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Great British Folk Festival

Venue: Butlins
Town: Skegness
Dates: 4-6/12/15
Website: http://www.bigweekends.com/the-weekends/specialist-music-weekends/great-british-folk-festival.aspx

"Ogres are like onions. They have layers." Shrek said that. How about "Festivals are like strawberries" You can now get them all year round.

Rather like October's English Folk Expo/Homegrown event at Bury's Met theatre, Butlins provides a Winter fix of folk with their Great British Folk Festival. Adding to their Winter calendar of live music weekends, the 2015 folk event was sold out with towards six thousand heading East and packing into Skegness' Skyline Pavilion and beyond. It simply confirms the fact that these weekends and the folk genre are in rude health and with the east coast escaping the battering of extreme weather laying waste to other parts of the country, Skegness, or Skeg Vegas as some call it, was the place to be.

Also like The Met, the event brings together a quality bill of folk acts which is as good as any larger folk festival has to offer; all on three stages and with a mouthwatering choice, there are times when bagging a decent spot for the duration means missing out on something worthwhile elsewhere but as they say in nearby Yorkshire, you pays your money, you makes your choice. A slight sense of déjà vu prevailed with FATEA joining the Northern Sky contingent out in force and the return of the three most popular bands from last year's 'Introducing' stage striking up a sense of warm familiarity. That and the brisk walk on the beach after breakfast to blow away any cobwebs following any shenanigans from the late night bands.

Friday Saturday Sunday Gallery

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Sunday

Of the days 'Introducing' acts, a couple of singer/songwriters in Dan Webster and Chris Cleverley (check out his interesting 'Apparitions' debut album), for want of a better term, competed with the Black Feathers duo and the lively Polly and The Billets Doux. The country blues of the latter possibly(?) edging what would be an interesting public vote although Big Tent, a three piece with some interesting sounds, might well have captured the imagination of those who prefer something a little more at a tangent. Time will tell.

It seemed strange that Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman should be opening the afternoon with their pedigree. Mind, Kathryn was on later with Fotheringay and hitting the road with them over the next few days and Sean had a trip back to Devon to make so fair enough. After a period when their duo work was on ice, they've retuned over the past couple of years with a vengeance and struck gold with their feisty interpretations of traditional material, the smuttier the better it seems, and some telling original material. With style icon Kathryn sporting a splendid new pair of shoes and using her AAA lanyard as a belt, watch out for the latter to catch on. And style and image is something that is quite a trademark of The Band From County Hell; local yet with influences from all the British isles, they have a can do attitude and professionalism, not quite as polished as the Lakemans, yet again deserving of their chance to move on up in the GBFF rankings. Giving way to Blazin' Fiddles, both bands had the dancers on their feet, the fiddlers supplemented by keys and Anna Massie's guitar yet clearly the focus is the four fiddlers stretched across the front of the stage in a bizarre Quo-like line delivering, just like Quo, an ongoing flurry of fiddling making it difficult not to nod your head, tap your feet or sit still.

In Tradarr, you have a multitalented et of musicians with pedigrees and CVs which are far too long to note her, yet with Marion Fleetwood and PJ Wright adding their musical weight to the band, they were perhaps the surprise package for those whose folk knowledge isn't quite as wide as some. A strong vocal presence and sound which didn't challenge too far from the comfort zone, yet tickled the edge of folk rock and won a fair few fans with their 'cautionary Tales' album hot off the press. Much better known possibly is the name of Ric Sanders and if not, then his distinctive ponytail and reverse cap singles him out as the instantly recognisable Fairport fiddler. His trio and the trio which make up Clutching At Straws almost offered two ends of the spectrum. Ric and his guys very tried and tested, offering up something closer to rhythm & blues while the CAS guys were much more at one with the earth both musically and in their lyrical inspiration and framed beautifully, lit in shafts of white light, creating quite a spectacle. Almost as spectacular in its whiteness as the colour in Maddy Prior's coat. Steeleye Span, gaining the patronage of Terry Pratchett was the icing on the cake for the one band whose longevity has been earned through constant gigging and recording alongside a commitment to keep the kettle boiling despite the turnaround of musicians. It's Maddy though who's another one of those icons - the word does keep presenting itself - who have found their path leading to Butlins.

With Pentangle and then Fotheringay closing the festival later on, there was a feeling of déjà vu, for once it not being Sam Sweeney playing in more than the one band; PJ Wright and Gerry Conway seeming to get plenty stage time, not that anyone was counting. Jacqui Shee naturally remains the iconic frontwoman of the former, delivering a set which was much more than a tribute to John Renbourn who passed away earlier this year. Their jazz inflections of their take on folk, as always pushing the music close to the edge - maybe explaining why jazz musicians grimace so much - "whoa - almost lost it there…….." Not that anyone was doing the maths either but there were quite a few years experience on stage on Sunday evening, with Pentangle and Fotheringay - and indeed a rare treat and at the same time wonderful to hear from Jerry Donohue that there are plans to continue to keep the music and the legend of Fotheringay alive. The second song in, 'The Sea' was absolutely lush and amidst all the icons on show, this band playing this music was perhaps the one which encompassed the fact that folk music is about the timelessness and continuity of the music, passing on the baton if you like and in this case, paying a real tribute to the folklore of Fotheringay. There were some special performances over the weekend but this one was simply sublime and one to savour. In Kathryn Roberts and Sally Barker, the Sandy Denny sound and style is respectfully acknowledged and watching a set of musicians of this stature recreate the legacy of music from 1970 and bring it into a contemporary setting was a lesson for those learning their craft to the musicians who are in their twilight years.

It rounded the weekend off quite perfectly in fact. Another Butlins success where the folk tradition was celebrated - a bit like a brief visit from the ghosts of Christmas past with a glimpse of Christmases to come. And to once again reinforce the fact that folk music is in good shape, there was the opportunity, flush with the adrenaline of this year, to book in for 2016, Donovan and Kate Rusby will be there. And The Levellers - in Skegness? In December? You bet!

Mike Ainscoe