over the years but while, yes, it's perhaps not quite as laidback as once it was and I'm not blind to the issues it has (principally space) it has still, for me, kept it's soul and essential character.  I'm not entirely sure why this is - certainly retaining the old site and having continuity in style and audience have to do with it - but it seems to have done it better than Cropredy, at least through my (quite possibly rose-tinted) glasses.

Good article by Ed Vulliamy from the Observer on festivals:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/30/sex-drugs-jimi-hendrix-my-life-in-festivals-ed-vulliamy-isle-wight

Cropredy gets the thumbs-up  :)

Hi Jeremy, I completely accept that it is me who hasn't changed. I am delighted Cropredy continues, I am delighted people still love it. we just seem to have fallen out of love. maybe having the time to go to a whole load more  fests has made the difference. Cropredy is no longer my yearly ritual.

Interesting article. I was at most of the early festivals he writes about - bath, Hyde Park, Bickershaw and agree with almost all he he has written.

Both the author and myself living in Glastonbury perhaps colours our attitude to the 'Pilton Pop Festival' up the road (aka Glastonbury) though I'm not sure that Sunrise will ever get back to it's roots as it moves ever more nearer a big city (Bristol).

Speaking to a lot of festival goers it seems that the smaller, focused, non corporate festivals are the way to go. This year our smallest festival will have a max of 500 and the biggest 15,000. That's big enough for me. And none will have any sort of corporate sponsorship, so no big companies waving a big stick either.

I won't, however, be going to Cropredy. Like Jeremy I'm glad others still love it, but it's no longer for me.  :(

I only started going to Cropedy in 2004 so maybe I haven't had enough time to get disillusioned yet. For me, it's always been a 3-day festival with around 20,000 people on the Saturday. Plus I'm not overly bothered by corporate involvement - it can a positive thing sometimes. Wadworths :)

We made the decision to miss a year in 2012 as the line-up wasn't to our liking, but as the 2nd weekend in August approached and we weren't going, we realised it's much more than just music. For us, it's 4 days of total relaxation and fun. No work, no driving, no cooking, no deadlines, no pressure. I'm sure I can get all this from other festivals, and next year we will definitely go to at least one other, but for now we're happy with Cropredy and all it has to offer.

 {:-)  [;-)

what she said

Sandra. Bickershaw. I was there and got v wet!! and 6 hrs of the Grateful Dead!!

Brij, we're not arguing and I'm very happy to be an old f**t. 2004 was something of a watershed yr for us although we did another 7 yrs. Dave P and Christine had split and there were subtle changes in the organisation, e.g, volunteer stewards went and in came professional security. I completely understand why but it did change the feel of that organically grown fest with Christine as the matriarch. Like you (and Bill), Cropredy was our release from work, that no longer applies and Sheen and I will again wander from small fest to small fest, play at a few and sell some of Sheens paintings.  I will be in the village on the sat, for a pint on the gravestones, music at the brase, a buffalo burger and dingbats from the canoe club.......and a toast to absent friends.

I always used to like the fact that while the Stones had Hell's Angels doing security at Altamont, Fairport had the boy scouts at Cropredy  :)

They still do  ;D
And I don't think they ever did have voluntary stewards at Cropredy, the teams of people that you see on the gates etc  have been working there for many many years and I believe they have always been paid to do so. Is why they know what they are doing. Although I think they have increased security from outside companies in the latter years, to combat the increased risks of theft and vandalism that now plague all festivals big and small. :)

Wet doesn't begin to describe it really, does it! Our tent was floating. However, the boyfriend and I were young and in love and that was enough to see us through.

Yes, an enjoyably long GD set plus many others - Hawkwind with what must have been a very chilled Stacia, Dr John, Capt Beefheart, Country Joe and I don't remember any complaints about the ISB at that event! What I do remember was a large mud slide near the 'chill out' tent that became a slide and a high wire act who dived from what seemed like a great height into a very small but ever filling (thanks to the rain) 'pool'.

A tiny 6'x3' cotton ridge tent, two sleeping bags, a torch and a toothbrush was about all that we took. Ah, those were the days. Now I need a camper van full of 'stuff'.

I only had a sleeping bag and a plastic sheet!!!!!! and later a piece of corrugated fencing! I remember a lot of people trying to get in for free and a lot of other people trying to get out. I was 19. I thought it was brill!
Ah Stacia, she may well have affected the rest  of my life and yes of course, I loved ISB.

She had her knockers but I thought she was a great dancer.

I learnt my lesson at previous festivals that I went to with only a blanket.

I spent the first night at Bath Festival sleeping under a chip van to avoid the rain. Fortunately our GI friends who were in the UK for 'rest and rehabilitation' (read that as 'to get straightened out before they were shipped back to the US - Vietnam did cruel things to them) turned up on the second day with PX tents, sleeping bags and enough fags to keep a chimney going.

The comedic stylings of Mr Addie. He's here all week folks!

When a man is tired of Cropredy , he's tired of life.

Cropredy is more than the music.(Although Capercaillie,Waterboys,Treetop Flyers and Fairports in one weekend is enough, I caught a bit of Reg Meuross at Butlins and was seriously impressed so theres another I want to see). 

For me its:

• The walk along the canal path
• A first pint from the Lion in the churchyard.
  • Leatherat at the Brasenose.
  • Ambling up with no chairs and sitting on a spare bit of grass down by the front. Even when it rains you can only get so wet.
  Breakfast at the school
• The cheerful friendly ( and on our side stewards). Not a problem for me if they are getting paid, these guys are seriously good, and so I hope they are.
• I like the food , and I don't get to eat a Goan fish Curry at any other time.
• The crack and the meeting of famous musicians at the bar,
• The Walk back to Gods own field over the two bridges in a crowd still excited by the evening.

I really don't Know what I would do if there wasn't a Cropredy Festival. I would probably still go and camp on field 7. I would still walk the canal to the village and I would sit under that  Oak and think the world a very good place.

For those of you who don't get to feel like this, my condolences. I am sad for you.

Maybe see you there :) and enjoy your summer of festivals - sounds idyllic and something I would love to do myself one day

Morning Trev, I'm not completely tired of life yet!! ;D and bless you for feeling sad for me. I am however, lucky enough to be able to pop to Cropredy (about an hr) outside the fest time and do all the things you mention, incl Saturday night gigs at the Brase. Sheen and I will be in Cropredy in June for Oxfordshire Open Studios, some of which are in Cropredy. We live nr the grand union so a walk along the canal is an almost daily occurrence. I go to the fringe on the Sat for most of the things you mention, the 'at, the craic, a pint at the lion and yes I would love to have seen Capercaillie, Blackbeards t Party and Waterboys at Cropredy but i'll see Waterboys and Blackbeards at other fests this yr. I have the excitement I used to have at Cropredy about returning to Festival at the Edge this yr, which gets as close to, as I remember, Cropredy in the early 80's.
Enjoy every minute. We only did Field 7 once , a year of floods, 97? and hated it. Field 2 for yrs and yrs and then you could only get on if you arrived at 5 in the morning, part of an 'in people ' convoy and dressed as a llama. (I lied about the llama). Have a great time. I will be watching the'at and wearing the hat in my avatar. Come and say hello, just to see I'm still alive. :D

Like Hendo I'm by no means done with life yet - I've just moved on.

We can all list our reasons for going to do particular things and none of what you mention is particularly unique. Most festivals, even the big ones, are more than the sum of their parts to those who attend and I respect people's right to choose those they attend.

I'm really glad that you and others still like and enjoy Cropredy, but please don't be sad for those of us that don't. I'm assuming what you have written is said tongue in cheek otherwise it could be read as somewhat patronising. I could just as well turn round and say that I am sad for those who stick to doing the same thing each year without trying something new, but I wouldn't as I know that people have things that mean a lot to them.

The weekend of Cropredy I've chosen to go to see Robert Plant, one of my all time greats, in the grounds of one of the most spectacular abbeys in the country, probably a once in a lifetime experience. I'll be attending at least 5 or 6 festivals this year, all for different experiences, plus having a month long trip round Europe in our camper van (health willing) to some places we've never been before and but revisiting some old favourites, and no doubt picking up the odd festival on the way.  I don't think I can be said to be tired of life yet.

Each to his own my friend, each to his own.  :) :) :)

I'm with F7Trev - in a very non-condescending and non aggressive way.
I have been to other festivals - but not having a camper van, most require carting camping gear and having guy ropes pulled up... I have felt uncomfortable and even threatened at several.
Cropredy is in a different league and I wouldn't miss it for worlds.
I prefer the one stage as it means I don't have decisions to make - I just chill out and enjoy, the rest of my life is quite hectic enough, for one weekend I truly relax.
However, I'd gladly listen to recommendations for others that don't involve driving vast distances, have civilised camping and aren't extortionately expensive...

Anyone going to Bath Folk Festival ( August 9th-17th)? It's got a really great vibe. Camping only £30 for the whole week or £20 for the weekend. Lots of cool acts already signed up including Martin Carthy, Sheelanagig, Rory Mcleod, Clive Caroll, Crowd, Tyn Daga and the Balina Whalers. Don't forget to bring your instruments to join in with all the sessions across the city too or join the Summer school for the week and learn lots of new tunes. Early bird deadline June 1st. More details on the website: www.bathfolkfestival.org

After going to Weeley Festival with absolutely nothing except a blanket to sit on, I then spent a long while as a devotee of Cambridge Folk Festival.  A few years back I went to Larmer Tree, Trowbridge and Cambridge back to back and realised there were other festivals better than Cambridge.  I then went on to go to Ely and Beautiful Days and forgot about Cambridge.  Last year was my first at Cropredy and whilst I enjoyed it, and met some lovely people from TAW, it didn't thrill me like other festivals  have done.  This year I am going to Cropredy again (mainly for the lineup), and will be at CFF the weekend before which, I must admit, I am getting very excited about.  What I liked most about Cropredy last year was the camaraderie, as usually I attend festivals on my own.

Went to Gower Folk Festival last weekend for the first time ever, I would recommend it.  Small, very friendly, good sound, brew pub.  What more could you want? Sun, yep we got that and some very good music.
Will definitely go again. :D

My neighbour smokes weed like there's no tomorrow.
 
I was sitting in front of the TV tonight, watching Robert Plant at Glastonbury, wishing I was there (without having to make the effort).
 
I got up to put some beer bottles in the recycling bin. It was raining, so I put a waterproof coat on. On the way back to the kitchen door, with the sound of Planty in my ears, dope smoke wafting over the fence, rain trickling down my back and with a sudden need to pee, I was there...!!

Result  :)

I must admit, I haven't been to many other festivals. Been to Cambridge a few times, but not for a while. Other than that it's been the odd one that may have caught my eye. My wife is not a lover of the outdoor life, she went to Croppers with me once, but that was it - she wasn't impressed.

I haven't been to Cropredy every year, just when I can and when I can afford it - I remember the old 2 dayers and I can agree that it's got a bit more 'corporate', for want of a better word. However, it's still where I want to be on the second week of August.

I may not be going this year, due to boring circumstances, but I'd go if I could. If I can't make it I'll be wishing I was there.

Spent a day at Cornbury on Friday, pleasant enough. Highlight was in the comedy tent - Jeremy Hardy tearing away at the rich and privileged which was hilarious given the make up of the audience. As an aside, day ticket cost more than weekend ticket at Bearded Theory. Don't think I'll be back next year.

Hello there featherhead!  Good to hear that another Talkawhiler attended Gower FF. Good, wasn't it?  ;D. It is my local festival, and therefore very dear to me. Do come along again next year.  {:-)

Got back from Purbeck Folk Festival late last night (ran away to miss the rain on a very steep site.) It's a good little festival, full of eclectic surprises. Never been before but we were attracted by a good line up this year - Chris Wood, Idlewild, Turin Brakes, Martha Tilston, Sally Barker among others.

Festival takes place on a farm, with camping in the fields around. The difference is the fields are steep and rolling with views of the sea and Corfe Castle and the stages are in barns, with tatty sofas and straw to sit on. It was fun but everything tended to end up dusty and smelling faintly of sheep.

We really enjoyed the festival, but it's hard work, especially with a small chap in tow. Our friends really struggled with a buggy.

Anyway, it made a fun change from Towersey and Shrewsbury.

Cheers Nick

Had no idea Idlewild were back together...good?

Nothing wrong with smelling faintly of sheep!

I think the main thing I've noticed at festivals this year is how much the food has gone up. No more £5 a meal, it's now £7-8 a time. Not taking your stove isn't an option any more.

It's almost the law in Wales!

Unfortunately we couldn't appreciate them.

It was an acoustic set, they were all seated on a fairly low stage in a long barn with lots of pillars and packed full of people. It was late in the evening and we had a tired 6 year old boy who couldn't see anything and didn't really want to be there - really should have been somewhere where he could be sat down or asleep. We only managed one song then admitted defeat and turned back towards the vans. We walked past the other barn on the way home, saw it had a higher stage, smaller crowd and there was a kick-ass cajun band called Sarah Savoy And The Hellraising Hayride playing. The lead singer had her young daughter onstage playing triangle with whom son immediately fell in love and insisted on watching, so we ended up in there kicking up dust and having a hoot!

That reminds me; it was a great festival for Cajun! Flats and Sharps were pretty special too. If you get the chance to see either, do.

Cheers

Nick

Does anyone on here go to End Of The Road festival?

Trying to figure out why no-one seems to mention this one. I have a friend who raves about it but I can't find any substantial mention of it anywhere.

(Not that it's any good for us for the next few years - It would be a tad irresponsible waking up in a field near Salisbury on the day Alex is due back in school  ::) )

Cheers

Nick

No, but several friends who do, and they think it's the hound's gonads.

Thanks for that, David.

I searched through Talkawhile, and saw you and Addie were the only people to have ever posted about the event. I'm puzzled why there's not been more talk about it  :-\ School parenting issues aside it seems like a really good festival.

