While a gentle stroll around would have been the ideal start to the Saturday the programme was practically calling out that I would need to don my walking boots and put in a good 6 mile hike over the course of the day back and forth to catch as many acts as possible in a 12 hour stretch. Curse you Folk East for booking so many good artists. The, stage and space wise, bijou Broad Roots club tent played host to multi-instrumentalist and former Shave The Monkey man Bryan Causton and singer songwriter Penni Mclaren Walker offering intricate instrumentals aplenty and lyrically thought provoking songs from Penni, while the short hop next door to the Broad Roots stage saw Jools Holland's regular guitarist Mark Flanagan donning a Dobro guitar, taking us on a musical and personal journey, and stopping off for the occasional burst of blues and light hearted songs from his past and present. A very talented guitarist indeed.

Returning to the club tent it was evident that Robb Johnson has not let up in his revolutionary views interspersing up to date songs wondering as to when, and if, the next union leader in the style of Bob Crowe will be found, to pondering if Karl Marx was to come back to life today would he take up skateboarding while wearing a Che Guevara t shirt. You can't help but like Robb's songs, and in this day and age perhaps the only surprise is that there are not more out there like him saying similar things. Trekking cross field past banjo company stalls, food outlets, street entertainers who at festivals become field entertainers, and morris dancing displays (there were many sides represented from all 4 corners of the country) I headed back to the Soapbox stage in the woods to catch Eastern European inspired Guitar and vocals / Trumpet and Accordion duo Moxy Garbanzo. Collectively Andy and Hugh have songs inspired by a love of pies, men who are going bald (with a refrain of comb it over), and the Flat Earth Society, the latter being an instrumental in 7 time. Dextrous and talented musicians both as emphasised most notably on set concluder the Jewish wedding sounding tune 'Hybruderjive' they equally know that a little humour can go a long way. A welcome and upbeat addition to the festival.

Their fun filled set was followed by hotly tipped Kelly Oliver who is soon to release her debut album and has already recorded a session for Bob Harris, something that may not have escaped the various camera crews around the site who turn up to record part of her set. Her influences are drawn mostly it would seem from English and Irish traditional music, and while her set has several self penned songs, most notably the emotive 'Far From Home' they are interspersed with traditional songs such as 'Molly Malone' and a cover of Steve Earle' s popular ' Johnny Come Lately' . Time will tell whether she will stand out in a very crowded area of music, and find her own voice, or become just one of many to pass by this way. In a completely different vein the main stage aka the Sunset stage played host to the Hackney Colliery Band a large, upbeat, bold as brass experience mixing Balkan tunes with hip hop, funk and fun drawing the audience to their feet and getting them up and dancing which is quite an achievement at 4.15 on a Saturday afternoon in Suffolk. ..and so to one of the most entertaining, heart warming and engaging sets of the weekend from the newly appointed patrons of the festival namely the Young 'Uns.

Packing them into the Broad Roots tent their sense of humour shone through and won over many new converts to their harmony laden north eastern roots based songs. Through sing-alongs on 'Boulder Island' and emotive tales of long lost relatives going to war and not returning on 'John Hill' we were taken on a rollercoaster of emotions from sheer joy to pathos and back again. In David Eagle as well they have one of the funniest people on the folk circuit as well. Being blind his stories of getting lost and wandering into the wrong studios at the BBC and getting stuck in their lifts drew both sympathy and heartfelt laughter in equal measures, and his gentle mocking of the volume levels from Lisa Knapp's set from afar almost drowning them out during an acapella number brought both a belly laugh and loud cheer. However perhaps the moment that most surprised came in the encore when they announced that they were going to play one of the finest songs to come out of Manchester and launched into an amazing rendition of 'Sit Down' by James that I doubt anyone expected. Truly a magnificent, captivating, humorous, and thought provoking set from a genuinely likeable bunch of northern scallywags. And so from a bunch of Young 'Uns to a veteran of the folk scene who is having something of a revival namely Michael Chapman.

One of the most deft, dextrous and finest finger picking guitarists on the folk circuit he equally has one of the rawest and whisky soaked voices to accompany his playing as well. On 'Memphis in Winter' amongst many his voice and lyrics seems so full of darkness and foreboding something he readily jokes about. Equally having spent a great deal of time touring America he writes about what he observes while on tour, hence the heartbreaking story of love and loss on 'Truckstop Waitress', while equally he revels in gently goading the American rail network by reminding them that in 'The Mallard' Britain still has a faster train. Watching the audience it was clear to see that there were many guitarists there watching his still nimble fingers and wondering how they too could play like that. There aren't many who can, and this is partly why Michael can draw in a crowd. 5 decades on and now in his early 70s Michael Chapman is still well worth your attention. A great set. The night concluded on the main stage with Blackbeards Tea Party delivering rocked up ceilidh tunes aplenty and amusing dance routines in chasing one another across the stage. The highlight of their set came via their original tune 'Devil in the Kitchen' with its energy, dynamic and drive demanding that you leap to your feet and dance with a wild abandon. However, for me much of the rest of their set was a slightly weaker derivation of his great tune, and while large sections of the audience were in dance heaven I found myself entertained but feeling that there was a similarity to their songs and blueprint for their tunes running throughout the set. A good live band, and upbeat offbeat tunes for sure, but a little too similar in style for me after a while. Good in small amounts like chocolate cake, but a whole cake would be too sweet and sickly and rich. A slice of their set was nice and sufficed though thanks very much.

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