FolkEast - Saturday 24/8/2013, Review

Now I say this is a review of the Saturday at this year's FolkEast festival, but truth be told, I was only there from about six o'clock onwards, but I will review what I can from what I saw.

Firstly, the location, Glemham Hall, was a perfect setting for the festival. With the large house overlooking the site, and small coloured lights amongst the dotted trees, it looked incredible in the darkened light.

So, Monster Ceilidh Band (main stage) were the first people I saw when I arrived. I have to admit that, before the festival, I had never really listened to them, but I really enjoyed them all the same (and have listened to them quite a lot since). They really got the crowd going considering there really weren't that many people there, and their catchy tunes got a few dancing as well.
At risk of this sounding like a story, we then went in search of food, and had a rather good pizza. The food section of FolkEast really was great, as I later had a fantastic crepe, but anyway, back to the music.

Next up, I saw Sam Lee & Friends (broad roots stage), though unfortunately I only caught two songs. From what I saw though, Sam Lee has an incredibly strong voice live, and the arrangements amongst the instruments were hypnotising.

We then headed up to the main stage to see the Wayward Band. This was what I had been looking forward to out of the whole weekend lineup. We arrived a few minutes early in time for the sound check and to witness Sam Sweeney singing a few verses of 'The Voice' which was fantastic and got cheers from the audience even before the show had begun. As they began, a thick mist descended on the Glemham Estate, making the whole show even more exciting and memorable. And when they did begin, they didn't disappoint. They started with two songs sung by Jim Moray, and then invited on Eliza Carthy to sing the rest of the songs (if my memory serves me correctly). They played just about an hour, including favourites, 'Mr Walker', 'Gallant Hussar' and 'Willow Tree'. The whole band are excellent musicians, making everything they do look easy but sounding incredible. Once they had  finished, cries of 'encore' were heard from the crowd and everyone wanted more. Clapping and cheering went on for ages until people sadly realised that they weren't coming back - this was the last gig of the Wayward Tour - and I was so glad that I was there to see it.

I then went to see Spiro, with a cup of tea in hand, and enjoyed their beautifully complicated tunes for a little while until The Dhol Foundation were due to come on. Like Monster Ceilidh Band, I had never listened to TDF before, but I knew that they would be good from articles that I have read and the fact that they were headlining! And what a show it was, they really were amazing. Everyone was dancing and at least attempting to sing along, shouting out whatever we were told to and jumping around. Seeing as I had never listened to them before, I couldn't tell you what they played, but I can say that it was very good indeed. Half way through the set, Eliza Carthy and Jim Moray were invited back on stage to sing a song with TDF, which everyone was delighted by, as they hadn't played for extremely long with the Wayward Band. This was amazing, we then all sang Happy Birthday to Eliza Carthy as it had very recently been her birthday, and they play some more 'dancy' tunes. They really were incredible - I'd definitely see them again if given the chance.

Acts that I would love to have seen if I had been there earlier or on a different day would have been: Spiers & Boden, John Ward & Mario Price, Sam Carter & The Big Sky Choir, Ahab and The Young'Uns.

Anyway, it was a fantastic festival, definitely living up to last year.

Monster Ceilidh Band

Sam Lee & Friends

Wayward Band - Eliza Carthy & Saul Rose

Wayward Band - Jim Moray & Eliza Carthy

Jim Moray and Eliza Carthy - The Wayward tour - Mac, Birmingham 22/08/20013

For those of you who do not know,  Eliza Carthy has been touring and recording music for 21 years, and Jim Moray has been touring and recording music for 10 years, and in order to celebrate this they have created a band of amazing musicians whom they have worked with during their careers. After having mainly toured during May and June, they have a couple more tour dates this summer mostly at festivals.

Jim Moray began by singing "Poverty Knock" which he accompanied with his own piano playing. This was a very appropriate start to the gig as the song appeared on one of his first albums and is an affecting song about the hardship in cotton mills. This was a lovely, relaxed way to start the concert, and he continued by inviting Lucy Farrell on to stage to sing "Lord Douglas" with him, accompanied only by acoustic guitar.

When he invited the whole band on stage, the atmosphere changed drastically. They performed a dynamically loud version of "William Taylor" with brilliant drum playing by Dave Burbidge (who was standing in for Willy Moleson) adding volume and a dark atmosphere to the song. I also very much enjoyed the duet of the broken token ballad "Jenny of the Moor" that Jim Moray sung with Lucy Farrell, although it was clear that they were slightly out of practice as they both looked unsure of which parts they were meant to be singing. Another highlight of Jim Moray's set has to be "Leaving Australia". I really liked the introductory xylophone (?) playing by Laurence Hunt and the unusually quiet Sam Sweeney.