Cheers

Nick

Guilfest has gone bust again....

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/guilfest-goes-insolvency-artists-not-7740892

didn't Goaty used to go?

Combination of factors - ingredients, power and wages all increasing, costs of pitches maybe, fuel to get there ...

Must be a tough job catering at a festie and I applaud those who do it well.

DW

Possibly, but he never wrote about it on here  :-\ (At least, there are no posts on the subject by him)

Will find a way to ask him...

Cheers

Nick

i may be wrong but it certainly rang a bell, get Fi to FB him!

I know 3 festival caterers.....it's not a tough job really.   ;D It's pitch fees that are the biggest rises but still, good money can be earned.

And even I don't remember posting about it!  ;D

do you remember being there   ::)

You spotted this



Which is more about the band than the festival anyway!

Cheers

Nick

I see Mr Scott is blaming the weather forecasters this time.
I live very close to the festival and most years it was well attended by local people but not this year.
Did you see the line up????  :-[ Look no further for a reason to give it a miss

I dunno,  plenty of good stuff on the undercard. Dreadzone, public service broadcasting,  Mr B,   plenty of classic punk,  True Deceivers,  Soulfly, Gallows.  Maybe you should broaden your horizons.   ;)

My son's band played Guilfest a few years ago, and were treated appallingly by the organisers. Told to park the van in a car park miles from the stage, and then drag all their own gear over a muddy field.

Paul

Fair point Addie
Finding new bands at a festival is a joy. I agree entirely about Dreadzone they were probably the only band that caught my attention.
I have come across some great bands at Cropredy, the Cropredy village fringe, Trowbridge and Skeggy to name a few
My point was although rather badly made that the thing that sells tickets is the headline acts.
Boomtown Rats, Kool and the Gang and the Human League  ???
The cost of a weekend ticket was rather on the high side as well.

The last time we went the Madness fans trashed the toilets, and campers were locked in to the campsite and not allowed out. Disgraceful way to treat paying customers.

The only time we went,  the toilets were very grim. Just went for the one day tohugh for Squeeze and RT.

I went to the first ever Guilfest, except, in those days, it was called something like The Guildford Folk and Blues Festival. It was poorly attended, as I recall. It was a one day event: there were two stages, both under canvas; I remember The Albion Band, Kathryn Tickell Band, Peter Sarstedt and John B Spencer. Johnny 'Jonah' Jones was MC. Lightning blew out the electrics for a while - I saw the flash! - and the beer tent ran out of beer. Later, in the local pub, I discussed the pros and cons of Danny Baker with a group of complete strangers and narrowly avoided a fight with a nutter.

Was it the second year it was held at Loseley House? It was there for one year, certainly, until the neighbours complained. I wasn't one of them. I couldn't go, for some reason, but it was so close to home I remember watering my tomatoes and hearing the strains of RT and Show Of Hands on the breeze and wishing I'd made the effort.

After that, the festival got big and I remember thinking it all looked like a shower of sh*te.

Not sure if it was that year, be we too were 'locked' in the campsite, and when I went to complain the people in the complaints tent laughed at me. Needless to say I have never been back since, and this is probably the only music event in the world that I a glad has gone bankrupt.

The Guildford Folk and Blues festival was held at Loseley park August 27th and 28th 1995. It is a shame it was there only the once as it is a stunning location. Great line up including The Oysterband and RT although my lasting memory of that event was a wonderful set by Robin Williamson.
Complaints from far and wide caused it to move back to Stoke Park in 96 when we saw the return of Peter Green. In the early years it was a great little festival but IMHO lost its way trying to be all things to all people, too many rules with heavy handed stewards and generally overpriced on all levels.
I am sure others will try to run a festival on Stoke park, we had Live Nation running quite a successful bash last year so who knows?

Speaking of festivals that nobody seems to have mentioned (to go back a page in the discussion), I'm surprised that there has been no mention of the Derby Folk Festival (Didn't see the point in setting up a whole new thread if nobody else is attending  :P), from October 3rd to 5th. It seems to be very reasonably priced, and there's some big names playing: Show of Hands headlining the Saturday and Kate Rusby the Sunday.

On the Friday night you can go and see Steeleye Span, Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies and assorted other entertainments for less than the price that Steeleye are asking for dates on their own autumn tour. I didn't need to think very hard about that one before I ordered tickets! There's Thornbridge ales on, too.  :)

It's an excellent event Carl but it's another of those fests that is in inside venues and pubs around the town so can feel like a series of (excellent) concerts , rather than a fest.

It is normally held all in the Assembly Rooms, so it does feel like a festival with food, bar, stalls and sessions all in the one building.
But this year because of the big fire at the Assembly Rooms, it's going to be in a marquee on the market square, so bits of it are being spread around other venues. We had already bought tickets, but it won't be the same  :(

Got tickets for the Show of Hands concert on the Saturday but wondering now if I should try and sell the tickets and just listen outside the marquee  ;D

Hi Annie, even when it was mainly in the Assembly Rooms, it lacked the fest vibe for me. Don't get me wrong, we've always enjoyed it and the standard of music is fabby but you are sitting in a theatre.

I can certainly see your point. I wonder whether it will, conversely, feel any more "festival-y" with the main stage being outside this year, even with the range of other venues?

It's a weird one, I think they have some memory wipng machine at the exit.
I've been once, I know I enjoyed it at the time, but can I remember anything that happened there... Nope, not a thing!

Reading this makes me want to cry in my Darjeeling - I went to the Guildfest probably 7 or 8 times, it was a great smallish fest with an emphasis on folk & blues (tho' some pop/rock bands like the Lightening Seeds & Bjorn Again (!) played and were well-received.) I remember great sets by the likes of Goats Don't Shave, The Oyster Band, Christine Collister, The Blues Band, Alan Hull & Kenny Craddock, Show of Hands, The Arizona Smoke Review, The Pogues, The Men they Couldn't Hang, Wilko Johnson, Peter Green's comeback, Mike Sanchez, the Bushberrys,  .... then it all went wrong. The last one I went to had madness & the Undertones on the bill - they were fine, but the festival was an awful throwback to the 70s, horrible toilets, knee-deep in litter, long queues for lukewarm beer (which didn't seem to stop large numbers from getting completely wasted), Steve Hackett desperately trying to play over horrible noise pollution from several directions - you get the general idea. Me & The Boss said "never again".

How can a festival like Guilfest - coting £120 for a ticket ever make any money with s many acts on the bill - six different stages etc. the actual infrastructire costs must be astonishing add to that the cost of bands etc ...

DW

Plenty of festivals do it David. Look at Beautiful Days - 6 stages, amazing site art and installations, good acts, 4 days, tickets £130, no sponsorship. It's a question of building a good reputation and a loyal audience so that you sell tickets and choosing your acts well and budgeting wisely.  

Sadly Guilfest did none of these so far as I can see.

I think that's exactly what's gone wrong here. I only went once but looked at the line-up in subsequent years it just seemed so random and eclectic, I don't think they had a clear idea of who they were aiming and what they were offering.

I think Guildfest did it very well for several years and then lost its way - some very poor organisation contributed but IMHO it was also because it became too eclectic, had no clear identity and just didn't find enough good new acts.

The reputation / loyal audience you mention  are key - I'll go to a festival like Southwell, Wimbourne, Ely or Wickham with a good deal of confidence that some of the acts I've not heard before will be good, but it would only take one bad year to shake this confidence.

I think you are right. It lost it's identity and tried to be all things to all men and ended up being a mess.

Sorry to see it go.  I used it as a one-day festival for many years (never tempted to camp - £60 extra for a campervan, on top of the normal camping fee!) and generally enjoyed its eclectic line-ups.  Peter Green’s comeback, Tim Rose, Motorhead, and an almost annual appearance by the Hamsters were the highlights for me.  However, they seemed to be trying to attract X Factor fans with recent line-ups and that obviously changed the vibe of the place.  More importantly, it clashed with Folk by the Oak and, as far as I’m concerned, that was no contest at all.

If we’re talking defunct festivals though, the one I really miss is Walton on the Naze.  Nothing quite like a festival by the seaside.

Spent the week end at Bo Peep Cider Festival at Bo Peep Farm Adderbury
This is on an  up market campsite, electric hook ups, excellent toilet blocks, etc. Festival cost, Adults £15 kids £8 and £35 for 2 nights camping (per tent/van etc)
This was the first yr of the fest , probably about 2000 people and it is learning what it is. It was beautifully organised and run. Billed as a cider festival (over a hundred ciders) it was also family friendly, kids rides, bouncy castle, climbing wall, circus skills, stilt walkers, story telling, dragons!! (and wonderful they were, they slept in the van next to us) VIP area , for people who'd paid £50a head for the day to drink champagne/ pimms/cider and have a couple of meals and then 2 music stages.
The organisers had pulled together what Simon Niciol referred to as 'the usual suspects', Local(ish) bands,.Chris Leslie playing for his wife's Morris side, Pete Watkins, Linda Watkins band, Ric Sanders and Vo Fletcher, Red Shoes, My Holiday Romance, Rufus Goodlove , Leatherat and many more. Musically a cracking and varied line up .
 So is it a family fest, a music  fest, a cider fest? The answer is.... yes! People who had gone with families listened to the music, people who had gone to drink (a lot) of cider listened to the music.it was a beautifully friendly chilled fest....... which can only grow and improve.
 Food was limited and v expensive. Excellent clothes, cd. books, art stalls. Good , but expensive , coffee  and £2 for a small bottle of water. These are gliches which can be sorted but all in all a really excellent first fest.
It's a 3 day fest next yr and well worth looking out for.

I thought the food prices were on a par for festivals this year.

Was the camping next to people's vehicles, a la Cropredy?

Thanks Martin. I was lucky enough to be given a food ticket cos we were playing but people were talking about £5.20 for a bag of chips, £6.50 for a pork wrap etc and Mrs H's chagrin at paying £3 for a hot chocolate that wasn't hot nor chocolaty!! (actually I paid for it!) There were people wandering around on sat morn looking for breakfast and there was none available. These are very small gliches which can be tweaked and shouldn't marr a lovely event.

Morning Andy. Hope you're feeling better!
The festival is on a campsite which had 117 pitches with electric hook ups and then another couple of fields. I had a walk round v early Sat morn and it was just like a 'normal' campsite. caravans, camper vans, tents with cars next to the tents/caravans.
People were arriving and being directed to a specific pitch number!
If you go on the Bo Peep Camping site there are pictures. Hope this helps. It was a lovely, friendly atmosphere!

Bookings start early these day - Southwell have named their first acts for next year (4-7 June): They are:
 
The Railsplitters
The Dardanelles
Coco and the Butterfields
We Banjo 3
Manran
 The Young 'Uns
Keith Donnelly
Flossie Malavialle
Anthony John Clarke

Not a bad start, IMO :)

Thanks for the info. Yup, moving along...

Bo Peep was great and I hope to be back next year. Does need a few tweaks, get the stages next to each other like Moseley and a few more food stalls. Shame a few who couldn't take their cider spoilt Leatherat's set for a lot of people.

The Guildfest festival sounds a bit like the Galtres festival up near York, which is no more apparently as the organisers have gone into liquidation.
It was always a nice local little festival, fairly cheap with a good line up but the last year or so there was a feeling that it had lost its way a little bit.
The original post in this thread though made me smile, apart from the line 'before being lifted out by on site fire crews and "decontaminated"'.
Oh wow, I really hope I never have to be 'decontaminated'....

I read yesterday that although the company went bust, the festival was to continue....

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/14/140913b.shtml

Sounds a bit like Sunrise which, while an excellent festival for the punters, does have some history of leaving a trail of unpaid suppliers behind it.

"In an article on The Northern Echo website, (here), it reveals that traders say that the cashless system operated by the festival company, with festival goers putting funds on a G-Card which was used to buy food, drinks and goods on site, meant that each trader was given a statement at the end of the festival saying how much they were owed, many of them have not received the money, and that up to 50 businesses could be affected.

The article also reveals that some of the unpaid traders who provided food and drinks at the event now face going out of business.
Read more at http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/14/140913b.shtml#2Ww0jRw3csKLv2Be.99"

Maybe they should rename it 'The Guiltless Festival' - closed down the trading company, shedding the debts, irrespective of the consequences to others and blithely continuing on regardless....................Hail this glorious nation and God bless all who fail in her and get away with it

"2015 tickets on sale Monday 1 December
November 17, 2014

Tickets for next year’s Cambridge Folk Festival will go on sale on Monday December 1.

The first artists confirmed for next year’s bill are due to be announced in early 2015."

And the dates are: 30th July - 2nd August

Hi everyone, I need a bit of local knowledge ..

I live on a canal narrow boat and travel around the UK. I’m looking for a Northern folk festival to travel to this year (2015). I already know about Middlewich. I’m going there again this year. Moira’s too far from the navigable canal (lesson learned in 2014).

I play double bass, so I’m particularly looking for a festival with open jam sessions in local pubs etc. I’ve checked online and I can’t seem to find anywhere near a canal. As long as the festival is walkable from a canal/navigable river, it would be fine.

So to summarise: July to September 2015. Festival must be Northern (Yorkshire or surrounding) and near to a navigable canal/river network, with plenty of lively associated acoustic sessions. I’ve already got the Midlands and South sorted for this year.

Any ideas please?

Thanks, Brian.

Middlewich Folk and Boat used to be good, but went down badly a few years ago. So much so that I do not go any more, despite it being one of the closest festivals. Perhaps it has improved since.
Another is the Nantwich Words and Music festival - more accurately a series of individually paid for gigs. As far as I know, there is little in the way of sessions.
Cropredy of course is held by a canal, but that is even less "north".

We went to the Saturday night at Middlewich in 2014 and saw Headstix, Merry Hell, Moulettes and Men They Couldn't hang for free. It was brilliant and there seemed to be a lot going on in the town bars.

