Sunday
Whilst I'd seen a number of Americana acts during the festival and still intended to see at least one more, I'd neglected the world music elements of the bill, until now as Benin born and subsequently exiled world music doyenne, Angelique Kidjo is about to come onto Main Stage.
Kidjo starts singing the moment she leaves the stairs at the back of the stage and proceeds to pretty much cover every centimetre of the stage during her performance. Like Natalie Merchant a few years back, she really does know how to handle the media whilst giving a scintillating performance to the crowd, giving the snappers plenty of opportunity to get great shots.
Dressed in traditional African garb for the first couple of numbers, she removes her hat for the third and subsequent songs, displaying her trademark short cropped blonde hair, but enough of the riotous, brightly coloured visuals, Kidjo's real trademark is her to die for voice and here it's used to its full.
Angelique Kidjo is an Ambassador for UNICEF and though she performs most of her songs in her native language and French, her between song banter makes you fully aware that here is an artist with a wide vision and one who is happy to let her music do the talking on global issues as well as more personal ones. Her set was thoughtful and reflective, but above all it was dynamic and highly entertaining, she seemed to fit into a now decidedly damp English field as though it was made for her.
The delay caused by the weather plays into my hands. The Moulettes are playing in the Den and whilst they should have been on ten minutes earlier it means I get there in time to catch the whole of the set. Particular credit to the small sound team at the Den for turning such a big band around in such a short time, no mean feat.
It's not a full band, there simply isn't enough space for all of them on the living room effect stage. There's also elements of band members slipping on and off. As an aside one of the band plays a nyckelharpa and this one is really bright and blonde. I've only ever seen them old and dark wood before, it transpires it was built by the player's father less than two years ago and matches the wood of her cello.
Whilst it's not the whole band, the Moulettes warm very easily to the atmosphere in the Den, their slightly off the wall style proving to be perfect for the way the venue is set up and it's almost as if they are breathing life back into the bedraggled fans that have made the muddy trek to this corner of the site.
The clouds had started gathering again and there was something about the way the red light of the tent made for strange shadows that were almost tailor made for the dark, gothic folk sound that the band have put together. I nod an apology as I have to leave before the end to head across to catch the start of folk diva, Loreena McKennitt's set.
Unusually for me this year, I've been seeing a lot of a smaller number of bands, rather than a little amount of a lot. That's all about to change with my first, and only, three way split of the festival. Not long after Loreena kicks off on Stage One, English folk legend kicks off on Stage Two and Lera Lynn takes her brand of Americana to the Club Tent.
In order to maximise my enjoyment of the artists, I'm going to go against convention and head to Lera Lynn before seeing Nic Jones, my logic being that one of the other photographers can cover off the early part of Nic's set and that the small area available for photographers up at the Club Tent will be pretty much empty.
The stage for Loreena is pretty much of Clannad proportions including harp and grand piano, but it's an accordion that the flame haired Canadian chanteuse choses to open her set with.
McKennit is a fusion artist of some scale, using essentially Celtic sounds as a backdrop and then weaving in a multitude of genres from across the globe in including sounds that come from the middle east, opera, classical and pop. She's also a big fan of using traditional instruments, such as the hurdy-gurdy, which in its own way might be considered the world's first analogue synth.
Having driven her first two songs with the accordion, song three takes on a real change of pace as she sits down beside the harp and moves to a more delicate number. There is a real aural beauty to the piece, that is probably more soundscape than song. With a very brief thought of catching the rest of the set, I bag up my camera and make a bolt for the Club Tent.
Apart from a few drops of rain, it's pretty much cleared up, but there's that swampy feel and smell to the site as well as some bedraggled individuals. I've had a text from a friend I'm supposed to be meeting later saying that he's decided to call it an early one due to the conditions.