Sunday

I can feel the weekend catching up on me. There’s one more band to see as part of the official festival. I chose Salsa Celtica over Croft No.5 after independent reviews of both their sets the night before.
English folk Goddess Eliza Carthy is guesting with the band at the moment, whilst members of her own band finish breeding. It must be quite inspirational to take time out to absorb yourself in a completely different style of music.
The last time I saw Salsa Celtica, I didn’t think it worked. They seem to have gone more Salsa and easier on the Celt and I think it pulls the whole thing into a stronger sound. Latino rhythms are a great way to end a sultry summer night, particularly why those rhythms are accompanied by a banjo amongst other things.
It’s a great finale. There’s still time to have a chat with an old school friend of Emmylou Harris and help him find the people that he’s staying with. There’s a beer or two still to be downed. The crowd are making their way home. Peter Buckley Hill has his dedicated audience for his Sunday night set in the field.
Another Cambridge is over and the work begins tomorrow on getting the site up and running.
What sort of year was it in the grand scheme of things? It was a good year musically, but I think it fell sort of last year’s very vintage year. Highlights of the festival for me were Rachel Unthank & The Winter Set, Mauvais Sort, Cara Dillon, John Butler Trio, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Uiscedwr, Tift Merritt and Tom Russell.
There were also a couple of bands that I thought under performed. This may have been down to the weather. I may just not want to have been where they were going.
There were three acts that I was disappointed not to have seen, William Elliot Whitmore, Rosie Doonan and Ben Murray, The Hub Band. It was all down to scheduling conflicts I normally got carried away at other acts. The Hub Band in particular I was annoyed about as The Hub had worked really hard to bring the collective together and they will never perform again, but hopefully there’ll be a new Hub Band next year.
Overall I enjoyed this year more than last. The music is only part of the festival. It’s about catching up with old friends and making new ones. I know that sounds clichéd but its part of the event.
The craic was good. Problems were encountered and overcome. The weather held, for the most part and ultimately I had fun.