Sounds like Middlewich Folk and Boat has recovered somewhat. Maybe this year for me again.

The Greenstock2 festival at Rugby which Swarb was due to headline at this Saturday has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. At least the other Greenstock event in Ulverston earlier in the month did go ahead.

This looks a jolly little event which I plan to attend on Saturday, near Stratford on Avon:

http://www.knittedcharacterfolkfestival.co.uk/

Gerry Colvin, Red Shoes and many others.

DW

will be there, failed to knit anything though  ;D

Green Man is sold out.  Can't wait...  :)

Really looking forward to Wirral this weekend  ,because of work only there for Sunday , but what a bill.

Kate and the Greenwood,Harvey Andrews, Chris W and Julie M for a lunch time concert.

Morris sides outside , a craft fair and then  Reg Meuross ,Blackbeard's Tea Party and Merry Hell doing an acoustic set with a questions and answers between the music in the small lounge. Non stop floor singers in the bar and a ceilidh in a marquee on the field.

Then ,for me ,an evening concert only to be dreamt of, with Merry Hell,Reg Mueross ,Blackbeards Tea Party and finally Fairport Convention..

If you're there on Sunday say hello. Ill be in last years Cropredy shirt and wearing a  black leather Hat.

Can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday

We will be there. Great to see Merry Hell on twice , sad that its because someone should know better.

See you there Nick and Trev. Full 3days for me :)

The bar ? Need I ask?  ;D
My usual accomplice and Mrs Reg will be there.

The Bar is a big workingmans club one,with good cheap real ale. Nearby is the hatch to the kitchen , food last year was cheap and much better than we  had a right to expect

My wife hates festivals, and doesn't like the concept of a flow of acts. She likes to go and see one band with a support act.
She,s suffering this one because its my birthday. However, her favourite all time song is Harvey Andrews "Soldier".She often sings it to herself. So she's looking forward to seeing him. I doubt he'll do that one as some might find it politically incorrect.

So me , managment (her name is Pam), Daughter (Deanna) and her boyfriend (Ellis) will be there.

Special prize of a free pint for the first person to get Ellis to speak , he's the shyest person I've ever met!!!

I'll be at the bar. You know me too well :)

Well that was a lot of fun. Was there for a few hours on Saturday afternoon and the set up was simply a couple of gazebos in a pub car park with only 100 or so punters there. Well worth the £20 to see Gerry Colvin Band, Marion Fleetwood and a great band from Cambridgeshire called Fred's House along with a range of other acts. TI even managed a line of knitting!!

If this one happens again give it a whirl.

DW

First time we have been to the Wirral and it was very different!
Nice to meet up with Keith and Trev to kick off the merry Hell for Cropredy 2016 campaign. ;D

Nice spacious flat and very secure campsite , good concert hall but no obvious ways in from the campsite , which were well concealed and not signposted. The big downside was the number of rules which you were  made aware of far too often and which were thrust in your face by over officious staff - we even saw a headlining band being forced to sit down when they walked in the door!! Doesn't make for a friendly festival. The average age of the punters must have been at least 60 and the lack of marauding punks and chavs was particularly noticeable.
And if you open a bar in the concert hall don't be surprised when people use it!!
The music on the first two days was largely disappointing but the third was fabulous.

Merry Hell of course were superb and we were delighted they were given 2 sets due to another dropping out for petty reasons.
The biggest surprise was the magnificence of Harvey Andrews set having not seen him for about a hundred years. Could comfortably fill a certain spot at Cropredy.
Excellent sets too from Blackbeards , Reg Meuross(and was left wandering why I didn't enjoy him Cropredy, mind you the same happened once with the Moulettes, the beer probably!!) , Cara Dillon and Chris and Julie.
Another big surprise, not being keen on tribute bands, was Simply Dylan, with a set of lesser performed Dylan songs and very well performed .

To the comment don't be surprised when people use the bar I should add dont be surprised if the over 60's want a pee regularly too. ;D

My review of a brilliant Sunday coming up when work time allows.

Yes it was good to meet Nick and Keith.

Merry Hell were excellent, song that stood out for me ,(being a balding fat git), was loving the skin you're in.

We really have to get these onto the stage at Cropredy. Great songs,great performances by talented musicians and great stage presence.High octane too.
For me they would be simply brilliant at following after fairport's opening welcoming set. But they'll get the field on its feet at whatever time they were on.

Review a.s.a.p

Which one did you stay in?  ;)

The sports fields surrounding the club , surrounded by high fences. I believe the club and fields next door were used at one time though. Both cover a fair area.

I have only limited festival experience. I know Cropredy and Folk East. Would I enjoy Towersey?

Yes

Sorry, you probably want more detail than that...

Towersey is folky, multiple stages, prone to campfire singarounds and sessions, steeped in English Folk History...

It's a sit-down and dance festival - venues are either lined up with seating or equipped with dance floors (ostensibly for 'proper' dancing but often descending into moshing depending on who's playing). Not really a blanket and chill out festival (but then Cropredy has basically lost its blankets and is lined up with seating these days...)

Music is divided into lunch, afternoon, evening sessions, where 3-4 bands will be scheduled together in a set. This has its plus points in that it gives a good amount of time for exploring the site and grabbing food. On the flip side though it tends to lead to queuing before each session and in my opinion hampers the chance to wander between stages. It creates more opportunities for 'headliners' but of course makes more chance for headline acts to clash. This may or may not be an issue depending on what you think of the line-up, though I'll never forgive them for putting Blowzabella on at the same time as Bellowhead a few years back (nor will about half of Bellowhead for that matter!)

It's a long festival being on the bank holiday, and we've invariably come home knackered from it. Though that's partly self-inflicted due to it following on from 2-3 other festivals we go to in August.

Having said all that, Towersey is in a brand new location this year so everything will probably be different and none of the above will apply.

On the same weekend you could go up to Shrewsbury Festival or down to Purbeck Valley Folk Festival. All three are worth a visit if you fancy a folky weekend out and it's really a shame they clash to be honest.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Nick

Not sure about Towersey, as very very different this year. Starts a day later and finishes a lot earlier, different site, but if you've known no different will
 still be good.

Thanks for that Nick. Almost an essay. I suspect that clash of bands may be an issue depending on who is on at the same time as Bellowhead. Fatigue may be a problem the following week if we make it back to Oxfordshire to see Blackbeards Teaparty on Friday.

Acoustic Festival 2015 with plaster cast applied earlier that day. With Adrian W , Mr Whacker, Mallory |Towers and Geoff my chauffeur.

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Going to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco this year, its free and held in Golden Gate Park, they have released two medleys over the last two weeks of people who have been booked, the full line up will be released soon.

So far we know
Week one medley the boys
1. Paul Weller
2. Boz Scaggs
3. The Stone Foxes
4. Ben Miller Band
5. Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
6. Monophonics
7. Leftover Salmon
8. The Blind Boys of Alabama
9. Chicano Batman
10. Pokey LaFarge

Week two the girls

Gillian Welch
Lera Lynn
Neko Case
Lee Ann Womack
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds
Angel Olsen
Beth Hart
???
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell  

Not looking bad so far  ;D

Sadly this year's Fylde Folk n Roots festival has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Show of Hands had been set to headline.

http://www.fyldefolknroots.org/newsfeed/

Some real crackers there!

...and, playing the Sunday afternoon "legends" slot at Glastonbury 2016 - Jeff Lynne's ELO.  ^-^

Excellent - I hope it's televised :)

How about this for a festival line up? And all for 50/- ;D



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They don't do 'em like that any more.... :(

The Flock................that brings back memories.

Saw them three times on the first UK tour . They had a hit with a version of the Kinks "So tired of waiting for you". And a compilation LP featured Flocks extremely long haired violinist Jerry Goodman on the front cover. People thought they were going to see a rock band. But they were an experimental  jazz /rock crossover outfit in reality and confused some of their audience a bit.

I loved them and still have a copy of Dinosaur swamps.

Just heard, Bloxfest is cancelled for this year.

Chubby Checker is doing two shows this Saturday at Butlin's 60's festival ... didn't realise he was still amongst us never mind still gigging.

Maybe it's a fake Chubby!   ;D

Jules

Wikipedia have him as being aged 74.

We need a Chubby checker checker.

 ;D

Jules

As long as we don't have a chubby checker. I could be in trouble.

I have no objections to there being a chubby Chubby Checker checker though.

Jules

I believe there's a chubby Czech Chubby Checker checker, but I'd need to check, mate.

Unlike Chuck Berry, he insists on payment by... bank transfer.  Now there's a twist.  ;)

I feel sorry for the Desmond Dekker checker, who had to retire early.

Jules

It was because his ears were alight...

Aye, you should have seen the ska tissue.

Deftly dipping a shoulder to avoid the moderators... I've just ordered my ticket for the Fairy Festival at Torpoint (Cornwall) Saturday 18th June - headline act is Corvus Corax. I dare say they'll be heard across the estuary at Plymouth Hoe.

Elvis and Michael Buble play regularly at the pub up the road here. Not even tributes, according to advertising.
Must make the effort..  ...

I've been waiting for that one!   ;D

Jules

@PaulT
some of the other bands at Fairy Fest sound quite interesting as well, so Corvus Corx will be the icing on the cake.
Wishing you a great time there.

We'll be seeing Corvus Corax again at one of the Spectaculums late in May.
Looking forward to it.

 

First I've head of this - & this is local to me. I will have to investigate...

Do you need accommodation Paul?

Cheers,

Slippy
 8)

I aim to please  ;)

I've bought a camping ticket Al, but if RT is a late addition to the bill with the consequent meteorological anomalies... Thanks for the offer - maybe I'll see you at the festival - I won't be dressing up, btw - the world is not ready for the sight of me in a fairy costume.

Lol!  http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/weekend-without-festival-to-be-highlight-of-the-summer-20160413107994

Great value (Especially if you book before Novemebr) lovely start to the festival year.
http://www.theatkinson.co.uk/special-event/love-folk-festival-2-2/

That looks really rather tasty indeed (well, the Saturday does, anyway, he whispers)...

Interesting article here, if somewhat unsettling to read about the 'music festival industry' but I suppose that is the way journalists write!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/02/do-the-growing-number-of-music-festivals-actually-make-any-money/
 

Yes, an interesting article. I liked the last paragraph quoting the IoW Festival organiser.
Festivals are an industry. Organisations trying to make money, paid workers, customers paying money, ...

But he goes on to say.

"“The problem with me is that I don’t like gardening or golf, so I have got myself in a position of gambling huge sums of money to put on entertainment in a field. But it’s the best, most satisfying thing I have ever done.”

Cropredy is an established business with professional long term organisation, it will be close to a sell out this year and a sell out certainty next year. As long as they don't indulge themselves with Headline Artists who mainly appeal to musicians and a few regular fans (Joan Armatrading, Emmylou Harris) and have headliners most are keen to see (Alice Cooper,Squeeze,Waterboys) they will always do alright.

Two festivals in pretty much the same area of Wiltshire aren't happening in 2017 - Larmer Tree & Village Pump. Have we reached the zenith?

I sort of hope so...too many samey ones...we need something different.

I would welcome streaming of festivals, to a certain extent, as it's difficult for me to travel due to health issues. Want to go to the Banbury festival on the 8th October but looks doubtful I'll get there. Knowing I could still see it online would ease the disappointment, though I know nothing beats the atmosphere of a 'live' festival. Just, it'd be better than nothing :(

Scariest thing in the whole piece is that Glastonbury made "£86,000 in 2014". For all that outlay!

Music festivals are like football clubs - massive turnovers, tiny profits.  And they keep paying more and more to headliners and charging more and more for tickets which continues to miss the point.  Entirely.

Just out curiosity what would an average Crop / Cambridge / Shrewsbury headliner charge?

I suspect the Thursday night headliners at Cropredy  from the last few years cost considerably more than any other headliner on any other day at any of those 3 festivals...?

Definitely, and by a big margin too.

Who were they? Emmylou last year and the Pink Floydy people?

Floydy people were Friday

Five minutes on Bing threw up a minimum fee for Madness of $75,000. Possibly less if they only have to pootle up the M40...  [;-)

How much for the Waterboys?

More than a little, but less than a lot.

Jules

Before or after their contributions to the three charities?

]"Glastonbury, meanwhile, saw pre-tax profits fall from £764,000 in 2013 to just £86,000 in 2014, although that was partly due to charitable donations. Other big festivals have been acquired by Live Nation and AEG Live, the industry’s dominant companies."

Thanks. That's very enlightening. They were worth every penny.

Red Rooster Fest in Euston Hall, Euston, Suffolk lineup is looking promising.
Three acts that have been announced that appeal to me are Nick Lowe, Hanging Stars and Cale Tyson.
It's an Americana/Folk/Blues/Rock/Soul kind of hybrid from what I can ascertain, set in the beautiful Suffolk countryside.

A serious comment hoping to create some discussion.
I am lucky enough to be able to go to a lot of festivals.
Looking at line ups of the'bigger' fests , line ups are becoming homogenised.
Show of Hands, Oysterband, Levellers, Seth Lakeman and several acts on the undercard seem to be doing several fests this year. Please do not get me wrong, I have watched these bands many times and enjoyed( almost) every minute. Oysterband are a fave band of mine and SoH were the best I have ever seen them at the New Forest fest this yr.
I know there are people who won't have seen these acts and it will be a great first fest for them.
I am looking for the upcoming acts.
Yes I know they are there and I always find a couple of new acts I love at most fests but then I am paying a lot of money per fest to see the same bands.
Yes I know most people just do the one fest.
For the last few yrs Sheen and I have done smaller fests, New Forest this year was a treat.
So it's probably me and the stock answer should probably be ,'Dave you're a lucky b....r to be able to go to several fests' but the real question is ......
Who are your up and coming bands?
Blackbeards Tea Party. Banter , Co co and the Butterfields,  3 Daft Monkeys, Ange Hardy, Luke Jackson , Kenneth J Nash, Chapin Wickwar......
So let me know bands I should try to see.