However, I have to say my favourite song from Jim's set has to be "Seven Long Years". The instrumentation is just beautiful and I really loved the addition of Sam Sweeney, Beth Porter and Lucy Farrell singing. It is a song that works brilliantly well with such a big band.

After the interval, Eliza began in a similar sort of way to Jim. She sung a beautiful song accompanying herself on piano. I can not remember the name of the song, but it was accompanied about by the string section of the band, and I remember thinking that it was incredibly powerful.

When she had the complete band with her, the material was far more upbeat and Eliza was clearly enjoying herself enormously - dancing across the stage and interacting with the other musicians. I very much enjoyed seeing the interactions between her and the other musicians. They did a wonderful version of "Cold, Wet and Rainy night" where they invited the audience to sing along (however, very few did join in). They also sang "Turpin Hero", about a "chicken murderer".

A particular highlight for me has to be "Mr Walker" which is the sort of song you can not help yourself from singing along to! The story is about a man wanting to marry a women who is really ugly, just for her money. Anyway, it is a very funny song and brilliantly introduced by Eliza and Saul.


The tone of the gig changed when Eliza began talking about her uncle Mike. She spoke with emotion about how Mike was a decorator and he used to come round for lunch and tell them little silly things he had thought of during the day. She then passionately sang Mike's song "Jack Frost" which was just beautiful! It was completely incongruous for the warm evening but its icy words and icy melody put a sudden chill in the air. I think this was my favourite of the songs performed.

This icy atmosphere did not last long as they continued with songs such as "Rolling Sea" which, as Eliza, pointed out has a strong Pirate theme. I particularly love the the brass section of the band during this song!

Sadly the band had to cut the set short as there was a curfew. This meant they were not able to complete the already shortened set list. They finished with " Willow Tree" but did not have time for an encore. Maybe without Saul's Purple joke, they may have been able to fit another song in but...

Although, the Wayward band is certainly not going to last much longer (there are only a few more chances left to see it), I would also recommend seeing any of the musicians that were involved at any other form of gig, whether with a band or solo. And I hope that maybe in 10 or 11 years time perhaps the Wayward band may get back together to celebrate some more anniversaries.

A couple of good youtube videos of the Wayward tour:

Mr Walker - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9keoSbv8ld4

Worcester City - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh6iPqTlTD4

Willow Tree ( they have cool hats in this one ) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCyKrNloIUA

Jim Moray and the Skulk Ensemble  - Seven Long Years ( I couldn't find a version recorded on the Wayward Tour - but this is brilliant regardless) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMrNLgdUeEw

Bellowhead (& AYMs) - Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Review

On Thursday 15th August, Bellowhead played the Snape Maltings Concert Hall to a sold out audience, joined by the Aldeburgh Young Musicians. It was an unforgettable gig for everyone there. The show began, not with a song from Bellowhead, but a with a beautiful rendition of the song 'General Taylor' from the band with the AYMs. From the back of the darkened hall, they slowly came down the steps lead by Bellowhead's own Sam Sweeney and Paul Sartin, making their way to the front, below the stage, where they stopped and stood under spotlights to finish the song. It was quite a performance to experience, and I'm so glad I was there to have seen it. 

Bellowhead began by playing '10,000 Miles Away' (their first single from their latest album 'Broadside') which got most people clapping along, and many singing as well - which is obviously expected with Bellowhead's infectious choruses. After this, frontman Jon Boden expressed his wishes for people to stand up, which a few did and as soon as they started 'Whiskey Is The Life Of Man' a few songs later a few more audience members had made their way forward bouncing and dancing at the bottom of the stage (myself included). Unfortunately not as many people were dancing and clapping as the average Bellowhead fan would have liked, but what can you do, people go to seated venues to sit down! . 

The second half (yes, there was an interval!), Jon Boden said, would involve a lot of dancing, and it definitely did! The foot stomping 'Yarmouth Town' was popular and known by many in the audience, as Great Yarmouth is not far from where we were. After each song, more and more people made their way to the front to join in the dancing and singing along.

Well into the second half, the hall went dark and a group of the AYMs appeared and beautifully sang a part of 'Thousands Or More', hypnotising and captivating audience until Bellowhead suddenly began playing, making everyone jump and start madly dancing again.

Every song Bellowhead played was faultless and utterly incredible, everything you would expect from one of their shows. Highlights for me, included 'What's The Life Of A Man' where Jon Boden's magnificent voice was particularly shown off; 'London Town' where even those who didn't seem to be major fans were clapping along; and frankly, anything involving the AYMs. The energy on that stage, with all that talent, was unreal, something I feel very lucky to have experienced.

