Sunday
The Cambridge policy
of having most artists playing more than once is paying dividends. You get the
chance to catch up on bands that you may have missed.
Consequently I manage
to catch up with Lunasa. I'd seen a partial set during the session it was an
opportunity to catch up with the whole band.
Lunasa play traditional Irish
music, needless to say they pretty much got the whole tent going. There was
quite a few people young and old up on their feet dancing.
It's time to
switch musical flavours flavours to raw and raunchy blues delivered in a
spectacular manner by Aligator Records recording artist, Shemikia
Copeland.
I'm starting to run out of superlatives for this years festival.
Shemikia held the audience enwrapped with her powerful and sultry vocal.
She oozes
sexuality as she sings about how she did her man wrong. This is really is blues
of the highest quality.
Whilst she is part of a blues orientated family,
Shemekia, has worked damned hard to get where she is today. She has a big voice
that delivers. She is the epitomy of be proud, be loud, be heard. In the
last few years most of the blues has been a bit more refined, more delta
influenced. Shemekia Copeland reminded us there's more than one type of blues
and the blues doesn't always bring you down.
This festival is blessed in
having two Mercury nominees playing. KT Tunstall had a mainstage appearance,
Seth Lakeman is playing the Club Tent.
It's absolutely heaving. If I thought
it was packed last night, they some how manage to squeeze in a few more.
Seth is joined on stage by his brother Sean and a bass
player Ben Nicholls. His repertoire has been inspired by stories and tales of his native Devon, but this
is not traditional folk, it's been given a very modern sense with some evocative
use of the instrumentation.
Seth has worked hard for his craft, even if he doesn't win
the Mercury hopefully it will prove to be the springboard to more 
commercial success.
English folk seems to be in very safe hands at the moment
and with a new album coming down the line there's a lot going for it's
future.
It's time to go and get some food. Fueling up for the rest of the day
I go for the nachos grandee. The plate's smaller than last year, but that means
I do manage to finish it.
Whilst cooler than yesterday, it has been hot
enough to work up a sweat. So as I'm going past the media caravan on my way to
Tirawan, I pick up a fresh shirt and change.
It's then that I realise I
haven't got my phone. Panic ensuses a rush back across the site to see if I'd
left it at the Club Tent.