Those big names are stifling any others making them bigger drawers/higher up on the card as bookers won't take the risk of booking other bands as headliners for fear of not selling the kind of numbers the current big acts do....We need one or two to 'retire' gracefully to allow others through - or for current acts to create something to catch the audience's attention.

Eliza's Wayward Band was the last attempt at creating a festival headliner. Some you win, some you don't - I think the jury's out on this attempt right now, we'll see. Hope they make it big though.

Cheers Chris, thanks. I meant to mention Wayward Band who I felt were designed to be the next Bellowhead.
I personally think the future is small fests but so far I am aware of over 300 small fests around the country.
I think if people just go to Wickham this year that will just about cover it. hell of a line up!

Spot on and they aren't. Yet.

Where's the info for Moseley? Nowt on their webpage

Slightly off topic, but venues up and down the Country, including me, put on the up and coming bands. Problem is we get the haven't heard of them syndrome, so they play to half a dozen people. Then venues don't book them again and won't take the risk on other new bands. Therefore, these acts never get the chance to grow.

So to get more new acts at Festivals start supporting these new bands at a venue near you and they will have the opportunity to grow and if festival organisers see that they are then pulling good crowds they will book them.

I agree Andy and apologies I haven't been down much this yr. health things haven't helped!

Gigs need to be user-friendly these days. Too many think 11pm (or later!) is a reasinable time to finish a gig on week nights. If one knew, for instance, that they'd be on the way home by 10.30, you'd get more custom.

Yes, I realise sometimes that the venue drives this, but promoters could at least try & persuade them otherwise.

It's all about knowing your audience.  Ask a few 17 year olds.  See if they agree with you, Chris.  Most of them aren't even getting ready to go out until about 10pm.....  I think the Stones had the right idea in the early 70's.  Make 'em wait until 3 am  ;) ;D

How many 17yo's go to folk clubs/gigs?....please keep in context

Belated reply: Hendo, I have similar thoughts. I like to go to 3 or 4 festivals a year, and although I'm always happy to see Show of Hands , Fairport or similar headlining, I go at least as much to see some  some new stuff.

There are some excellent new-ish acts around - in the last couple of years I've been very impressed with Ange Hardy & Lucas Drinkwater, Sam Kelly / The Changing Room, The Roving Crows and Lynched, amongst others - and a few new mixings of older talents (False Lights, Martin Simpson & Don Clemens), but  I'm not inspired with festival bills in the way I was a few years ago.

I may be clutching at straws here, but I detect a few major factors:

1. Many major highlights of the festivals I've been to have been from abroad, esp North America - Tanglefoot, The Sojourners, Solas, The Great Big Sea, Le Vent Du Nord, Eric Bogle all come to mind, - It seems to me to be that fewer major international acts are on the festival circuit now.
Maybe the exchange rate isn't helping?

2. Some festivals, particularly Wickham, seem to have got both very predictable in their headliners and reliant on old pop/rock bands to pull in the numbers.

3. a Few good festivals, notably the Trowbridge Village Pump, have disappeared

... or maybe I'm just getting old and diminishing returns are setting in?.

Hi Garry, no simple answer I think.
Just too many bloody festivals??
Yes the big (folk?) festivals tend to have the usual suspects but that may be because new 'big guns' folk bands are not coming through.
Yes we had Bellowhead but SoH, Levellers. Oysterband etc are still there as there is little to challenge them?Some great fests bands about, 3 Daft Monkeys, Blackbeards T Party, PiercecBrothers, Maia etc etc but hey are not headliners of big fests.
I am slightly disingenuous cos we will go to New forest Folk fest this yr, lovely vibe , a great but not original line up. Strawbs, Show of Hands, Jacqui Mc Shee's Pentangle, joe Broughtons Folk Conservatoire, Reg Meuross, Ken Nicol, Fleetwood Cave and many more!
We will also do tiny fests, where we 'discover' people we have never heard of .
In the last few years, Ange Hardy, Luke Jackson, Kenneth J Nash, Chapin Wickwar.
I am really lucky to be able to go to a lot of fests.....retired.......camper van .....and able to afford to do it but this yr fests like Woodfest, Raunds fest, Folk in the Barn, Folk on the Farm, Looe, etc will be where we go.
£30 a ticket rather than £120.

Agree that there are a lot of VG "mid bill" bands around, but it's been a long time since any such band broke through to be a headliner at the level of SoH, Oysters etc.  Hard to know why, but these things are unpredictable - when I saw a rather unimpressive Oyster Band supporting Billy Bragg c1990 , or when I saw SoH struggling to engage a small crowd at the Guildford Fest 2nd stage a few years after, I wouldn't have guessed either would become stars of the folk / roots world.

Any hot tips for acts likely to break through to folky stardom? I'd plump for Sam Kelly in one band or another, or Blackbeard's Tea Party, which is probably the kiss of death for both as a few years ago my hot tips were Ahab, Wheeler Street and Something Nasty in the Woodshed, all of whom I saw do storming festival sets, but are now no more, as far as I know. Maybe part of the problem is that with the rise of streaming, YouTube etc it's so much harder for bands to make a living? Just a thought.

Maybe I need to try a few different (smaller) festivals - Red Rooster, Folk South East & the Acoustic Fest of GB could all be worth a try  

Whatever happened to Wheeler Street? They were really terrific. Are any of them still performing at all?

Partly I think the gigging circuit is very much structured around small acoustic acts.  Obviously folk clubs but also the rise in things like house concerts, gigs in 'non-music' venues (bookshops and the like) etc.  If you play in a 'loud' folk band (by which I mean one with drums, electric guitars etc) then there are very few such venues who are able to fit you in.  So, in a lot of cases, you have to try and get what you can on the rock circuit which really does seem to be dying at the moment (at least as an 'earning a living' venture).  So you end up getting a 'real' job and, although you hopefully keep the act going as best you can, you become far more limited in the scope of what you can do.  From my experience of playing in a (definitely second tier but not terrible) 'folk-rock' band in recent times.

For the real pros I can see it's much easier (as per the recent revival of the Albion Band) to concentrate on solo acts/duos etc with greater gigging prospects, less gear to haul around and fewer people to split the proceeds between!

Wheeler Street are no more sadly.  A few of them are around the circuit here in Kent but not really doing anything in the style of the original group.  Shame.

Shame indeed. I recall them doing a live ssion and interview on a radio show - was it Mike Harding? - and I thought t hey were going places (other than Maidstone)

Whatever to Ahab (not the Scandinavian thrash metallers as once featured in the Butlins Folk Weekend publicity) young, vibrant, fun and talented who deserved to go far?

Ahab are on hold at present.

Dave Burn, the rhythm guitarist and main singer in ahab, has a full length so cd 'Arizona' out next month I believe. He's on tour with Cropredy fave Ben Folke Thomas either this month or in March..

Dave is also guitarist and harmonies in bassist Seebs Llewelyn's newish band Orphan Colours. Seebs plays rhythm and some lead guitar in this band having passed the bass on.
They've got an ep available now, the title of which I've forgotten.  

I thought the Cave Brothers were leads in ahab?

Anyway, you'll find Greg in TradArrr. I think his brother has gone quiet?

So much talent out there.

Dave if your festival doesn't need mega stars then book some of these ( I am sure you know them all) who have really impressed me in recent years,

If it doesn't clash with mu UEFA football commitments I will come  along and drag Chris and Deanna too..
In no particular order;

Tankus the Henge
Cattle and Cain
The Goat Roper Rodeo Band
Patch and the Giant
The Hawthornes

Would all float my boat.We are all so lucky , so much talent.

Would love to see Tankus at Cropredy  :)

Not exactly folk but great summer time music I would recommedn Freds House - they played Gerry Colvins Knitted Festival  and were brilliant.

DW

Seconded. I saw them at a local Arts Centre last year and they were terrific. More country-rock than folk, but would fit in well on many festival bills. They sertainly know how to connect with an audience.

I put Something Nasty ITWS on as headliners at our Gloostonbury Fest in 2009,
Stonking set , had a field bouncing. Lovely fellas too.
As I understand it it just became financially unviable, work commitments, travel etc.

Found a couple of small-ish festivals Sept /Oct with pretty good bills (Mighty Doonans, Dougie McLean, Vent du Nord and Vin Garbutt all float my boat):

http://www.banburyfolkfestival.co.uk/
http://www.bromyardfolkfestival.co.uk/

Will probably go to one of these - anyone been to them in previous years?

I went to Banbury a long time ago. I don't remember much, other than enjoying wRants in the rain.

I went to Bromyard a few years ago and loved it.  All-seater concert marquee, good food, late-night comedy in the rugby(?) club.  Lots of events in the town, which is very pretty and within easy walking distance.  Huge selection of local ciders (I remember trying one that looked like Guinness).  The only downside was the weather.  It was a bit late in the season, the campsite was rather exposed, and at night it was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g.  If I was going again, I would probably try and find some indoors accommodation.

Jurassic Fields Festival in Bridport have announced most of their line up http://jurassicfields.com 14th -15th July

Willie and the Bandits, Steve Knightly, Tankus the Henge, Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer amoung others.

Nice little 2 day festival located in the area where they film Broadchurch , reasonably priced beer, interesting selection of food stalls, no festival camping but the area is awash with b&b , caravan and camping sites.

Best thing for me is I can walk to it from home !

"Thank you for bearing with us as we work through the growing pains that every first year event experiences"...  :-\

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39743303/fyre-festival-turns-from-luxury-to-disaster-with-ticket-holders-stranded-in-bahamas

Crikey... :o

Couldn't find the original post about this one so I thought I'd plonk it here.... Anyone going to the BIG WHISTLE FESTIVAL IN BURY at the weekend?

http://themet.biz/bigwhistle/

Looks more like a bagpipes than a whistle festival, but no harm in that! Luckily my sister lives near a tram stop so I'm coming over to do the weekend on a tram rover ticket. Paid up for Lankum/Lynched (Yaayy +++) in a main gig and a pub session; Skerryvore; Calan; Peatbog Faeries, and a couple more local turns. The Folk Awards best duo winners Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton have unfortunately sold out but I'll try for a cancellation.

Looking good.  Anyone else going - I'd love to meet up for a pre-Cropredy pint or a natter...

Well I'm back from this and have to say it was a lovely, enjoyable couple of days with a small but committed crowds. Nice venue with very pleasant and helpful staff.

My highlight - (no surprise!) Lankum (ex Lynched) were good as ever - and then after they did a lovely instrument-free (just the songs) informal workshop/performance in the adjacent pub teasing out the history of the music hall songs archive they plunder, and its fascinating relationship with the folk tradition. As well as a sh*t-hot band intensely dedicated to their craft, thoroughly laid back and lovely people.

Then a few I've seen before at Cropredy, but in a different light (light show + smoke vs sunny August afternoon...)

Calan - wow, they've grown up and blossomed - folk-trad music with a very different feel due to a) the heavy Welsh input, and b) the harp as a leading instrument (maybe the only portable harp playing I've ever seen).

Will Pound and Eddie Jay - Bohemian music with a virtuoso harmonica backed by an equally virtuoso accordionist. Incredibly technically brilliant, but ultimately a bit soulless for me.

Then the two headliners - Peatbog Faeries night 1, and Skerryvore night 2. The Peatbogs were intensely energy-laden pulsating acid house throbbing beat double bagpipe mayhem - with a pyrotechnic light and smoke show to match. Ultimately let down IMO by their strange style of sticking to the same dance tune for every different set (ie not building up a number around two or three different dance tunes, key changes, etc). Ultimately that made it for me that, energy-laden as it was, it ultimately all sounded the same.

Skerryvore, on the other hand, had the same amount of energy, the same double-bagpipe power factor, but had an infinitely wider variety in their tunes and within individual sets (and they did a lot of songs as well). As was mentioned, there is a big crossover with Runrig fans for obvious reasons.

So all in all, a lovely weekend with a small but energetic and appreciative crowd. I'm a happy bunny for a while...

I love the Peatbogs but I agree their music does tend to sound the same.

I don't know anything about Skerryvore so I'm off to YouTube to do my homework!  :D

Over here, the Rock am Ring festival at Nuerburgring was evacuated last night for a serious terror threat (last year it was hit by lightning!) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/02/rock-festival-germany-suspended-due-terror-threat/

If you wonder why they were singing 'You'll never walk alone', it is the anthem of Borussia Dortmund football club. Wierd last season when they played Liverpool in the Champions League and the whole stadium was singing it!

Heading off to Purbeck next Saturday for a look any TAWs going https://www.facebook.com/purbeck.folk/posts/880053195490799

Not much on that list that does it for me.

But Patch and the Giant are very very good.

What's left this year then and what are peep's plans?

We are going to Skeggy again!

Skeggy for me too....

Something Else in the Dean.

The Unthanks Homecoming too...

Very jealous, would love to be there...but I'm going to The Good Life Experience instead (which should be fab and is nearby).

In Surbiton (actually Northwood)? Give my regards to Margo.

 Interesting aftermath to the Reading Festival....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-berkshire-41094374/reading-festival-rubbish-given-to-homeless

Us too!

As well as Faversham Hop Festival this weekend and Skeggy

Are these events still ongoing?

Their website is still listing the dates for 2016?

Yes, still going. Something Else in the Dean is sold out. Tickets for other forthcoming events at https://www.tickettailor.com/all-tickets/1162/b307/
Most of the activity takes place on Facebook.

Southdown festival is next for us (Get to sleep in my own bed!)
Not yet booked, but will probably go to Skeggy.

 ;DVery strong fringe lineup announced by the Brasenose for next years Cropredy. I will be going if just for the fringe!
It includes, Clarion, Attila the Stockbroker, Terry and Gerry ( Colvin) , Merry Hell, Fleetwood Cave , And regulars, Red Shoes, Leatherat, ( reunion gig!!!) and Spank the Monkey.

