Friday

With the Sam Kelly Trio coming on next, followed by a few Folk Club guests, who have been through the on site sign up process so I make the decision to stay at Club for the rest of the evening.

Between sets I bump into Ange Hardy and most of the Willows and there's time for a quick chinwag.

I first became aware of Sam Kelly as part of The Changing Room, a Cornish based collective he formed with Tanya Brittain and who released their debut album, "Behind The Lace" and who also had a track, "The River Runs Between" on our Spring Showcase, "Tides" earlier in the year.

As a solo artist he picked up a nomination for best singer at this year's Spiral Earth Awards. Until now I've yet to see him in any live capacity and it's alongside banjo player Jamie Francis and bodhran player/percussionist Evan Carson, also a recent addition to The Willows that he takes to the stage, in the guise of the Sam Kelly Trio.

It's very quickly obvious that the Sam Kelly Trio are an act very comfortable in the own skin and despite being a relatively new band you can feel this sense of trust that they have in each other. It's something that not only allows them to explore a number of related genres reaching out from folk, across Americana, not forgetting Celtic influences along the way.

There's an almost faultless character to the way they present their songs, something that worries me on most occasions as you can feel the spirit of the music has been sacrificed to technique, something definitely not the case here. The Sam Kelly Trio came across as act that likes to explore what they are doing, but also to do so in a way relies on the other members of the band giving you that freedom. Here is a band that definitely works.

There is a bit of a departure from the Club Tent with the conclusion of the Sam Kelly Trio's showcase, which is a bit of a shame for the following artists, but from a personal and slightly selfish point of view, does allow me to get to the bar and catch up on festival gossip, whilst the hard working sound crew at the Club Tent turn the stage around again.

The next act that I manage to catch is Zoe Wren who, along with a number of other artists playing as part of the signing process that the various Folk Clubs who host the sessions in the Club Tent use to create opportunities for musicians that attend the festival to be able to get up on stage and play.

I was fortunate enough to catch Zoe's set last year, which also lead to an appearance on the Brian McNeill Session the following day and I was expecting a great, though, because of the nature of the slots, short slot and wasn't disappointed.

It was a shame that there weren't more people to see it as what Zoe delivered was the set of a young artist becoming more confident in their ability to relate to the audience, it wasn't just the assured way she delivered her songs, it was also the way she introduced them, feeling confident enough not to need to rush into the next number, but to take time for a bit of an introduction albeit for one of her own songs or one drawn from other writers. A set that was very easy to enjoy.

Amy Goddard happened to be playing at Cambridge on the last day that her track on the Fatea Summer 15 compilation "Surf" was available. Coincidently Skinny Lister, performing on the Saturday, would be performing on the day their session, "Undercurrent" is launched, I detract.

Originally from Wales, but more recently based in Portsmouth, Amy released her debut solo album, "Burn And Glow" last year, one that showed her to be an accomplished singer-songwriter and judging by her performance here, something she can turn very easily to the live environment.

Like many musicians, Amy has honed her craft playing the Folk Clubs and other venues and listening to her set, she still seems to enjoy exploring the songs and being part of a journey with them, definitely not an artist to try turning the studio album into the live set of vica versa. It was a thoroughly entertaining set and one that gave the impression that Amy could easily slot into almost any venue and feel very much at home, an impression that Cambridge Folk Festival would seem to aid and abet.

For me that was an end to the music for the night. Still time to catch up with friends and catch up with some of the activities that make festivals what they are. It's also time to compare festivals, there are literally thousands of combinations available and that's just the Friday. There might also be some general banter and world being put to rights.

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