Awards and Presentations

[Nick]

The Hancocks 2007  

Also known as

Not The BBC Folk Awards

The winners are announced and the trophies are lined up and ready for presentation  

We are now looking for people to help with issuing the awards to our winners. As a reminder here is a list of the awards to be made and a note of where, when and by whom each award will be presented:

Award	Winner	Presented by	Where	When
---------------------------	---------------------	----------------------	--------------------------	-----------------
Folk Singer of the Year	Seth Lakeman	Vikki Rose	Cornbury Festival	July 8th
Best Duo	Show of Hands	Boatgirl & Boatboy	St Mary's Cropredy	October 11th
Best Group	Levellers	Sandra	Trowbridge Festival	July 21st
Best Album	Show of Hands	Boatgirl & Boatboy	St Mary's Cropredy	October 11th
Best Original Song	Show of Hands	Boatgirl & Boatboy	St Mary's Cropredy	October 11th
Best Traditional Track	Tim Van Eyken	JJ	The Cellar Upstairs	April 21st
The Horizon Award	Martha Tilston	Pugwash	The Social, Nottingham	October 21st
Musician of the Year	Dave Swarbrick	Kath Hancock	Pontardawe Festival	August 17th
Best Live Act	Bellowhead	Fat Billy	SpanFest	July 27th
All Round Good Egg Folkie	Ashley Hutchings	Amethyst	Woodford Halse	August 8th
Best Folk Track Ever	Fairport Convention	Jude & Gower Flower	Chipping Norton	March 11th
---------------------------	----------------------	----------------------	--------------------------	-----------------

 
Please post in this thread or send an IM to one of the moderators if you are able to help with the presentation of awards. Let us know who, when and where you can help out. This list will be filled in as presenters come forward.

We would like each award to be presented at a concert or public event where the winner is featured. Presenters should be be prepared for the following:

• You'll need tickets to the event - hey, we're not made of money!
• You should be with someone who can take photos to display on the board
• You should be able to make contact with the winner beforehand - leaping up on stage unnounced might not be a welcome move!
• You should be able to make contact with the venue and/or promoter - everyone concerned should be aware of what is going on and should give their consent
• You should give us sufficient notice so that the trophy can be arranged - Mid March is the earliest we can consider making an award

We know that some of the winners are members of the board. If any winners are reading this; first "congratulations!" Next, please send us an IM with ideas of where and/or how we might arrange the presentation.

Cheers!

[Nick]

Thank you for the various IMs and offers sent regarding these presentations. It's great that people are interested in helping out and presenting.

Can I stress one point about the presentations though; the hardest part of each presentation will be arranging the permission and timing for someone to get onstage. The bigger the event, the harder it is to sort out the logistics.

Last year we found that presentations were easy at events where a board member was involved or knew the organisation (e.g. Oxford Folk Festival, Acoustic Sussex, Chipping Norton Theatre) but were harder or less effective at larger events (e.g. Towersey which took a lot of negotiation to sort out, Birmingham MAC and Cambridge where we had to present backstage rather than onstage). We will do what we can to help with the organisation of presentations but we need you as presenters to contribute and so you must think about the scale of the task and about what you can actually achieve.

So, please help to make presentations but please be aware of the difficulties of arranging presentations at large scale events. Specifically, please understand how difficult it would be to arrange to present at places like The Albert Hall, Cropredy and Beautiful Days. These events are desirable but very complex. The onus would be on you to manage the organisation of such presentations.

Cheers

Nick

[Nick]

So who's going to be at Chipping Norton Tow Hall on 11th March?

I understand there's a window of opportunity to present Fairport's award there.

Jude stands poised, sparkly shoes at the ready. Would anyone else like to help? Will there be cameras?

Cheers

Nick

[Chris]

Yes, I'll be there with trusty camera!

[Nick]

The first Hancock 2007 has rolled off the production line and is ready for presentation    

Fairport are now set to receive their Greatest Track Ever award at Chipping Norton on Sunday 11th - the last night of the tour. Jude & Gower Flower will be wearing their tiaras and sparkliest of shoes, Chris will have camera at the ready and hopefully lots of other Talkawhilers will be cheering and clapping.

Eight more to arrange. Any takers?

Cheers

Nick

[vikki rose]

Now that its all official & I'm aloud to say it out loud (SETH LAKEMAN IS PLAYING CORNBURY ON THE OFF STAGE that is). Would I be allowed to present his Hancock then please?