Plus 15 string trio and Uptown Ska collective!
Who needs the main stage?

Is that all or part of the original Clarion? 1990 and 1993, two great sets.

I like the Southdowns fest, but it seems to have shrunk.  The first year I went there were loads of free events in a local park, but last year it was limited to the Regis Centre.  Still, I was very impressed by the quality of the acts in the Studio.  Looking forward to seeing Sarah McQuaid again.

I remember both very fondly.  Not entirely sure of the current membership in relationship to the old, I'm afraid.

Might bring back a few memories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djjzk1u8X7k

Nice one  :)

Looks like Vikki Clayton has been added to the Fringe bill.

Not managed to make it to the main bill then.

Who knows? It hasn't been announced has it?

She has the contacts in the band. When she put her pleas onto the Fairporters page to be back on the Cropredy stage, that probably indicated she hadn't had a totally positive response from other contacts. Which is a shame, but there's a lot of people clamouring to be one of only 18 acts on one stage. The fringe is a good compromise and will show whether her appeal is good enough for the Cropredy stage another year.

Just looking at her website. It is 16 years since her last album and others here will know the date of her last Cropredy appearance, when there was a regular 'Sandy spot'. I have a very long memory and recall reading, on a programme or a sleeve note, that someone had told her to go solo and 'leave that band' or words to that effect. Maybe there was a bit of friction? It is a long time ago.

She has a new album "Messenger" out at the moment. https://www.vikkiclayton.info/store

And its very good!

Was her last appearance with The Nerve ? In other words Fotheringay-ish ? I say that, because the thing about going solo and leaving that band sounds like what Joe Boyd told Sandy after the Fotheringay album. Maybe you're remembering a quote about that in the programme for that year, which may make sense considering the context.

That's possible. I no longer have any old programmes, I'm afraid.

Vikki played with her full band in 2001, guested with FC in 2002 for the 35th anniversary (singing loads) and again in 2007 for the 40th anniversary (singing "One More Chance"). Not sure if she's appeared since.

I think her last listing (as a guest) is 2008 http://fclist.org/cropredy-cropredy-line-ups/cropredy-2008

Lineup for 2018 Folk on the Pier looks tremendous! FC, Morris On, Home Service, Chris and Julie, Edward II and more... Pity l will be abroad...

To my tastes, looks a middling bill, but I do fancy seeing Edward II & Gerry Colvin again. See Home Service twice at festivals, found them disappointing both times, and I'll always pass on any band with "Morris" in their name. Let's see what else is added.

Can't find anything about Banter, anyone heard them?

Just found Banter's website, with samples. Doesn't grab me much

Final day of the BST concerts in Hyde Park is announced - Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and others tba.  Sounds great, but a friend says that tickets are about £111 a day - that's almost the same as all three days at Cropredy!  I'd love to see Paul Simon and James Taylor, but at that price I won't be going :(

1982 Wembley Stadium.  You got Art as well, and it cost you £10 (or £24.68 in today's money).  Only one thing to do...and that's say 'no'.

Shrewsbury FF - new names added including RT.

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/2c16fed58006f76a924aba086/images/2580086b-bdfe-482d-a061-4e39b86ab0b0.jpg

I am booked already....

It's all very well to tell me now...  35 years too late!  

Had a look this morning, and general admission is £75 (+ a £10 'service charge'!).  If you want to be right up the front, it's a whopping £250!

Or buy their greatest hits albums for £6 or less (each) on Amazon. If you haven't already got them.

Since I do have those albums, I'll listen for free, that evening.

Just saw this talked about elsewhere.  I can imagine one or two around here might be interested?



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Beautiful Days line up just announced - including Richard Thompson Electric Trio, Suzanne Vega , Manic Street Preachers. 3DM, Feeder, British Sea Power and others.

Decent that.

Skids, Dreadzone, Oysterband amongst those others...and one headliner still to come.  Nice.

Cracking line up! Puts Cropredy to shame  :(

Multiple stages.  It's not comparing like with like.  Cropredy is very much a beast from the past in that regard.

Similar capacity, no sponsorship. How do they do it..? :o

It's probably just me but I don't go to multi stage festivals.

The clash between the Brasenose and the field is painful enough.I am already causing myself grief by trying to think out a way to be both on the field for Fairport opening the 2018 Cropredy and at The brasenose for one of my favourite Bands ,Merry Hell.

I have a heart condition and I will be risking my life running up the lane to the Brasenose.

It's why I didn't enjoy my one trip to Butlins. Watching one of the best Fairport gigs ever,(imho) was somehow spoiled by knowing I was missing Steeleye Span playing 200 yards away.

The Beautiful Days concept is too Glastonbury ish for me. Please don't ever change Cropredy in that way.

Apart from Cropredy (and ignoring the fringe), are there any other single stage festivals running?

In my ideal world, Cropredy would give Field 2 over to be a second arena field ... put a marquee or two on there and a further selection of stalls and entertainments. It would add to the diversity of the festival (and would certainly 'alter the dynamic' of the Thursday 5am traffic 'fun' that people like to get involved in!  ::) )

Cheers

Nick

I can't think of any (apart from real micro-festivals catering for a couple of hundred or so).

One thing Beautiful Days has that Cropredy - as a single stage festival - now sorely lacks is space. There are loads of places to sit and stretch out, minimal queues at the bars, food stalls and toilets, and more places to shelter from the rain and sun. You may have to make the odd hard decision if acts clash, but, on the plus side, there are no claustrophobia inducing bottlenecks like the one in front of the Radio Oxford tent last year. And without all the rows of chairs and the 'this is our piece of field' mob, the atmosphere is far less attritional than might have been experienced at Cropredy in recent years. Not saying it's better, just different, with the attendant pros and cons. And, unlike Glastonbury, its relatively small scale makes it all very do-able.

I look at it completely the other way. If I go to somewhere like Beautiful Days and miss a band I really like because I'm watching another band I really like, then that means it must be a great festival. The more great bands I miss, the better.  ???  Well, makes sense to me anyhoo.  8)

Clashes can be disappointing maybe, but I'd rather have that than no alternative when the likes of Digance or Bellowhead or 10CC are on stage.  BD is great value for money in my opinion.

Ain't it funny! Bellowhead, Digance and 10CC are a few of the reasons I've gone to Cropredy in the past! The Levellers would put me off BDs....

One of the pluses at Shrewsbury is that a lot of the acts play twice. (As long as its not Bellowhead  ;D ;) )

You're OK NickReg they are no more! You can relax  ;D

Yes but the silly man is on at Shrewsbury! He's even on up the road next month.

The thing I like about Cropredy is the single stage. Set yourself down for the day have a wander when there is something you are less fond of performing.  
Only conflict I have ever had is when Kangaroo Moon were playing at the fringe same time as the Travelling Band. K M won.

I would have  had a conflict between Merry Hell and Fairport this year but we going  to Beautiful Days this year as Richard Thompson is there.and I have tickets for Merry Hell at the Lyme Regis folk festival in September and Fairport in Bridport in Juneso I wont miss out.

I think where Croppers does score for me is with the time bands get on stage. So bands which are new to (the majority of) the audience, Dixie Bee Liners or Travelling Band for instance, get an hour which gives them a chance to really kick bottom in front of a big crowd. At other places "unknowns" might be tucked away on a smaller stage playing to a few hundred, if that, for 30 minutes or sometimes less, and by the time you realise what a spiffing time you are having they are saying "this is our last song".  

So, only at Croppers could The Trav Band, Dixie Bee Liners or Pierce Brothers have made such an impression, because elsewhere a lot of the crowd would have been doing other stuff, and they couldn't really have got into their stride with a longish set, watched by thousands, not as "unknowns".

Does this make sense?

I haven't been to Cropredy since 2010, so its possible that this view is entirely out of date and everybody has since developed an attentiveness normally reserved for a performance of 4'33'', but for most artists, most of the time, virtually nobody outside of what might be called the 'mosh pit area' is what Robert Fripp might call acting as an "attentive audient".  It's just background music most of the time.  That's where multi staged festivals win out in my book.  You have more frantic areas (with much less seating so people are generally standing or dancing) and you also have quieter areas where people are more attentive and listening to less frenetic music in a more attentive manner...and in between you have the milling around and the sitting and drinking and talking bollox.  Green Man would be (my) perfect example of this but other examples (BD etc.) are available.  Horses for courses, of course, and I'm not slagging Cropredy off - I just think it rather unusual and the format doesn't help with presenting much music which many of the audience would enjoy (acoustic, quiet etc).  And, sadly, I don't think I know of any other gathering of so many people paying so much money for a music event where so many seem so unengaged with the reason why they are actually there...

Lately, I've observed this phenomenon at almost every show I've attended, festival or otherwise.  >:(

And it seems to be a cast iron rule that the higher the cost of tickets for the event, the less engaged one is!  Odd.  So, yeah, I agree with the generalising of the point...but there is also a very specific issue with Cropredy, with the single stage, with the 'sitting in one space with my enormous chair and my enormous picnic for the whole day' kind of scenario.....I think, anyway.

I can see where you're coming from with this and it does seem the further you go up the field, the less attention people are playing to the artist. That said, a lot more people are engaged than not. I often see groups dancing from way behind the sound tower, and (I know some won't like this) Digance has the whole crowd going with his humour and "audience participation". If the band on stage is a bit quiet and, well, boring (I won't single anyone out) then the level of conversation does tend to increase. But if the band is a crowd pleaser (Peatbog Faeries doing disco) everyone is on their feet. Same with Dreadzone, Edward II and a few others "daytime" acts.
I do wonder though why some people find their spot on the field and then totally ignore (or seem to) everything that's on the stage. I've seen it in the "trendier" music venues too. I think it's rude!

Wow - so many good points going on here.

Talking at gigs.. 2 weeks ago went to see Stereophonics at MEN. 20,000 fully engaged individuals loads of singing and dancing - I love Kelly and the boys and this was the best I've ever seen them.  The next night at a 300 capacity venue a Pink Floyd tribute act,  they were brilliant but almost ruined by a handful,  not talking but shouting at each other through the songs.  Why do they go ??

Single stage v Multi Stage festivals.. I get all the points, generally I prefer the multi stage (BDs and Green Man both excellent but Bearded Theory is the best for me) but you do tend to dip in and out, whereas at Cropredy you either engage or switch off.

I do love the whole village thing at Cropredy, can't wait to see what they do with the scarecrows this year.  Set ourselves the challenge of a drink in every bar to be back on the field by 2pm so that's Brasenose, Red Lion, Cricket Club , Edge, Field , Field 8.  Smashed it ! yet I equally love the more mobile and more friendly feel of the multi stage festivals.

Am thinking of doing the Cerys Matthews festival in North Wales - anyone ever been ?  sounds right up my street.

The village thing was one of my favorite experiences last year, excepting only that no one would just give me directions to the church - they instead sold me a map of the scarecrows and the village.  :)

Interestingly, for me at least..at the Victorious Festival in Pompey in August, Brian Wilson is third on the bill on the Saturday, pitched between Paloma Faith and the Mondays... https://www.victoriousfestival.co.uk/poster-artwork/

Doesn't he look a little out of place in that line-up?

Hmm Maybe not, there's too many acts per day for it to be a one stage festival, I reckon BW will be headlining second stage or second on the bill for main.

Old man reviving a 40+year old album on before the Happy Mondays?

I bet he's the only act on the bill who's above 40 year old?

Without wishing to be rude to the Happy Mondays ,

I should think they would be happy to clean Brian Wilson's shoes.

Lol.  How old do you reckon the Mondays are then, ffs  ;) ;D

Paul Weller’s first album with The Jam is older than that.  ;D

OK but this all feels a bit odd, Wilson is 75 playing an album that is 51 years old. The average age of attending punter is likely to have Grand-parents of his age and parents as old as Smile? 75% of them won't have heard of the Beach Boys and 90% will have never heard Smile never mind Pet Sounds and they put him second on the bill on Saturday night at a time that doesn't feel right.

Ok, Victorious is a multi-stage festival, and Brian Wilson's appearance has been billed as playing a more generic "Greatest Hits" set as opposed to his "Pet Sounds" set.

ie exactly the same set sans the difficult bits of Pet Sounds  ;D

Irrespective is it still not odd for him to be programmed between Paloma Faith and the headlining Mondays on Saturday night?

The baby brother went to see the Mondays in Carlisle a week or two back. He was not impressed at all.
His actual words were not repeatable on a public forum.

'twas ever  thus   ::)  :-X

Happy Mondays

3 Albums charted in the UK and one went UK platinum.
2 singles reached No 5 in Britain, (neither made the billboard 100 in the USA),

Awards and honors 
None

Highlight of their fame was meeting Ronnie Biggs in Brazil.
===============================================================================

Brian Wilson

18 US Platinum Albums,
  4 US no 1 singles.

Awards and honours

Monument on the site of the Wilsons' childhood home, now deemed a historic landmark by the state of California. Nine-time Grammy Award nominee, two-time winner.

1988: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beach Boys.
2000: Songwriters Hall of Fame as "one of the great American geniuses".
2003: Honorary doctorate of music.
2004: BMI Icon at the 52nd annual BMI Pop Awards.
2005: Grammy. Best Rock Instrumental Performance .
2005: MusiCares Person of the Year.
2006: UK Music Hall of Fame .
2007: Kennedy Center lifetime of contributions to American culture.
2011: UCLA George and Ira Gershwin Award .
2013: Grammy. Best Historical Album for The Smile Sessions
2015: Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song .

Highlight of their Career; Would and has filled several books.
======================================================

The Happy Mondays are good, Brian Wilson is great.

"Irrespective is it still not odd for him to be programmed between Paloma Faith and the headlining Mondays on Saturday night?"

-could be worse I suppose.  LIke being programmed between Paloma Faith and the headlining Saturdays on Monday night...
😐 ☺

I think so, which is why I originally highlighted the issue.  

