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Ely Folk Festival

Venue: Multi (Sunday Only)
Town: Ely
Date: 13/7/14
Website: http://www.elyfolkfestival.co.uk/

2014 was the third time I've been to the Ely Folk Festival. I've previously been for whole weekends but unfortunately I could only make Sunday this year. Lousy weather apart, however, it was a cracking day.

Owing to torrential rain, I arrived later than expected and just caught a big round of applause for

Flats & Sharps, who obviously went down very well. Blackbeard's Tea Party then took the main stage, and took the place apart with their brand of folk-rock, mixing up-tempo instrumentals with some great songs. Great six piece band boasting 2 good vocalists, two percussionists, accordian, guitar, bass and Laura Boston-Barber, a stunning young blonde playing fiddle (married to one of the percussionists; "lucky sod!" remarked a male in the audience, on hearing this.) More folk-rock, this time more at the "rock" end of the spectrum, came later in the day from The Duncan McFarlane Band, who had the misfortune to get the 5:30 slot and a small audience, but put on a stirring show.

In between these were Vin Garbutt, his usual mix of humour and great songs going down well, and Leila Jane's trio, who, sounded worth a second listen (I only caught 10 minutes of them.)

In the smallest of the three stages, I was very impressed with Enda Kenny - not the Irish Taoiseach, but, an Aussie singer-songwriter with an impressive range of self-penned songs, some very amusing. (He's back in England in May 2015 and looking for gigs.) Instrumental 4-piece "Rum Kelter" proved well worth half an hour.

Finally, the headliners. My only real disappointment of the day was Jim Moray, who, playing solo, I found rather unengaging - I left after 4 or 5 songs - but a lot of others were lapping it up. But Eddi Reader proved a fitting climax, for me the highlight of the day, playing with Boo Hewardine on guitar and other support on double bass and accordion. Most of her set had a very continental feel, rich and atmospheric, rather like Barb Jungr playing French songs in translation (check out "Chanson: The Space In Between" to see what I mean.) Standing room only for latecomers! After a set of great songs, terrific vocals and backing and a few good stories, all went home happy. I invested in her new CD "Vagabond" afterwards.

Ely's one of my favourite festivals, if you haven't been to it, please give it a try. Considering its size, they always seem to get a great range of music, usually including some overseas acts, and they unearth some gems on the smaller stages. Lovely town, too. - great pubs, Oliver Cromwell museum, cathedral, canal and more. I'll try to make the whole weekend next year.

Garry Brooks