Vikki xx

[Nick]

Kath Hancock has agreed to present the award to Swarb at the Pontardawe Festival on August 17th      

Many of you know, Carey was the driving force behind much of Talkawhile. He led us in debates and in humour and he led us in supporting Swarb at a very important time.

Carey's departure affected all who knew him on Talkawhile. We honour him with these awards. His departure also affected Swarb, who willingly became the patron of the awards and signed his name to them as a mark of recognition and respect.

When Swarb won the Outstanding Musician Hancock it was immediately clear that the presentation had to be significant and that Kath, Carey's widow, had to be involved. With all due respect to everyone on Talkawhile, I do not think there is anyone else more appropriate for this particular presentation.

Kath lives very close to the Pontardawe Festival site and, on learning that Swarb's Lazarus were to play there, she requested that we try to make the presentation take place at that concert. This has taken time to co-ordinate - particularly with Swarb being in Australia until recently - and Sandra and Nuthouse have both worked very hard to bring everything together and make this happen. So we can now confirm that Swarb is happy and looking forward to the presentation, that Kath will present the award, accompanied by Nuthouse and possibly one or two others and that the kind organisers of the Pontardawe Festival have offered the Talkawhile party a warm welcome as their guests for the event.

Cheers

Nick

[vikki rose]

Fantastic news! Will there be a person with camera present? As Polly so rightly states its a long way to Pontardawe (I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere...)

Vikki xx

[Nuthouse]

Fantastic news! Will there be a person with camera present? As Polly so rightly states its a long way to Pontardawe (I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere...)

Vikki xx

Yes... a photographer is lined up

[Rory.]

As someone who arrived only last September, I would just like to say I am very much impressed with the warmth and obvious affection Carey Hancock engenders. Over several months a picture of him has been growing in my head, probably best summed up when it was said of him, “ He was our mate”.
(You know who you are and your tribute to Carey Hancock in answer to my question about him was very moving indeed).  

From an outsider’s perspective this seems to be a lovely way to honour both Swarb and Mr Hancock.

My only regret is that I didn’t arrive sooner and have the privilege of knowing him myself.

[Cocker Freeman]

Carey Hancock was the best b*****d we ever had on the board. And that's saying something.  

[fat Billy(Bill)]

Carey Hancock was the best b*****d we ever had on the board. And that's saying something.  

absolutly

[YaBB Master (Colin)]

Hold your horses. Like I said, large gigs are difficult and festivals a nightmare, unless somebody has really good contacts with the organisers.
Behind the scenes at festivals is always chaos and things like presentations are generally unwelcome.

However if you think it can be done............

[Nick]

Bellowhead as a band will be easier than most as we have good contacts with the band members and tour management. Presentation to Bellowhead will hinge on the choice of event itself.

Here are a few more things to think about when choosing an event to present an award at, setting aside the issue of negotiating with the venue and promoters. These apply to any band or artist, not just Bellowhead:

At festivals, bands invariably have a strict timescale to play in. They usually have a shorter set and have to decide carefully how their time will be used; e.g. should they go off the stage then come back on for an encore or should they just keep playing to squeeze more songs in? A presentation would take away several precious minutes from the band's playing time. It may be seen as worth it or it may prevent them playing the set they want to play.

Also at festivals, the audience may only be partly interested in the band. This depends on their billing but the lower down the bill the less likely the audience will be "theirs". The band would have to decide whether an award presentation would be good PR or bad PR (would it impress people who'd not heard them before or make people think they were arrogant unknowns?)

For the example of Bellowhead; they're playing at SpanFest and at Beautiful Days (among other festivals). At Spanfest they're a headliner. They'll be playing to largely their own crowd, given a longer set length and it will be quite a triumphal concert and celebration for them. At Beautiful Days however, they were offered the slot headlining the Big Top Stage but instead chose to go on early in the line-up on the Main Stage. They'll get a larger audience by doing this but it won't be "theirs". They will have to work hard to win the crowd over. For these reasons, it might be worth pursuing a Hancock presentation at Spanfest but I would not suggest a presentation at Beautiful Days.

The situation is entirely different at a band's own gig. The band is more in charge of timescales and can usually play whatever length of set they choose. They are also facing their own audience who have gone along specifically to spend the evening with them. This situation is much more suitable for a presentation.

Cheers

Nick

[Nick]

After a few IMs I should clarify...

I used Bellowhead and Spanfest as an example!