I quite like the Mondays in a throwback to youthful indiscretions kind of a way.  They were pretty rubbish 30 years ago, but a good excuse to get loaded and have a good time nonetheless.  PF is just dull.  Don't get the attraction at all.

The Mondays used to be a good night out, given the right errrrrr......mood, but age, drugs, mutual loathing and Sean's new teeth have turned them into a shell of what they were. To come back after all the baggage they are carrying you need to be pretty top class musicians which they never quite were. ::)

If anyone is interested Blues at the Barns in Creeksea Essex on Sunday May 6 looks good with a full day of blues, Americana, and folk. I’m going and yes it is billed as a festival   ;D

Not to mention that the Barenaked Ladies did s great song about him, and there was a great film about him too, "Love and Mercy", featuring a staggering performance by Paul Giamacci as his criminally insane shrink.

The Museums at Night festival from the 16th – 19th May.  Hundreds of evening events in museums and galleries around the country.  Many of them musical, quite a few of them free.  The one that appeals to me is Olivia Chaney playing a set in Jimi Hendrix’s bedroom (not free, sadly).
http://museumsatnight.org.uk/

Just checking out the line-up at Leigh next weekend, as they generally manage to come up with something totally unexpected.  This year’s surprise is Stone Angel – the old acid-folk band which released several records on the Kissing Spell label.  Hmm, could be worth a trip down to those mud flats.
http://leighfolkfestival.com/portfolio_page/stone-angel/

Yowzer!

Quick question...has anybody ever been to the Great British Folk Festival at Butlins in Skegness held at the end of November/start of December? Just wondering what’s it like....how many stages; indoors or outdoors; accommodation; food etc?

Just pondering whether it’s worthwhile trekking up from Essex to see Lindisfarne, Jon Boden, Merry Hell, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Lau, Ralph McTell, Strawbs, Oysterband etc who are all on the bill this year

Thanks

Chris, see the threads in music festivals area on this board (GBFF 2018 & GBFF 2017) to get a flavour.

Ah thanks...didn’t realise those threads were there...ta!

Just seen on Facebook that Looe Music Festival has been cancelled and the organising charity put into administration. Gutted for my brother who was attending to celebrate his 60th birthday.  :(

Various extracts from their most recent annual report





Their accounts show they started last year with a deficit of £263,000.....

Good volunteers are worth their weight in gold. Volunteers can make or break events, particularly in key roles.

I've just had an email to say that Cambridge Folk Festival 2019 tickets go on sale on 1st October.

Feels very, very early to me - especially as no details of the line-up have been announced yet.

Welcome to 2018...where promoters like to keep hold of your money for at least a year if they can get away with it.

Be interesting to see the take up as it no longer is a guaranteed sell out!

Derby Folk Fest anyone? Especially looking forward to 'Sheffield Made'

http://www.derbyfolkfestival.co.uk/events/sheffieldmade/

Yes - good to see you there.....

PA problems dogged the main stage in their marquee - seemed to be the bass bins producing very muffled sound. Steve Tilston being the only act I saw that conquered it.

Excellent bill I thought, however more work needed to ensure enough time is provided between acts to get setup & soundchecked in good time - letting 600 people through the doors with 4 minutes to first act was never going to work. If you book a 12 piece band the size of Eliza's Wayward band, soundcheck *will* take over a hour - just 5mins a person is an hour, then the whole band need to run through at least a couple of numbers....qwith two full drumkits, at least 40-mins to set up too. With two other acts on the same bill as well, all requiring setup & at least a line check too, two-and-a-half hours between concerts was never going to work....

But otherwise, an enjoyable weekend.

Agree there Chris and left halfway through Eliza's set.  Really enjoyed 'Sheffield made', at times a bit dogged by sound issues but such a class performance all round.

Have to say Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys were really good, some great songs, one or two non-folkie but they did rock, got to laugh at Ciaran Algar. Enjoyed Jack Rutter on the theatre stage.

John Tams and Barry Coope, wonderful, sound was excellent for those two!

Not too keen on Lucy Ward atm, unsure of which direction she's heading  ???

Plenty of great music though and an enjoyable time in Derby (even managed to walk part of the Tissington trail from Ashbourne!).

Ahhh...Lucy. Motherhood seems to have changed her attitude to life....no old numbers & her new stuff totally different. No life angst any more. Gone from solo to 5 piece, hope she can make it pay. Good to see old mate Anna Esselmont on stage as one of the quintet though.

I saw her solo on Saturday. Lots of old stuff, lots of ‘angst’ as you put it, still clearly motivated and powerful. Yes, her new album is different - she says she was looking at traditional songs, and writing some based on the tradition - but, rest assured, she’s lost none of her fire and power.

 

That is so good to hear!

Obviously a quintet festival special. I need to hear it all again I think

Does look like more of a festival special, though she's playing http://www.fateafestival.co.uk on the 3rd of November solo

The Highest Point festival is on this weekend in Lancaster. I'm going along tomorrow though to be honest I haven't heard of most of the bands playing apart from headliners The Zutons and Feeder. Tonight it's Sister Sledge and Grandmaster Flash so there's quite a diverse range of acts on. It'll be interesting to see how they use the different parts of Williamson Park as there are five different stages with one titled Gin and Disco.

https://highestpoint.co.uk/line-up/

The Idler Festival.  This is an unusual little festival for anyone with easy access to London.  Not that much music (Sam Lee, Chris Difford), but a very intriguing line-up.  https://www.idler.co.uk/product/the-idler-festival-2019-at-fenton-house-weekend-ticket/

Quirky to say the least...:-)

WIRRAL FOLK ON THE COAST 2020

The indoor festival with outdoor camping has a brilliant 2020 line up .

"LINDISFARNE" *MERRY HELL *ASHLEY HUTCHINGS & BECKY MILLS present " The beginnings of Fairport" * TRIALS OF CATO* ANTHONY JOHN CLARKE *  THE CHURCHFITTERS * LES BARKER *WINTER WILSON

POLLY, BELLA & THE MAGPIES *

What a line up, That's where I will be on the 4th to 7th of June.

Wow - looks like a good trip home for me...where's my (sadly very empty and un-dog-eared) diary?

I see Paul McCartney's headlining at Glastonbury next year.  Must set a reminder to be away from the telly that night... I assume he'll murder "Hey Jude" (again...)

Footage I've seen of him in the last few years has been bloody impressive.  

Agreed, but not that song..

Seems a little harsh to call for a boycott based on a bit of overenthusiastic la la la-ing... ;D

Glastonbury's already sold out, yes?  I'll be in the broader neighborhood right around that time, and this might be worth it if tickets are gettable.  Any information or advice on that score?

Sold out currently, I believe, but check their website coz they hold a final sale of tickets I think of those allocated but not taken up or returned

If you've got the money, you'll get a ticket.  Rock and roll is just like any other capitalist commodity these days!

I prefer to watch it from the comfort of my armchair! That way, I can skip the annoying BBC "look at us on a viewer-funded jolly" presenters  ::)

And I can skip that song! Macca's rock n roll renditions usually worth watching though!

Just in the interests of wider communication, and not intended to cause a mental breakdown anywhere...here's a festival in mid July that is cancelling.. https://supersonicfestival.com/2020/03/23/supersonic-festival-2020-cancelled/?fbclid=IwAR1qQTdRhcvX45bwftc_SFExsXKgucf_8PuosO7UkMtyVXTiud7jX_aLuIQ

i will be 47 this year.  i went to my first festival when i was 16.  i  have been to at least 1 festival or bike rally as a punter or as staff or as an organiser every year since then. did 8 on the bounce in 2008,  didn't even go home to do the washing.  with the kids.

i am looking at a season of nothing.
no festivals.
this is greatly saddening.
it's my life.
i spend all winter waiting to get my tent out.  to earn some money.  to spend time with my kids in fields.

for many people, Cropredy is the only festival you have ever been to and it is a special place.  it is special for me too but is one of many each year.
i can't begin to describe how big a hole this is.

Very different things, of course, and with the same proviso as above...all the Edinburgh festivals in August are now off https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-52121586

Not sure if there was going to be a Westival and the West End Centre Aldershot this year, but as its not opening at all until the start of the September term for classes, performances etc. it seems very unlikely.

Sidmouth (31 Jul-7 Aug) has been cancelled

Underneath the Stars has been cancelled/postponed to 2021.

Folk by the Oak still holding their nerve. https://www.folkbytheoak.com/festival-info/coronavirus-info/

Bold or reckless?  I wonder.  Personally, I've not seen one thing that makes me believe that a large gathering of people will be possible in the UK in July.

Personally I can’t see it happening, especially as the headliner is 69 year old Seasick Steve supported by a 71 year old Richard Thompson. There is also the matter of getting them here from the US.

Steve lives in Sussex.

Ol' Stevie Wold, né  Disco Stevie Leach? Does that old fraud still get booked? Why?

 in Belgium :
We learn, via the RTBF Info site, that summer festivals could be canceled due to the coronavirus epidemic.


It is the Minister of the Interior, Pieter De Crem, who confirms that the burgomasters of the cities in which some of the biggest festivals will take place, like those of Werchter, have come together and have decided to cancel these events, but that they are still awaiting the opinion of the National Security Council before making an official decision.

Uncomfortable news to confirm in the coming days…

I didn’t know about this until you mentioned it, here! Crikey!

Because he’s entertaining and people like him?

Quite so. I never got the fuss about his alleged fraudulent behaviour. Plenty of musicians have adopted a character to present their work. Bob Dylan has been doing it for nearly 60 years and had a notoriously invented past for at least the first decade of his career.

Old blues and jazzmen were given to making up fanciful accounts of their past to for the sake of "authenticity".

Spoiler alert. Mike Batt is not a womble.

Every single person who has taken to the stage, without exception, is putting on an act and presenting and adopting a persona, some more than others, some more obviously than others and some more ostentatiously than others.

Go on, spoil my childhood.  ;D I'm pretty sure Chris Spedding was though. :)

I am the very model of a Modern Major General.

Here's something I stumbled over that doesn't appear to have been mentioned previously - A "virtual" folk festival called Folks At Home:

https://accessaa.co.uk/virtual-folk-concert-folks-at-home-launches/

Lots of familiar artists in there, including Ric Sanders, Ashley Hutchings, Steeleye, and Jerry Donahue (with Doug Morter) and Fotheringay.

Quite so. I never got the fuss about his alleged fraudulent behaviour. Plenty of musicians have adopted a character to present their work. Bob Dylan has been doing it for nearly 60 years and had a notoriously invented past for at least the first decade of his career

I get it. The people who thought they’d (re)discovered a neglected artist, who finally got their day in the sunshine. Admittedly, that fits Steve’s CV down to the bone. I wish I hadn’t heard Dave Pegg introduce him (Seasick Steve) with the anecdote that apparently he (Peggy) had tipped a couple of guilders in to his (Steve’s) cup when he’d come across him busking in Amsterdam in the seventies, but I guess that one or the other of them had either misremembered or were outright lying.
There are, as is pointed out, many, many such opportunities to be had. My own personal bugbears are The Monks, of ‘Nice Legs...’ fame. We all do what we can to make a living.

Towersey Festival (Aug BH weekend) has been cancelled this year  :'(

Shrewsbury has as well.

WOMAD too

Folk by the Oak have also cancelled

eFestivals have a handy list of known to them cancellations and postponements at https://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/coronavirus2020.shtml

On the upside our tickets will be valid for 2021  ;D

I am actually hoping that a couple of expensive festivals will be cancelled or postponed allowing me to claim a refund, as I am trying to manage on my state pension. My advisor recommended that I stopped drawing on my personal pension as that requires shares be sold at fire sale prices, causing rapid pot depletion.

Same with FbtO - so that’s something to look forward to, and they have already confirmed Seasick Steve and Kate Rusby.

I wish 'other' big festivals would get on with informing us if they plan to cancel.  It will make a lot of difference in planning my summers annual leave and days off requests, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this dilemma.  It must be a nightmare for stallholders trying to plan their summers as well.

Just seen Warwick FF is cancelled

How's this for a positive outlook (from US perspective)?   :o

https://www.stereogum.com/2080079/coronavirus-expert-says-concerts-wont-return-until-fall-2021-at-the-earliest/news/?fbclid=IwAR0QCbOFossdKXmyI_Q2C1fktK0zVyoRZvOCZc-npur9wXwxEU2hNl99Vh0

Surely Crops is the only summer festival still planning to go ahead (not that it will)?

No, others haven't cancelled yet - Green Man, End of the Road etc.  But there won't be any this year...not a chance... (and reports like the one above suggest 2021 might be dodgy too now).

Wickham, Wimborne, Priddy and Folk East haven't cancelled yet either

New Forest is still on and, of course, GBFF which is much later.

The only gigs not yet postponed/cancelled on my calendar are set for July. A smattering of additional gigs will allegedly happen in October. Wondering if any of this will actually take place.

I think the simple fact is that nothing can take place until there are drugs to control this thing, either therapeutic or preventative, and that does not seem to be an imminent prospect.

Recent cancellations from efestivals
[POSTPONED] Happy Days Festival : statement. New dates of 29th-30th August 2020.
[POSTPONED] Warwick Folk Festival : statement. Back next year 22nd-25th July 2021.

Lol.  That'll work then.  Not.

Indeed.

What about Ely, Beautiful Days, and Larmer Tree?  Any news from them? And of course NFFF

I've been thinking for a couple of weeks that everything would go this summer, I can't see a single festival taking place, and football will be behind closed doors, or not played at all, until the Autumn at least. Gigs will be Autumn at least I think.
Bearded Theory postponed from Whit weekend to mid-September, which seemed reasonable at the time, but I can't see it happening now.
I would have gone to about 15 this summer, including a few little ones I haven't been to before. Oh well, maybe next year, although I won't be putting money on it just yet.  :(

Ely cancelled a while ago, don't know about the other two.  The question all the organisers are worrying about though is not "when will the lockdown end?" but "will anybody come?".  I'm 60 and would happily go to the two remaining ones on my list (Folk East and Wickham) but others may not be so sanguine, particularly the over 70s.

