Friday

Tift has had a couple of well respected albums out back in the U S of A. She hails from North Carolina so was well suited to a hot sultry afternoon in Cambridge.
The sound is mellow and mountain stream clear. It sweeps around like a breath of fresh air. Tift has a fantastic voice that swirls around almost as much as her guitar.
I like that really stripped back country of just vocal, guitar and bass. You don't always need drums and percussion to get drive.
There's not a lot of banter between songs, I'm not sure if it's because Tift is shy or if she just wants her music to do the talking.
Whatever it is, the audience really love it. Yes there are elements of having heard some of it before, but she's distinctive and most importantly highly enjoyable. It's another set that ended too soon but that's festivals for you.
There's a bit of a race on. Seth Lakeman has literally arrived on site as Tift's set was drawing to a close. Most of the band has spent two hours stuck on the M25 in the midday sun.
This has caused a slight delay to setting the stage. Luckily he's the last act on Stage One before the break so he should be able to play his full set. As it is they only lose ten minutes so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
There's a lot of anticipation, Seth's Mercury nomination and his new album "Freedom Fields" have really raised his profile. There are a number of fans at the front that seem to be there for Seth's body as much as his music.
I manage to catch the first part of Seth's set, which has already got the crowd to fever pitch levels. I've got to cut it short to interview Anna & Kevin, the two members of Uiscedwr that aren't on stage with Seth.
Cormac's punishment for being the only member of the band not caught in traffic is banishment to the back of the stage :-)
The interview goes well, but I'm not sure how much I'll be able to pick out on the tapes from the background noise.
Seth is still playing when the interview is finished I'll catch him properly on Stage 2 tomorrow. I take advantage of the gap to get a curry from the Indian before it starts getting really busy.
It really hits the spot, especially when washed down with a can of falling down water. Suitably refreshed time to change t-shirts and get ready for the evening session.
I take a fly past of the Mojo tent to see just how big the queue is getting for Seth's signing session. The queues are  big. Seth is in for a marathon session.
Fully recharged it's time to catch some real Americana with Tom Russell.
Tom is an old-timer who overlaps with the likes of Woodie Guthrie and Jack Kerouac. He speaks and sings with a drawl. He's got a second guitarist, Mike Boydon, with him who also doubles up on mandolin.

Continued