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London Folk And Roots Festival

Venue: Amersham Arms
Town: London
Date: 28th October
Website: https://www.facebook.com/LondonFolkAndRootsFestival

Folk and roots music has got some great duos and the London Folk And Roots Festival had two rising double acts on the bill, Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker would be up later, but the stage was now right for the Kilcawley Family who had hot-tailed it down from Lancaster to take part. The duo are in the middle of recording their debut album, for which the phrase, much anticipated, truly does apply.

Their appearance also brought about the first siting of the autoharp during the day and boy was it put to good use with Rabhouhi delivering a masterclass in how to play the sensuous instrument, more than ably assisted by Damon on gob iron and guitar. Their Americana influenced sound brought a noticeable decrease in the background noise as they delivered a short, sharp, set well worth anyone's attention.

Lorraine Wood's performance not long after highlighted the strength in depth of female singer-songwriters taking part in the festival. There really was a scintillating variation in the songwriting themes. Bob reminded the audience that they were here to watch and listen to acts, which was timely as Lorraine has that classic understatement in her performance. There are subtle hooks in the songs that draw you in and then, depending on the song, turn into cruel and vicious barbs, or gentle caresses that explore and sooth the pain.

Having expected to see Troubadour Rose next, I was quite surprised to only see Bryony Afferson take to the stage, unfortunately illness had tricemated the band. Whilst that meant that we weren't going to get the rich and lush harmonies associated with the band, it give Bryony a chance to confirm that she is very much a talent in her own right, one that she really took hold of. It would possibly have been easier to have pulled, but she's made of sterner stuff, even inviting the great Jack Day to come on stage and share a song, one of my highlights of the evening.

Trent Miller is a regular favourite on Bob's Folk Show and one of the few artists on the bill that it's been my pleasure to see perform live before, so I thought I knew what to expect. What I didn't expect was for his set to include a fiddle player, one that really helped to bring emphasis to Trent's raw, heart on a sleeve type sound. His music does evoke images of both the new and old west, there is a harshness to it that sometimes has to be lived to be believed in and you always get that from Trent's performance. The fiddle added a subtle anchor, one that held the sound, and gave a counterpoint to that emotive drive.

By luck the last act I was able to watch, due to the idiosyncrasies of London Transport and the joys of getting to where I was staying was one of the two acts that were at the top of my must see list for the day, Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker, the other was Jack Day, but that, to borrow a phrase, hit the buffers, sorry Jack.

Another of the artists that had put in the miles to be at the festival was, coincidently, another former Fatea Showcase Session artist, Jo Bywater. Based in Liverpool, Jo has got a really hard blues style, one that has a deep vein of truth running through the music. Jo calls it as she sees it, there is real poetry in her performance. There's a real punch in her recorded work, but hearing that directness live really is something else.

Prolific writers and interpreters of song, Josienne & Ben are starting to get noticed on the wider folk scene, not as widely as they deserve yet, but the green shoots are definitely opening, as should your doors if you're a festival organiser and the duo come knocking.

The set starts with one of the strongest cover's I've heard of the Sandy Denny signature tune "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" after which Josienne laments that she arrived too late to write it herself. You can tell from her own songs that Sandy and to a lesser extent Annie Briggs have guided her style and performance, you can also tell that she left plenty of room for herself in those songs too.

In Ben Walker, she has an excellent musical partner. His playing is so very very subtle. He sits delivers on song after song, supporting Josienne's lead by lending his strength, it leads to a sound that is the sweetness below the bitterness of the subject matter within the songs.

Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker are excellent performers of as well as creators of music, their show tonight confirmed them as a consummate duo, well worthy of wider exposure, who knows maybe even the first session on the new Mark Radcliff Folk Show, either way a fantastic end for my attendance at the inaugural London Folk & Roots Festival. The festival team have done themselves proud.

Words & PIctures Neil King