43rd Cambridge Folk Festival

Saturday

Bellowhead are one of the biggest bands on the folk circuit and won award after award for their live dates and their "Burlesque" album.
They closed the festival a couple of years back and bringing the afternoon to conclusion seems a strange slot, it doesn't matter an iota to them there's a reason why they've won those awards.
They manage to turn a sunny afternoon into a Saturday night at the sort of bar you wouldn't want your kids to go to. With so many instruments there are so many directions they can go off and during the course of the set they go down many of them.
They play a sea shanty that was written by a hairy Brazilian, if that's not a contradiction in terms. There are few bands that could pull off either the joke or the song, Bellowhead are definitely one of them.
There is so much happening on stage, it's almost inevitable that the crowd is going to become infected with the dynamism that's coming their way faster than bird flu on a falcon.
They won themselves another swathe of fans and you don't have to be Mystic Meg to predict that the Radio Two Stage is going to be packed on Sunday.
Mainstage One is taking a break for tea, very civilised.
There's also a gap at Radio Two Stage so I can feed my hunger without the pangs of guilt.
It turns out I can't eat, I'd forgotten that Lisa Knapp was playing the Club Tent, so camera bag in hand I scurry across the site. The session being hosted by Acoustic Routes is running slightly late and a Fatea favourite, Megson are still on stage, bonus.
They play songs from both of their albums. They are a band that has always gone down well in the Club Tent and the albums have gone down well, maybe they'll get a bigger stage next year.
As it is they seem to enjoying this one. One of the things I like about them is that not all of their tracks are doom laden, they often take inspiration from the positive things in life and it makes them very easy to listen to.
I pop outside for a quick chat whilst the stage is being set for Lisa Knapp. It turns out Stu and Debbie will be heading back to their native Middlesbrough later in the year to tie the knot. We wish them success to go with their future happiness.
The first thing I notice about Lisa Knapp is that she doesn't really look like the person that's on the sleeve of her highly acclaimed album "Wild And Undaunted". A check of her picture in the festival program confirms her identity. I've only ever heard her stunning voice on cd, I've never seen her play live, before now, and that's about to change in fifteen or so seconds.
The stage crew have done a fantastic job on the turnaround. All of the stage crews work hard and do a fantastic job, but the Club Tent crew, often just two guys, have to turn a band around, one in one out, every fifteen minutes when the turn up and play sessions are running.
Lisa kicks of her set in front of a crowd that is challenging Seth Lakeman's record for size. The compere has asked everyone to stand up so the other snappers have legged it down the front. I nick a chair and shoot over the top of the crowd.
There is something about Lisa Knapp that reaches for the raw side of personality. She has a voice that is so full of life. On stage it's joined by a pair of captivating blue eyes, she gives the impression of someone born free and filled with wanderlust to lead a life of her own choosing. Just add Sandy Denny's voice and if you've never heard her, you now know what you're missing.
As well as being a fine performer, Lisa Knapp is a multi-instrumentalist. It sets up for a colourful and contrasting set, rich in texture. Lisa can lead you from the shallows into the depths and back again. Hopefully it won't be too long before I see her again.

Often one of the artists that play a session returns to play all the stages the following year, with a performance like this and such an understanding of song Lisa Knapp must be a serious candidate.

Continued