The Greats Of Wath
Wath Festival is currently in its 35th year and is firmly established as a traditional part of the May Bank holiday festivities. This year it promises to be even better than ever with a fantastic line-up of some of the top artists in the Folk and World Music scene. The festival was started with the enthusiasm shown by the Wath Morris Men, who still take a major part in the Festival and is held annually over May Bank Holiday weekend, this year running between Wednesday 29th April and Monday 4th May. It also encompasses the traditional throwing of bread buns from the church tower, which is carried out to fulfil the requirements of the will of a former local resident to provide the poor with bread! In addition to the dancing and general street entertainment there is a programme of concerts, which although folk-based, have diverged a little over the years into world music.
The May Day Bank Holiday weekend events begin with the 'Eric Sampson Memorial Concerts' which take place at Wath's 'Montgomery Hall' on the Wednesday and Thursday evenings prior to the May Day weekend. Eight local schools participate in the concerts, each one lasting for around two hours, and the audiences for the concerts are generally made up of parents and grand parents of the one hundred or so participants. Owing to the potential for large audiences entry to the concerts is by 'ticket only' these usually being supplied free of charge to the schools for distribution prior to the events.
The main programme for 2009 features a wide range of diverse acts including THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN, who are much more than a novelty act. The Ukes were booked for the 2009 Wath Festival before we took our seats for the 2008 Festival last year, such is the enthusiastic anticipation surrounding this quality act. We are also pleased to have THE DEMON BARBER'S ROADSHOW the recipients of the Best Live Act award at the 2009 BBC Folk Awards, who will be appearing on Sunday night. With several BBC Folk Awards under her belt including the Horizon Award, Best Song, Best Album (2005) and Best Song (2007) with no less than eight nominations in total, we are pleased to have THE KARINE POLWART TRIO also on Sunday night. Friday night's headliners CHUMBAWAMBA have more or less abandoned their 'Tubthumping' days in order concentrate on topical songs, with a wry look at subjects ranging from social networking, domestic violence, religion, racism, fascism, war, homosexuality, pop culture, resistance, working class rights, and consumerism.
From Oregon we bring to Wath a taste of Americana with the singer songwriter RACHEL HARRINGTON and mandolin virtuoso ZAK BORDEN. One-man orchestra RORY McLEOD will be demonstrating his unique talents on Saturday afternoon and two prominent British songwriters CLIVE GREGSON and PETE MORTON will be taking to the stage on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon respectively, showcasing some of the finest contemporary songs in Britain today.
Making a welcome return to the festival will be American singer songwriter CATHRYN CRAIG together with the amazing guitar player BRIAN WILLOUGHBY who make up one of the most impressive duos on the scene today. On Sunday CHRIS WHILE makes two appearances at the festival, first of all with fiddle player JOE BROUGHTON and then again later in the evening with her equally talented daughter KELLIE WHILE together providing some of the best harmonies in the business.
One of the finest contemporary songwriters to have emerged in recent years is ROSIE DOONAN who continues to re-write the Doonan family heritage, appearing with her full band on Saturday afternoon. Opening the Sunday afternoon concerts will be TOM BLISS making a return visit to the festival with his vast repertoire of folk songs and stories.
Also making a return visit to the festival this year are KATRIONA GILMORE and JAMIE ROBERTS who dazzled the festival with their dextrous playing and tight arrangements last year. With the release of their remarkable debut album 'Shadows and Half Light' the duo promise to win over a few more fans and friends on Saturday afternoon.
With a current endeavour to make LES BARKER the next poet lauriet, Wath are pleased to have him back and look forward to his latest observations. Last but not least we have WW.COMBO, comprising Gary Wells, who has allegedly played at every Wath Festival so far, along with songwriters Allan and Liam Wilkinson, making their third consecutive appearance at the festival.
In addition to the main concert venue at Montgomery Hall, there will be a special marquee, which will provide various events such as the Breaking With Tradition event, featuring a whole host of additional artists including JON GOMM, ROGER DAVIES, CHARLIE BARKER plus the winners of the BPAS Group's Young Acoustic Roots Competition. On Sunday, the Real Music Bar will be featuring HOLLY TAYMAR, ANDY HOULT & CATHERINE BINDEN, LOU MARRIOTT, PETE THORNTON-SMITH and PAUL PEARSON, CHRIS TREEBEARD & CERI ASHTON.
Also in the marquee and following on from the success of ITV's 'X-Factor', a talent competition is to be run over the Festival weekend under the banner of WATH'S GOT TALENT which will be open to all ('unplugged' only).
In the evening of Saturday 16th May, two weeks after the main Festival events, a fund-raising Ceilidh is to be held at Montgomery Hall. All profits raised from this event will be divided equally between two local charities.
A spokesperson for the Festival said "We are regarded as a friendly folk festival and have grown to being the largest one of its kind in South Yorkshire but it is still very much a community event. Every year the quality of the artists goes up and up, and we are looking forward to a fantastic festival this year with some of the top names currently in the Folk scene.
Ticket hotline: 07892 658467 Email: wath.festival@btinternet.com Website: www.wathfestival.org.uk