Are you sure?  Come to what?  It seems inconceivable that large scale public gatherings will be permitted anywhere in the UK in 2020, I'd have thought.  From what I'm reading, this pandemic will not be done and dusted until mid-2021 at the earliest....I'd have thought a more reasonable question would be "will there be any festivals in 2021 (and will anybody come if there is)"?

I don't think it will ever be "done and dusted", rather there will be an assessment of risk that determines what is and isn't allowed.  Look at what other European countries are doing for example. No large scale gatherings yet but they're coming.  When the lockdown ends here, whether all at once or gradually, there will still be 95%+ of the population who haven't had the virus although the risk of dying of it will vary dramatically. Politically, economically and above all what people will accept all I think mean that not allowing large gatherings for another year or more just won't wash (although of course the definition of large scale can and will be endlessly debated).

That word, permitted, is probably the nub of the question for all remaining festival organisers. Festivals are expensive businesses with the thinnest of margins. The ability to cancel a festival without it collapsing is probably more dependent on the insurance policy than anything else. It may be that some festivals need to be ordered to cancel before they can afford to do so.

As for Beautiful Days; their latest announcement:



Cheers

Nick

Good point, Nick.  I'm sure you're right about that.

Absolutely Nick, in which case lets hope we don't have another "we're not ordering pubs to close just advising you not to go" farce.

Football behind closed doors wont work , there will be loads who will turn up outside grounds and try to find a vantage point . Football crowds don't behave as well as festival crowds. I went every week to football for over 55 years til I stopped 5 or 6 years ago, I just got so peed off with the so called fans.

If that happened would it give festival/event organisers carte blanche to hold onto people’s money as they had ‘chosen’ not to go, rather than the event being cancelled?

I fear so.

That would immoral but plausible based on a debate we're having with a holiday booking agency. They need to cancel or postpone until next year, possibly with the same line up to reduce costs and give a commitment to the acts, the longer the delay in doing so the higher the financial risk to them.
   

I agree with you, but I doubt that will stop them trying it. Personally, I don't think the Government should allow the Clubs to do it, but money talks so I think it will go ahead at some point.

Football is like festivals in some way. I am involved in its administration at Welsh Premier Level.

This year pays for next year. Predicting income a year in advance and budgeting accordingly leaves contracts and commitments made on the basis of a judgement of income, not real cash.
 
If this year doesn't conclude then most payments due in November wont happen.  Clubs are funded on a series of rolling 40 week seasons with TV money , UEFA payouts and Sponsorship's generated from the previous season. The Liverpool's and Manchester United's build huge surplus's and will be OK. Clubs lower down the scale tend to run hand to mouth or in deficit.  Most are bankrolled by benevolent local millionaires. If they draw that revenue from business other than football then that might be in downturn too.

Barry Fry once told me that the best way to be a millionaire in football is to start out as a billionaire. Football is facing trouble because costs occur before income is generated.

I don't know, of course (none of us does) but I suspect part of that would be to try and reduce footfall whilst the legal and risk aspects are checked.  

Not all festivals have been cancelled.  Oxford’s Folk Weekend is going ahead, but online obviously.  Free events will be shown on their Facebook page.  Ticketed events will be broadcast on Zoom.  Quite an impressive line-up.
http://www.folkweekendoxford.co.uk/

Broadstairs folk week has been cancelled  :'(

Interesting Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/15/abort-retry-fail-how-coronavirus-is-jeopardising-music-festivals

Thanks for that, I've popped over and bought a ticket for Gilmore and Roberts and I have my eye on a couple of others. At least artists are able to perform and get paid this way.

Show of Hands have unsurprisingly cancelled this year’s Abbotsbury festival scheduled for 4th July. Same line up moved to 2021. No official announcement on ticket validity that I have seen.

Confirmation that Beautiful Days is (obviously) off

That's it then, until the rescheduled Bearded Theory dates in September, and, hopefully, the as already planned Hillage and Hackett gigs during the following two months.
On the plus side, 2021 is shaping up to be a pretty good year, gig wise, and I won't have to find the cash for tickets.

Still nothing from New Forest as yet. I'm guessing there may be negotiations or Re-scheduling activities in progress. Fingers crossed for a line-up rollover to next year as most others have been able to do.

My own personal view is that there is precisely no chance of any gigs happening at all in the UK in 2020.

i'm afraid i totally agree with you David, and if BT gets the go ahead will all current ticket holders feel confident in going?  or indeed artists and traders?

But Steven Wilson at the O2 in September  :'( :'(

He's put the album back to Jan 29th...so I suspect the gigs will follow that in the Spring now?

I know... and Big Big Train in July.  Not yet officially cancelled, but I have very little hope...

Oh I hope so

Will S July is almost definitely not on.

What a strange year  :-\

I would have no confidence in sitting in a summer audience of thousands of people - and I'm pretty sure I've had it!

As for Butlins in December, no chance.

I think the only thing up for debate is whether there will be any next year.

The ultimate existential question if ever there was one...  ;D

There could be other issues in putting on festivals next year even if they are allowed to.  In the online news a couple of days there was an article about a company that supplied generators and other event infrastructure, being refused a loan, as they already had a large loan to buy equipment.  

The generators wont disappear , they will just be sold on.

many many traders will have had to fold before next year.

i can't believe one of the events companies i work for still has over 50 gigs and festivals for which they are actively recruiting despite many of them already being cancelled by the organisers, the killers for example.

Emphasis definitely needed in that sentence!

Still nothing from NFFF ... have you heard anything Andy?  Were you and Wendy stewarding again this year?  x

We were. I've asked Nick for an update.

Very sad to hear that Enjoy Travel, the company which runs the excellent Costa Del Folk festivals among many other events, have been forced to cease trading.
The staff are such a wonderful bunch of people and I wish them all the best for the future.

That’s a shame Bill. :'(

Folk East have just announced cancellation on their website.

Never been but it was on the list, sad news...

The Good Life Experience in Hawarden has postponed its festival for 12 months.

Actually, that's wrong...they've postponed it until May.  I presume they're going to try and squeeze two in next year.  Hmmm.

New Forest Folk Festival

I’ve just had an email. They are hoping it will happen now on August BH weekend, but that depends on advice and the progress of the virus. If not, it’ll be July 5-11 next year.
Tickets can be rolled over. If it does take place in August, but you don’t feel safe about going, they are prepared to roll your tix over to 2021 or 2022.
See their webpage for more details.

As they said, because it is small and all the ‘stuff’ and the site is their own, they have a bit more flexibility with organisation.

Green Man has finally joined the, er, herd and cancelled.

Twinwood festival (August BH weekend) now postponed to next year.
Just the Butlins GBFF left. I wonder if it will happen, and if anybody will be brave enough to go.

Victorious cancelled today. Tickets valid for next year.

Paul

All Butlins Music Weekends cancelled in September 2020 dates converted to family breaks where social-distancing can be maintained.

Going to be touch and go for the GBFF which is scheduled for the last weekend in November 2020.

Received refunds for BlueDot (not quick, but not the 90 days quoted) and Twinwood (less than two weeks).

New Forest / Eventbrite refunded my tickets within 24 hours, super efficient, would have liked to go next year but thats the one weekend in the year we can't make. gutted...

On Facebook that music weekends to be cancelled to the end of October 2020, slightly more touch and go for GBFF.

I am expecting / hoping that GBFF be cancelled. If it is not, who would dare go? It is hard to envisage any social distancing being achieved.

I'm pretty sure neither Wendy nor I would consider going to GBFF this year.

We would feel OK in the Sky Bar but not in the main arenas. So would it be worth it? Depends how desperate we would be for music, and if the bands would turn up.

That only works for bands on that stage. Since they get spread over both stages, it could be very difficult.

That's why I queried if it would be worth it (for me). They would, of course, have to open both stages, to make it worthwhile for them.

A New Day festival has announced it will not be happening this August Bank Holiday weekend.
Ticket holders are encouraged to keep their tickets for August 20-22  2021.
Each rolled over ticket will be matched with a free ticket for NHS Staff Members
Details on A New Day Facebook page.
Of course full refunds will be given if required.

Confirmed this morning that all weekends are now cancelled until the end of October 2020.

Moseley Folk Festival now confirmed as cancelled. I think Wickham is the only festival I know not cancelled yet  :(

New Forest ff remains uncanceled.

just seen on twitter that Wickham have cancelled

Inevitable.

The re-arranged Bearded Theory has not yet canceled, a final decision will be made at the end of this month, but they say it is highly unlikely it will go ahead. They are waiting to officially cancel because they would like to be able to announce at the same time whether next years can go ahead, and on what dates.

Austin City Limits Festival set for two weekends in October was officially cancelled today. No effect on me, personally, since I'm generally unfamiliar with the acts they've been booking lately. Our last visit to the ACL Fest featured Sir Paul a few years back. Since then, it's been Guns 'N Roses and people I've barely heard of, such as the WeekND and Billie Eilish (I'm not going to bother verifying the spelling).

I had no idea this festival was even still on the calendar. Austin cancelled SXSW, our other huge annual event, back in March. Since then we've made no progress containing the spread of COVID-19 in this state. Mrs. J From A and I are doing our part, but it seems a lot of folks haven't been. No festivals for the rest of this year, and probably no spectator sports.

We saw some scenes from Austin on our tv news during the week, similar to here lately people deciding to group together too close, some wear masks, others don't  :(  There looked to be some angry anti mask wearers John? Maybe the future of festivals will become like transport travel, masks will have to be worn, although it is said the outdoors is a safer environment for the virus not to spread. Beer drinking and eating food at festivals may prove to be rather difficult.  ;)

I read about all the bad behavior, but I'm not really witnessing it in my pleasant suburban neighborhood. I'm working at home and not venturing downtown, let alone to any clubs or bars.

Folk by the Oak have announced the line-up for their online festival next weekend.  Richard Thompson headlines.
https://www.folkbytheoak.com/about/familynestfest/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Nest%20Fest%20Final%20Line-up&utm_content=Nest%20Fest%20Final%20Line-up+CID_886ae59935df2ce90cdd3585e80a523d&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=wwwfolkbytheoakcom

Festivals 2020 stylie https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/aug/31/also-britains-only-festival-warwickshire-covid-19

The Larmer Tree Festival have cancelled 2021 too.  Still hoping to return in 2022.  It will be interesting to see if this is something repeated by others...

https://twitter.com/LarmerTreeFest/status/1304011846643519488

My one and only little festival has fallen foul of Boris's 6 in a bed rule and been cancelled.
Bum, I'm more disappointed than I should be.

The government are finally acknowledging the challenge festivals face: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/11/mps-to-hold-inquiry-into-ensuring-post-pandemic-survival-of-music-festivals?fbclid=IwAR0JjJiZPVCHMGQb-uuU7b3UFk9vwQijaHZK4T2afJl6AyxfK6_RBN1hQ7Q

Good... everything crossed!

Don't shoot the messenger...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55536355

Chippenham has already been cancelled - 2021 Official Web Site (chippfolk.co.uk)
The uncertainty must be a nightmare for organisers of summer festivals.  Normally, they would be busy selling ‘early bird’ tickets in January.

Bearded Theory has already decided to move from May until September, with a new line up. September could be a busy month for festivals if things go to plan.

Problem is that September nights can often be far too cold for camping.

Glastonbury 2021 has been cancelled.

Sad, but inevitable. Time to wait and see how many other festivals take their cue from this news...

Two reasons to hope for the Aug/Sept festivals at least: a) an extra couple of months, and b) they don't have anywhere near the same infrastructures to be created as Glastonbury does.  Having said all that, I reckon it will be 2022 before we see any proper festival activity....

The latest newsletter from the Sidmouth festival is reasonably upbeat.  They are encouraged by the success of the vaccine roll-out, but will make a final decision about this year’s festival in early April.  In the meantime, they are promoting online gigs by Chris Smither and Bruce Molsky.

Joe Heap with a cautiously optimistic update about this year’s Towersey festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ygQwxgG6tg

Interesting piece in this weekend 's i newspaper about WOMADelaide. The capacity has been reduced to 25% (Now 6,500) and the attendees are seated and socially distanced on plastic picnic chairs.
Not a complete answer by any means, but a step in the right direction?

WOMAD have just put tickets for this year's edition back on sale... July 24th 25th.  With some organisational changes, of course, but positive news!

IMO it is high time that one of the folk festivals had a "folk-rock day" to celebrate the bands that have emerged over the last 10 years .... Trad Arrr, Green Diesel, Sam Kelly's, Blackbeard's, False Lights, Joshua Burnell's etc. Could it ever happen or would organisers always be reluctant to put all of their eggs in one basket in this way? Really this is something that Cropredy should be doing, but as we have discussed several times before, in recent decades it has become so big that it has to have acts of wider appeal in order to break even ...

Bearded Theory have cancelled for this year.

Beautiful Days now sold out. Just managed to get one of the last ones. Really hope it goes ahead, as I’ve been wanting to go for years!

We shall see you there, Adam. Somewhere in the Big Top arena, watching Hawkwind, probably.

Congratulations to them that's a proper line-up.

We have a date on the calendar for one of our faves, Derby folk festival in October, fingers crossed and all that.  ;D

Shrewsbury have announced a changed line up with no American artistes and that all 3 main stages will be outdoors. There is probably not enough to attract me this year. Oysterband , Show of Hands , Young Uns, Edwina, Lindisfarne etc but at the high prices they charge, no thanks. If Blackie and The Rodeo Kings (and the three associated acts) were still on it may have swung it.

