From a quaint and quiet daytime affair to a raucous sundown shindig, Bournemouth Folk Festival made its debut with a tremendous bang. Kicking off to a comforting start, the festival was situated within the walls of the Bournemouth International Centre. Like a warming hug and a cuppa, the daytime acts soothed the soul with heart felt ditties about love, the world and how to improve it.
The lack of fields and hay bails certainly didn’t quash the atmosphere and these hippy ideals were received well by the ever growing and progressively lively audience. Even during the least riveting of acts, there was a united spirit which seemed to echo through the building.
An array of artists from Country, through Rhythm ‘n’ Blues to traditional Irish jig music adorned the stages and bars from 1:00 – 11:35pm. Morris dancers transformed the upper balcony into and outside theatre and although some of the dancers were at times at risk of indecent exposure, the dancers were well received by the festival goers.
If the music and movement wasn’t enough to get your feet a stomping, real ale and fantastic hot grub was available all day at the BIC’s bars. Beautiful hand made Venezuelan jewellery, made by Humberto Amenta, known as Dagda to his friends, was being sold until the early afternoon by Carolan Burke, a regular player of Bournemouth Folk Club and the range of CDs available for purchase at the festival merchandise stand was remarkably extensive.
Particular highlights throughout the day came in the form of Brummie guitarist and singer, Victor Chetcuti who played in the Purbeck Lounge line-up. With a rustic voice he was joined by the nimble-fingered guitarist Bob Burke and amused the audience with observant quips in between songs.
Johnny Dickenson stole the daytime stage with his hybrid folk and a stage presence that ricocheted around the Tregonwell Hall. The Northumbrian slide guitarist created a serene hush as his fingers caressed the strings of his acoustic. An accompaniment to his smooth, soulful voice he performed with near as much panache as Clapton. Later on, Johnny led a slide guitar workshop for all the budding folk artists at the festival.
Not only were workshops taking place, but jam sessions were held by The Jack Rats in the bar area for anyone to get involved with.
Chris Ricketts was a polite fellow with a silky voice which, with a good whack of reverb, rolled over the audience beautifully. A talented singer with a great sense of humour he broke into a rendition of The Clash’s, ‘I Fought the Law’ during a very unique ‘glee-style mash up’ of Shanti music.
As the evening rolled in and the ale barrels began to empty, the atmosphere began to pick up and the spectators became a lot more animated and cheery. Adorned with waistcoats and pocket watches, the listeners were your stereotypical folk festival bunch, eager to get up and jig at every available opportunity. Throughout the evening there was hand clapping and knee slapping to boot. And if the livelier ditties of Celtic artists weren’t your ideal night out, there was still the opportunity to enjoy more serene acoustic acts in the bar areas.
The main highlight for me was 4Square, a four-piece who wowed the audience with their tap-dancing antics. The band got full marks for audience participation, playing music which would have been most at home on the jolly-roger and gleamed with copious amounts of energy and enthusiasm. The sheer ability to showcase their various talents, such as the tap dancing instrumental by violinist Nicola Lyons, was astounding.
Other enjoyable moments came from The Jaywalkers, a bluegrass duo from Helsby in Northwest England. The stunning vocals from violinist and guitarist Jay Bradbury could be likened to that of Eva Cassidy at times, moving between harsh tones and soothing melodies with ease. Using the violin in innovative ways alongside Michael Geverin’s mandolin artisanship the two meandered between genres, playing folk music from all around the globe.
The biggest crowd pleaser of the event however, was without a doubt the Monster Ceilidh Band and the explosion of energy that came with them. With their Ceilidh jigs and stage presence they transformed the audience into dancers, as energetic and excited as a bunch of 5 year olds who have just been told their moving to Disneyland. It was one of the most beautifully orchestrated shambles I have ever seen.
It was almost too easy to become distracted from the music by the near anarchic dancing of the folk loving horde. Memorising the back and fourths, crossovers and turns that were being instructed from the stage was a visibly difficult assignment for those who’d had more than a few pints of ale. But the band kept the dance under control and played with such technical flair that it was impossible not to enjoy the talented foursome’s compositions. They displayed all the finest attributes of folk and jig music during the great dance workshop and after, moved onto their electronic set.
The set began with an industrial buzz that filled the room and when the music kicked in, it became a rowdy and modern adaptation of their ceilidh play list. The broad compilation of musical genres that featured throughout the set even stepped into the realms of drum & bass for what the band believe to be the world’s first cross over ceilidh track.
The headline act had a lot to follow after such a well received set but with an astounding mix of jazz and 14th century Italian funk rock, Sheelanagig held their own superbly. The skill of jazz flutist Adrian Sykes at times, might have even put Jethro Tull’s, Ian Anderson to shame! Not only were the audience dancing but the violinist at one point was among them, serenading the ladies of the dance floor.
Although the celebration was not your stereotypical festival setting, there certainly wasn’t a lack of atmosphere and Sheelanagig ended the first ever Bournemouth Folk Festival with a boot stomping bang. With rave reviews from many of the attendees and the surge in popular folk music over the last year, we can only hope that this will be an annual event for years to come.
Photograph: Reed Ingram Weir
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