Co-Operative Cambridge Folk Festival
Sunday
Before the start of the next song, I manage to get to the Guinness bar to photograph Cameron's 4th birthday party. Cameron was born not long after his mother went into labour at Cambridge Folk Festival. There's a small gathering in the Guinness bar to celebrate the event every year and it means the lucky lad gets two parties. This year Cameron and friends have got a tropical theme with an inflatable palm tree to dance around and boas to wear.
Mairtin O'Connor, Cathal Hayden and Seamie O'Dowd are all virtuosos of their instruments, accordion, fiddle and banjo, guitar respectively, all have acquired themselves outstanding reputations solo and as part of other bands.
They continue to inspire musicians across the generations. Another well known fiddler once said of Cathal Hayden, 'I would crawl across broken glass to blow the flies off his poo' which I think makes the point more succinctly than I could.
Whilst the band have appeared on each others recordings for a while, it wasn't until the end of last year that they got around to recording an album in their own name, the critically acclaimed, "Crossroads".
Live they add a bit of blarney to the songs giving them great introductions, one of their set of tunes is bout two goats fighting at the top of a cliff, each trying to push the other one off and the bodhran maker waiting at the bottom, in order to make good use of the loser, naturally they dedicated the song to the bodhran makers. In fact the band have a bodhran player on stage with them taking them up to a quartet for the day.
You can hear why they are an inspiration to so many other musicians. It's the subtlety of their playing that sets them apart. Hard and fast is an easy way to get an audience going. To play the audience and get the response you want to a particular tune takes real skill.
It's that ability to hold an audience enrapt that takes true genius, to reach the point where you force the audience to take notice by the use of subtle phrasing and great interplay, forcing your crowd to hear what's going on in order to get the best out of what's being played.
Of course, they can cut loose anytime they like and often do, but it's not at the expense of subtlety, there is still loads going on within the tune. There are times when you find yourself doing a double take, just to ensure there are only three people still on stage. This has all the hallmarks of being a really good Sunday.
I'd first caught Joe and Megan Henwood as part of the Brian McNeill Session yesterday and determined to see a whole set. Having missed them in the Club Tent, it was back to Stage Two to catch them there.
The combination of Meg's voice and Joe's sax is something that really works well. It brings the music to the area where folk meets acoustic pop and as a genre it's a pretty crowded area, but I'd say that they've got that spark that sets them apart.
Look at Megan, I can't help thinking that if punk had been around at the same time as the Pre-Raphaelites, Megan would have been in great demand as an artists muse as well as a singer.
They start the set as the duo, pretty much reprising the short set they'd played the previous day. It soon becomes obvious why, as they reach song four, Megan invites the band on stage. The band represent some of the best known bands in folk music, including the likes of Steeleye Span and provide some serious oomph for Megan to work off.
For me the full band sound works better the additional depth allows the songs more freedom of expression, a chance to be more distinct. Joe continues to add to great sax flourishes, something that's more difficult to do when it's role in the duo is to be more of an accompanying instrument.
The whole set has a very contemporary feel, there's a number of diverse influences that pull together in Megan's music. At times I'm sure there's an Indian inspired sound drifting away just below the surface,
Megan and Joe came to folk at an early age, it's good to see that they are already confident enough within the genre to mash it up a bit and try and find a sound that's theirs. It looks like they are well on that road.
From a duo at the start of establishing their reputation to a trio that have already established their reputation and then some, Lau.
There's just time to take in the Gator judging on the way past. We're doing a feature on the gator parade this year so keep an eye out in that section for the piece.
Playing Stage One, Lau have similar instrumentation to Mairtin O'Connor, Cathal Hayden and Seamie O'Dowd in that their prime instruments accordion, fiddle and guitar. It's the way Martin Green Kris Drever and Aidan O'Rourke use them that makes them so very different.
Lau launched a new album, "Arc Light" earlier in the year, the follow up to their debut "Lightweights & Gentlemen". Whilst the bands albums have been both strong and critically acclaimed, it's as a live act they've really built their formidable reputation.
Like Mairtan etc. Lau have brought an additional player, but instead of bodhran, they opt for a pedal steel player, definitely not what I was expecting. The band seem to be in a playful mood. Normally Aidan gives of an intense air, he's the member of the band that I would have least expected to have produced a camera to photograph the rest of the band, half the pit ponies and the audience.
There is something relaxed about the day, maybe it's the sun beaming down outside, maybe the effects of a lunchtime pint or simply because it's Cambridge, but there is a distinct laid back feel to the day.
Lau live up to their reputation as a live outfit. They bring on a couple more guests in the shape of Bella Hardy and Corrina Hewat. It's going to be one of those occasions where you never know quite what's going to happen next.
To have a singer of the ability of Kris Drever sat within an instrumental powerhouse just gives you so many options. Sunday is definitely shaping up to be a good day.