Review - Cecil Sharp Project CD

So, I thought as I have no written anything for a while and we have now received over 1,000 views on our blog (yay!), that I would write a review of one of my favourite CDs ever – ‘The Cecil Sharp Project’. The CD brings together the wonderful musicians Steve Knightley, Jackie Oates, Andy Cutting, Caroline Herring, Jim Moray, Patsy Reid, Leonard Podolak and Kathryn Roberts. In March 2011 these talented musicians were placed in a house in Shropshire for 6 days with the purpose to create song about the life and work of the famous folk song collector Cecil Sharp.

Cecil Sharp, as many of you will know, collected songs during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. He is particularly noted for collecting songs and lecturing in the Appalachian mountains in America. If you would like to view some of the songs he collected I would really recommend looking at the Full English digital Archive ( http://www.vwml.org.uk/vwml-projects/vwml-the-full-english ) where you can also read his diaries, if you can understand his handwriting! 

Anyway, these amazing musicians wrote many amazing songs to do with Cecil Sharp and arranged some of the songs that Cecil Sharp collected. They then performed their work at several gigs and festivals and a live CD was made out of there performances at The Cecil Sharp House and Shrewsbury Folk Festival. A DVD was made from their set a Shrewsbury Folk Festival. 

I guess I ought to talk about the songs. I love them all. But I have to say the highlight of the CD for me has to be 'Dear Kimber'. It has such an amazingly catchy tune despite its slightly strange subject matter. The song is mostly sung by Jim Moray and is about Mary Neal inviting some Headington Morris Men to teach girls to dance. This was not a popular idea with Cecil Sharp or with William Kimber who led the Headington Morris Men. The song is inspired by a letter that Cecil Sharp sent to Kimber on the subject where Mary Neal is called 'Little Miss N'. Anyway, it is a wonderful song, which you will feel yourself singing a long to. It is also the most listened to song on my iTunes. I once got Jim Moray to sing 'Dear Kimber' at a gig - it was amazing, although he couldn't remember it very well.

On the subject of Jim Moray, you know that song that won him the folk award this year (Earl Brand/ Lord Douglas), well that masterpiece was created during the Cecil Sharp Project. It also wins the prize for being the longest song on the album and the song containing the most complex story.

Another song that really stands out of the album is 'The Ghost of Songs'. I guess it has a completely different atmosphere to 'Dear Kimber'. It was mostly written by Steve Knightley and is also sung by him and Kathryn Roberts. It is one of those songs that will make you stop and think and/or make tears pour from your eyes. It is a song that has the ghosts of the people Cecil Sharp collected from. There is no way of wording that in a coherent way, but you will understand if you listen to it!

One of the most beautiful tracks on the album has to be 'Cecil's Greatest Hits Vol.1'. This is an arrangement of three songs that Cecil Sharp collected during his life. It is wonderfully sung by Jackie Oates and Kathryn Roberts! I would really appreciate it if someone would give me the name of the second song in the track - I have unsuccessfully tried to search for it. 

One of the funniest songs on the album has to be 'Veggie in the Holler'. This is about Cecil Sharp being a vegetarian in a time where some people thought that a chicken was a vegetable! I think Cecil Sharp must have appeared completely insane to the people he met in the Appalachians! Anyway, the song outline his struggle to gain a proper vegetarian meal. It is wonderfully sung by Leonard Podolak and the words are rather amusing. 'Maud and Cecil' is also hilarious. It is about the idea that Cecil Sharp's and Maud's relationship may not have been entirely innocent. 

I could go on about every song on the album but they are ALL wonderful! It contains the most beautiful version of 'Barbara Allen' I have ever heard and the wonderful song 'Mining for Songs' about Cecil's search for songs in America. Well, just listen to the whole CD - you will certainly not be disappointed! 

Four - Cupola:Ward

'Four' is the name of Cupola:Ward's wonderful new EP. Both the name of the band and the name of the EP are pretty self explanatory, however, in case you are unaware, Cupola:Ward is made up of the wonderful band Cupola (which brings together the brilliant musicians Sarah Matthews, Doug Eunson and Oli Matthews)  and the talented, young folk singer Lucy Ward. 'Four' contains four songs, created by four musicians, so it is a pretty practical name.

The EP opens with the song 'Cotton Mills at Cromford'. It was that was written in 1778 for an annual street party for the workers at Richard Arkwright's mill (according to the sleeve notes) and celebrates the positive aspects of working in a mill. Ironically, the words are set to the tune of 'Hard times (of old England)' which is an incredibly famous song that details how gloomy life is for tradesmen. Cupola:Ward have created there own wonderful arrangement for this song that creates a joyous atmosphere which is really fitting for the image the words portray.