Pretty much agree, the Shrewsbury line-up looks a bit thin without any of those American artistes that have been so popular over the years.
BATRKs have been highlight of a couple of festivals in the last few years. It makes sense, but doesn't help the line-up or value for money factor.
And the site can be so bloomin' cold at times in the evenings when the sun has gone down, much colder than any other festival I visit (is it being inside a loop in the river?) The Marquees were good on a bitterly cold evening.
One good thing about Shrewsbury (apart from the music) was that the weather didn't really matter, which was good after Beautiful Days and Cropredy on the previous weekends. But without the marquees the weather is back in play. Oh well.
I was going to get a ticket but not sure now.

Oh no,  :o we've got tickets from last year put over. Outdoors is the main reason we gave up Cropredy due to weather related/arthrtis reasons!

They've kept very quiet about it too. Just checked the website/lineup. Not too bad, we shall dip in and out weather permitting!

I am going back for the first time in years.

Dont worry . You will be getting Pendevig (15 peice Welsh Language supergroup), Trials of Cato and Calan.

By the weekends end those of you who go will speak more Cymraeg than I do.

Bendegedig.

Wasnt impressed with Trials of Cato (at least not as much they themselves appeared to be) , however the addition of Polly could change that.

Love The Trials Of Cato. First caught them at the Chester Folk Festival a few years ago, and as it happens they were the last band I saw in concert before Lockdown so I'm really disappointed about the personnel change. Polly Bolton's no slouch though so I'll give the new line-up a go when I get the chance.

I've just bought Pendevig's album. Good stuff. They sound like they'd be a blast live.

Shrewsbury was one of my favourite festivals, but it was always the American/Canadian bands that gave it an edge over many others for me.

It'll be a pity for Shrewsbury if people that love it watch it die because it's not something it can't be this year due to circumstances entirely out of its control.  I guess that will be happening a lot out there in the real world at the moment though.  I've never been but I've got several good friends who put it right at the very top of British 'folk' festivals...

I never thought I'd like it but I do. But it's just far too expensive for the line up. Some of the costs must be lower ie no American bands, no marquee hire, no dance tent etc. To have to reduce prices or it's a no from me.

BBC News report this morning BBC News - Festivals face 'another lost summer' without government safety net, MPs say
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57279196

When was Gerry Colvin added to the New Forest line up? Chuffed.

I went to Ely Festival at the weekend – my first festival since 2019.  Very enjoyable.  The social distancing worked well (we each had our own yellow box sprayed on the grass) and it felt perfectly safe.  If I get pinged by test & trace, I suspect it is more likely to be for the stop at South Mimms Services on the M25!  It was good to listen to some unfamiliar acts and to bump into a couple of friends that I only see at festivals.  In many ways, it seemed like old times apart, of course, from the vastly reduced numbers.  I can’t really see how the organisers or the traders could have made a profit from it, but it is a step in the right direction, I suppose.  

The New Forest Folk Festival was a great success last week. Wendy and I Stewarded as usual. Everyone entering the site had their temperature taken every time. Everyone also had to take a COVID test before coming, including Traders and Artists.

It should be noted that Helen, wife of the organiser, Nick Curtis, is in hospital at the moment and that everyone wishes her a swift recovery, signing several cards for her.

On a sad note, it seems that Leon is retiring after two more festivals, I can't recall the name of the penultimate one, the last being "Under the Stars".

So, no Leon's at Cropredy 2022. That will be a hole in the field.

Completely incorrect. I misunderstood what Leon said.

Shame, his fare in huge portions is fantastic value and top quality.

I've never known, but is the Cropredy Leon connected with the Leon's restaurants?  Or is it just a coincidence of names?

I don't know for certain, but others have said not.

Not https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Restaurants

Top man as well, best wishes to him for his retirement.

Green Man goes ahead - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-57823405

Leon has posted  on Facebook that he is not retiring. Just two festivals left this year.  :)

On a sad note, it seems that Leon is retiring after two more festivals, I can't recall the name of the penultimate one, the last being "Under the Stars".

So, no Leon's at Cropredy 2022. That will be a hole in the field.

Completely incorrect. I misunderstood what Leon said.

An alcohol related misunderstanding?

Nope. I haven't had a drop for months.

Beautiful Days is going ahead, but “COVID status” check is required before wristbands are issued - seems a good call to me 👍

Absolutely! I was shocked at the number of comments on their Facebook page saying that they’d ‘sold out’ to the government, abusing freedom, and that they will be burning all their levellers records. Still, if it means fewer anti-vax morons about,then that’s fine with me.

Bejesus.  The world is a very odd place at the moment, isn't it?

Speaking as someone who has stewarded at one festival already that imposes such "restrictions", I can say that very, very few people argued with us taking their temperature upon entering the site. Anyone who did was given a choice: comply with the conditions or leave. No-one left.

Out of several thousand people, we had two whose temperature was dangerously high. One turned out to have driven to the festival with SEPSIS. Thoroughly unwise, to say the least and nothing to do with COVID. They ended up in hospital.

I'm sorry but that made me laugh out loud.  That's nearly an automatic Darwin award.  The stupid gene is certainly alive and well in 2021.

Interestingly enough, after 18 months or so of temperature measuring all patients coming into our department daily (200 or so per day) we only found 3 cases by this method. We found more cases of early sepsis!

Proper festivals for proper people...from back in the day  ;) ;D

Some great silent footage of Windsor Free Festival from '73 - featuring Stacia, Jesus, Wally Hope....and apparently pre Squeeze Difford & Tilbrook (Skywhale?).  Entertaining.  Parental advisory blah blah blah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIyjvEUINx8

Stacia Blake....possibly the tallest woman I ever met. (close run thing with Erica Knockheart).

Certainly the only one who drew a crowd eager to watch her put her clothes ON.

The clip has been amended to suggest that the pre-Squeeze outfit was called, er, CUM.

Wikipedia offers "Captain Trundlow's Sky Company" or "Skyco" as early names for Squeeze.

She was **** at table footy.

Sidmouth’s scaled-down festival was a great success.  The evening concerts (outdoor and seated, but not socially distant) were mostly sell-outs and the daytime events were very well attended.  The performers were as delighted as the audience – many of them said it was their first live gig for over a year.  It felt like a proper festival, even if the marquees, the indoor venues, the dances and the parades were all missing.  Hopefully they will all be back to normal next year.  Highlights for me were Show of Hands, Seth Lakeman, Banter, and Zoe Wren.

In stark contrast, Towersey has had to pull the plug on its ‘pint-sized’ festival.  Here are a couple of messages from Joe, which highlight the problems but offer hope for the future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIE-fdxSHAI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wbiy4RyhfU

Beautiful Days has been fab so far. Bit of rain expected today, but sunny Thurs, Fri and expected of Sunday.
Hawkwind were exceptional! Hurry On Sundown..!
Henge were fun too, as we're Alabama 3.
More to come!

Cheers
Nick

How were Headsticks?

No idea in afraid. We went for a Bimble to the Bimble Inn at that point.

Robin Once has just been magnificent, and The Skints were good and bouncy. Much of the rest of this afternoon I spent Axe Throwing though.

James vs The Lakeman's tonight.

Cheers

Nick

I'll say this... The Lakeman Family Gathering were flippin' great!

Shrewsbury is fast approaching and I can say that the Stewards are as excited as the punters and the artists.

Weather looking good, too. Can't wait!

I see from my chum who's there that they've had another move around in the band...and Niall has had a push.  I was particularly surprised to hear that Thighpaulsandra (Cope, Coil etc etc) is playing keyboards with them.  Sounds bonkers but also like it worked.  Dave's 80th birthday too...insane!

Me neither! See you there.  ;D

My word!

Hot on the heals of Hawkwind, Van De Graaf Generator!

It has been one heck of a festival.

Cheers

Nick (worse for wear)

How were they?

Ran into some attendees at Gloucester Services this morning with very muddy looking wellies, how bad was it?

Proper Devon mud...

Thursday and Friday were sunny and warm (shorts and sandals till gone midnight). It rained overnight on Saturday, a bit in the morning and a bit more in the late afternoon - we were expecting this though and it wasn't too bad. Sunday was back to being sunshine, though the mud does stick around for a while.

The down side to the festival this year : loos and bins. Both were lacking, and both were left too long between emptying. I gather the organisers struggled to get teams in place to look after these. I suspect it may have been a problem across many festivals this year. We coped, but would've preferred better.

I am completely unqualified to say how good VDGG were. I really enjoyed them, but knowing next to nothing about any of their material I have no idea if it was played well!  :-\

I shall leave it to Slippy to comment more professionally.

Cheers

Nick

You'll be getting this though, Nick?  Of course you will... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charisma-Years-Boxset-Graaf-Generator/dp/B095N53JN6/ref=asc_df_B095N53JN6/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=499439045021&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16036542435175967345&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045433&hvtargid=pla-1329590508180&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

It was my first time at BD, and agree that the lavvies were pretty grim. We stayed at the Holiday Inn express, and getting on and off site was a lot easier than Wickham, despite the mud! Music was fantastic, with my old favourites New Model Army delivering the goods once again. Bar Stewards were great fun, and once I got over the sonic shock of Skindred I really enjoyed them. Frank Turner was a kinetic ball of sheer enjoyment, and Levellers are a really class live act, and hope they play Cropredy again after their rather misjudged last performance (albeit beyond their control and with the best of intentions). Mark Chadwick was pretty emotional, and gave a heartfelt thanks to the crew and everyone involved in getting the festival over the line.

Overall a great festival, friendly people and lots to see and do. Good choice of food, and lots of reasonably priced veggie food. I will return!

Much of this chat seems to be about mud and toilets. On both counts FolkEast was exceptional. The toilet crew were well on top of their job, even the Chemical Disposal Point was frequently emptied. There was a little rain but less than forecast. Glemham Hall Estate is on light well draining land and rarely cuts up badly anyway.
A covid inspired reduced festival this year with only two stages, both outdoors, and smaller numbers in the crowd. Overall a very well organised compromise.
Musical highlights for me were Merry Hell and  The Young'uns, and of the minor acts Lizzy Hardingham was good value.

Van Der Graaf were awesome.  Everything I was hoping for. Not seen them live before but I became a huge fan about 15 - 20 years ago.  Never liked them when I was younger (or Peter Hammill's solo stuff) which always used to be on the John Peel show.   The interplay was stunning. I totally understand why they are a 'Marmite' band but for me they were the highlight of the festival and one of the best gigs I've seen in many a year...
I think Nick was (how shall I put it) 'intrigued'..... ::)

Cheers,

Slippy

Sounds good.  I'm looking forward to seeing them next year (and the box set in a few weeks)  :)

Shrewsbury Folk Festival was very good indeed, with open air stages approved of by most people I spoke with.

Show of Hands were augmented by Johnny Kalsi and gave a great show, easily surpassing their performance at NFFF.

The Longest Johns were essentially a sea shanty singing five-strong band. Lively and amusing on stage, they then went on to perform in the bar for another 3+ hours, until chucked out with everyone else at 3:30am.

Afro Celt's lead lady singer, Ríoghnach Connolly, starred with Band of Burns, a musical collective dedicated to Burns' poetry and putting them to song. They are worth a listen.

Another band I had not encountered before were FOS Brothers, again, well worth a listen.

The tiny Kate Rusby was on magnificent form too.

Seth Lakeman was indeed Seth Lakeman, again. With Benji Kirkpatrick in the band, it was a greatly enjoyable set of Seth Lakeman tune. (No, I'm not a fan of his music, but he is a nice chap.)

Stars of the weekend in many ways were undoubtedly The Young 'Uns who were funny, sad, passionate and proud. Their sea-shanty was in French! You have to hear Dave Eagle's tale of a German village that stopped a neo-Nazi festival dead by buying all the booze from the local shops.

Afro Celt Sound System were a bloody awesome way to finish the festival, with Johnny Kalsi again a terrific performer. But so were they all. They overran by 10 or so minutes and nobody cared.

Most of these performances were streamed live, they should be available on YouTube now.

I have just read a news article about the vast number of tents, sleeping bags etc left behind at Leeds Fest. While they will end up with a homeless charity which is a good thing, it enrages me that so many young people just throw things away, can't be bothered or, worse, think it is the 'cool' thing to do. This was starting at Cropredy when I stopped going.

Shrewsbury's site as we left this morning was immaculate.

We had a curious incident at a recently attended festival.
They use sturdy plastic pint pots for beer with a £2 returnable deposit paid to encourage reuse.
We left these in our camping area outside the tents along with chairs and other bits and pieces when we went for a walk to the local pub.
When we returned a few hours later all the pint pots had disappeared,everything else was as we left it.
Either someone keen to keep our area tidy or seeing the opportunity for a few £2 returns!
A lesson learned...
Both the festivals I attended this year operated a leave as you find policy and this was followed.
I think we realise it is only by the good grace of the landowners that their fields can be used ,leaving a mess will jeopardise future festivals.

Funny how the festivals attended by mainly older people experience less trouble with mess than those with a younger audience. Yet it is the young who moan at their elders about waste and global warming. Extinction bloody Rebellion create more mess than any of them. Here come the young.

Shrewsbury Folk Festival was very good, the clement weather helped a lot.
Oysterband and Show of Hands were as good as expected, two excellent sets from the old reliables.

Highlights of the weekend apart from the above two were Seckou Keita, Sheema Mukherjee and Sona Jabarteh. Plus a very good set from the Carrivicks, and a very enjoyable one from The Longest Johns. Pleasantly surprised by them. I eschewed Seth Lakeman, having seen him loads, and went to see Lindisfarne, who I've never seen. Bit dull, I thought. The hits were OK, but I regretted not watching Seth. Kate Rusby was good, with plenty of stories. Nice set from Edwina Hayes on Sunday, first time I'd seen her since Croppers 2005.

The new set-up worked well, congratulations to those who put it together, but I hope next year it will be back to normal.

Not that I would necessarily ever venture forth, but the venerable Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee has been cancelled on short notice due to Hurricane Ida, which soaked the festival grounds beyond repair.