I mentioned Spanfest and Beautiful Days hypothetically to show the sorts of things you should consider if you want to have a go at presenting a Hancock. I have no idea whether an actual presentation at Spanfest could happen - there is nothing arranged, I've not asked the band and I've not asked the concert organisers, I've just referenced the events to make a point.

Fat Billy has asked if he can have a go at presenting at SpanFest, and asked what needs to be done to make it happen. I've IM'ed back with some advice so if a presentation does come off at that concert it'll be down to him to drive.

But basically if anyone wants to present any of the Hancocks, follow the steps I made in the first post - let us know what the plan is, clear it with the band and clear it with the organisers.

Cheers

Nick

[Sandra]

As a festival organiser and someone who has arranged and made presentations of Hancocks can I just offer my full support of what Nick has said above.

Do not assume that the recipient(s), a festival organiser or a concert organiser will be willing to allow the presentations. In the first instance I would approach the recipient(s) and explain they have won a Hancock and ask them if they are willing to accept the award and if so where they think would be best, making a suggestion or suggestions about what you would like to do but remaining flexible. It will depend on the artists' relative billing and on their relationship with the promoter what they think will work. Accept their decision. It is also an idea to explain what a Hancock is (physically) and the history behind them. More than one artist has thought they were, as someone put it 'plastic football cups' in the first instance. It does not hurt to stress the fact they are an award voted for by fans rather than a faceless committtee.

Only once you have this agreement approach the festival or concert organiser, as they will usually not give consent without the permission of the artist. Finally, when you do present it be aware of the time constraints. These are especially tight at festivals. The artist(s) may have a braying audience that just want them to get on with the set, or may only have a few minutes to go before the plug is pulled. Respect their guidance.

I have contacts with various (but by no means all) festivals so if you want contact names or me to approach them on your behalf then I will be happy to assist if at all possible.

[mikec]

Carey Hancock was the best b*****d we ever had on the board. And that's saying something.  

It certainly is cocker and he certainly was. Good man sadly missed.  

[Nuthouse]

Kath Hancock has agreed to present the award to Swarb at the Pontardawe Festival on August 17th      

Many of you know, Carey was the driving force behind much of Talkawhile. He led us in debates and in humour and he led us in supporting Swarb at a very important time.

Carey's departure affected all who knew him on Talkawhile. We honour him with these awards. His departure also affected Swarb, who willingly became the patron of the awards and signed his name to them as a mark of recognition and respect.

When Swarb won the Outstanding Musician Hancock it was immediately clear that the presentation had to be significant and that Kath, Carey's widow, had to be involved. With all due respect to everyone on Talkawhile, I do not think there is anyone else more appropriate for this particular presentation.

Kath lives very close to the Pontardawe Festival site and, on learning that Swarb's Lazarus were to play there, she requested that we try to make the presentation take place at that concert. This has taken time to co-ordinate - particularly with Swarb being in Australia until recently - and Sandra and Nuthouse have both worked very hard to bring everything together and make this happen. So we can now confirm that Swarb is happy and looking forward to the presentation, that Kath will present the award, accompanied by Nuthouse and possibly one or two others and that the kind organisers of the Pontardawe Festival have offered the Talkawhile party a warm welcome as their guests for the event.

Cheers

Nick

I do hope that as many of you as possible will be able to get along to Pontardawe for this, probably, most significant of all the Hancock Awards.

Plans are being made for this presentation but the presenter has to have the award in their grubby mits.. so how this this happen ? Perhaps someone "in the know" can let me know how the award is transported to the right place at the right time and into the right pair of hands. I am sure it will take only a few seconds to say..'It'll be posted' or similar

thanks

[Nick]

Normally the Folk Corp pixies wrap the awards up in finest soft bubbles and send them on their way in special red vans.

There is plenty of time for that to happen with the Swarb award. Unlike, say, the Seth award which still resides far from its intended destination not 5 days before it is to be handed over     The pixies will require a special winged chariot to solve that one!

I'll IM you Stu...

Cheers

Nick

[Nuthouse]

Normally the Folk Corp pixies wrap the awards up in finest soft bubbles and send them on their way in special red vans.

There is plenty of time for that to happen with the Swarb award. Unlike, say, the Seth award which still resides far from its intended destination not 5 days before it is to be handed over     The pixies will require a special winged chariot to solve that one!

I'll IM you Stu...

Cheers

Nick

Thanks Nick... I appreciate that it is a few weeks off yet but with the holiday/festival season approaching it's worth being a little bit ahead of the game

Thanks again

Stu