'The Bone Lace Weaver' follows 'Cotton Mills at Cromford' and has a far more reflective, solemn tone. It is about the way of life for 'Bone Lace Weavers' and is said to be written by Leonard Wheatcroft, of Derbyshire, in the 17th century. Wheatcroft seems to be an interesting character who seems to have been a tailor, parish clerk, orchard planter, and soldier during the Civil War. Furthermore, it appears he was not a wealthy man as he was imprisoned three times for debt. He wrote various famous poems and may have been inspired to write this due the apprenticeship of his daughter to a bone lace weaver. The song is set to Roy Harris' tune. It is mostly sung by Lucy. I love the use of percussion on this track as well as the instrumentation which really bring out the beautiful melody. 

'When God Dips his Pen of Love in my Heart' has an incredibly different feel to it compared to the other songs. It is a bluegrass hymnal with a very upbeat tune and was written by Alison Krauss. It is beautifully sung and arranged by Cupola:Ward. 

'King of Rome' is the final song and contains the most extraordinary story. It includes some amazing four part vocal harmonies. The song was written by Dave Sudbury. It has no musical accompaniment which really focuses the listeners attention on the wonderful story about someone who keeps. It is a truly beautiful song.

Furthermore, I recently saw Cupola:Ward live at Gower Folk Festival, and they were the most amazingly energetic performance I have ever seen. I really recommend going and seeing Cupola:Ward live as well as buying this new EP and I am sure in the future we will hear a lot more about them.

(pic - Lucy Ward at Gower Folk Festival 2013)

The Liberty to Choose - James Findlay, Bella Hardy, Brian Peters and Lucy Ward

 This CD is made up from selected tracks from The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. As an owner of this fantastic book of songs, I know of the wonders it contains and I understand why it is described by many as a ‘bible’ to English Folk Music. It is also very obvious why they chose this book to make a CD of songs from. 

The CD brings together the four individually talented folk singers and musicians James Findlay, Bella Hardy, Brian Peters and Lucy Ward. I am sure many of you will be aware of these talented people and know that they are all highly regarded on the folk scene. Brian Peters musically directed the three other young folk musicians in order to create this wonderful album.

The opening track, ‘The Baffled knight’ (often referred to as ‘Blow the Windy Morning’), is mostly sung by Lucy Ward and it is a brilliant, upbeat track to start the album with. It has a really catchy tune and is accompanied by violin, melodeon and guitar which really bring out the melody. I think it is a really wonderful version of this well known song and it is a massive contrast to the solemn version of 'The Seeds Of Love' which follows. 'The Seeds Of Love' is such a famous, important song within the folk tradition. It is the song that supposedly inspired Cecil Sharp to begin collecting songs after hearing John England, a gardener, sing it whilst going about his work. In this version, Bella Hardy sings it unaccompanied and it is truly beautiful. 

Another astonishingly beautiful song on the album is 'The Trees They Do Grow High' which is sung by Bella and Lucy. It contains beautiful harmonies which highlight the sad tale within the song. For me, this is a particular highlight of the album. 

I love the way the album includes many different sorts of songs with many different stories within them. It includes the transportation song 'Van Diemen's Land' and a song which is called 'The Molecatcher', which is basically about a molecatcher. Both of these songs are brilliantly sung by Brian Peters and are wonderfully arranged.  'The Molecatcher' has a really catchy, memorable chorus which you will find yourself singing a long to.

Another highlight of the album for me is 'The Jolly Waggoner' which is sung by James Findlay, who also plays the guitar and fiddle on the track. It is a song that highlight James' amazing talents and it is another song that will get you singing along. James Findlay's version of 'Barbara Allen' is also wonderful and is beautifully arranged with James playing guitar. 

The final song on the album is 'The Moon Shines Bright' which is a New Year carol. It is sung by Bella, Lucy, James and Brian. and contains no instrumental accompaniments. As you would expect, it contains really beautiful harmonies and is the perfect ending to a wonderful CD. 

Songs From The Floodplain - Jon Boden // Review

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, where folk song is one of the few things that has prevailed, this album puts itself forward as a perfect setting for storytelling. As a follow up from Jon Boden's solo debut, Songs From The Floodplain is set to be a promising album before one has even begun listening.

The first track 'We Do What We Can' really draws the listener in with the memorable chorus and upbeat melodies and as each track gently flows into the next, the listener is left feeling a great sense of melancholy but at the same time an overwhelming feeling that this could really happen. 

As each song passes, one is taken deeper and deeper into the post-apocalyptic world and Boden's lyrics really make you appreciate what you take for granted in our current world. 

Each track is superbly arranged with excellent musicianship. From 'Don't Wake Me Up 'Til Tomorrow' to 'Beating The Bounds', two very different songs, where Boden's powerful voice comes through with beautifully meaningful and poetic lyrics striking the listener to the core.

www.jonboden.com