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Great British Folk Festival

Venue: Butlins
Town: Skegness
Date: 29th November - 1st December
Website: http://www.bigweekends.com

Sunday

Normally Both the main venues close after the third act of the afternoon, but this year was somewhat different with Reds staying open so that a young up and coming band, in this case, Common Tongues, a chance to perform. A glance at my watch tells me I've got time to eat, but I'm going to need to be quick.

Fortunately I beat the rush and get to Reds just as Common Tongues are finishing their sound check. I know the band reasonably well, I was impressed enough by their early releases to offer them a slot on the Fatea Showcase Sessions and they responded by allowing the use of "Solitary Thinker", coincidently the song they opened up with.

Whilst the crowd had dwindled from that which had greeted Fairport, in more than made up the gap in enthusiasm and Common Tongues were keen to reciprocate by giving them something to shout about. They joked that technically due to the running order, Fairport had been their warm up, they certainly left a receptive audience.

Common Tongues style of contemporary folk rock with indie stylings had struck a real chord with the crowd. It was only after they finished did they discover they would have to disappoint some of the audience as they managed to sell their entire stock of CDs way before the queues ran down. I hope those didn't get one on the day remembered to check the website to get a subsequent copy.

Next up is an artist that I consider to one of the best songwriters I know, Reg Meuross. Why he isn't a household name I don't know. Actually I do, it because of the lack of proper shows on both tv and radio to give artists like Reg the audience they deserve. It's no coincidence that Reg's material gets played extensively on community and internet radio stations, but there he's playing to the converted. A chat earlier had also let me know that he's brought another Fatea Showcases' artist, Jess Vincent with him for a guest appearance.

Reg is an entertainer that knows how to work an audience , place names are referenced, people are name checked, the gaps between songs permeated with banter. The songs themselves covering a range of history, politics and emotions light and dark and you can feel his passion for them and the narratives in every note. Even so it's a real highlight when he's joined on stage by Jess for what was expected to be the last song, a duet serenely performed. As it was he's allowed that rare festival event, a well deserved encore.

My next choice is a simple one, rising star and former Fatea Showcase Sessions artist, Luke Jackson, followed by Martyn Joseph over at Centre Stage or tired old has been Richard Digence, an artist that I have so little respect for I can't even be bothered to spell his name correctly. I start walking.

Despite only being nineteen, Luke Jackson is one of my favourite artists. One of the real prizes in my CD collection is a CD of unreleased demos that he put together prior to his exceptional debut album "More Than Boys", the Fatea debut album of the year in 2012. He plays with a maturity of artists two, three and even four times his age and similarly there is something in his songs that speaks of an old soul that belies his youth.

In fairness Luke is probably getting fed up with comments like that, but you only have to look at the impact his comparatively short set had to the seasoned campaigners at GBFF to know that we were watching something very special, as he held the audience almost spellbound, totally absorbed by the performer front and centre.

If there is a flaw in his act, it's the between song banter, not the introduction of his own songs I should hasten to add. It's the one spot where his youthfulness does count against him, but rather than try and fill in with jokes and anecdotes he's yet to have, he introduces the song and gets on with it, something you can't fault him for.

Over the course of his set he covers that process of getting older the move from teenager into young man, but there is a lot more to his set than that rite of passage. It's the songs that he writes about the events and people that inspire him that mark him out as something special. This was for me my set of the festival.

I have the luxury of basking in the enjoyment of it all. Martyn Joseph has to follow Luke straight out, no break, and take over, he kicks in with a rocky one, the spell is shattered and the audience are his, now that's an experienced professional.

Much of his material comes from his recent Bruce Springsteen tribute album, "Tires Rushing By In The Rain" where live he sometimes manages to out boss The Boss, though that's one for debate, what isn't up for debate is that Joseph is a man that puts his whole self into the performance, body and soul.

There is so much energy coming from the stage that the audience can't help but return it. Whilst he forgoes his usual foray into the audience, he does get as close to them as he possibly can without teetering off the stage. Magnificent.

That just leaves the choice of band to wind down to, it's still too early for Carols and Christmas songs so that rules out St Agnes Fountain, instead I take the chance to wind down in the company of Ronnie Lane's old band, Slim Chance.

The Great British Folk Festival is over for another year. Once again there have been sound problems, but for me, not enough to detract from a festival that is establishing its self as a must see. Great to see young, rising artists here this year, something I hope the organisers continue to push through, a damned fine end to my festival season 2013.

Neil King