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Love Folk Festival

Venue: The Atkinson
Town: Southport
Date: 13-14/2/15
Website: http://www.theatkinson.co.uk/

In contrast to the frenetic good-time music of 3 Daft Monkeys, the next act on stage was singer-songwriter and melodeon maestro Luke Daniels, who was accompanied by Ian Stephenson on guitar. Luke is best known as an in-demand melodeon player who has played with Ian Anderson, De Dannan, the Riverdance Band and the Cara Dillon Band but recently he has established himself as a guitar-playing singer-songwriter. This afternoon, Luke and Ian played a series of songs from Luke's album "What's Here, What's Gone". His powerful songs deal with serious subjects such as our common source of power ["In Our Hearts"] and suicide ["All My Dreams"]. On a more romantic note, Luke took the grand piano to sing a love song for Valentine's Day ["What She Means"].

Swapping his guitar for a rare zither-banjo, Luke sang his composition "A River Runs Through Her Name", which is dedicated to Shannon, the fiddle player with The Paperboys. Returning to the instrument with which he is most associated, Luke took up his melodeon for a pair of tunes called "Wings Of Desire" and "Good Morning Mr. Magpie".

I was looking forward to see the Jackie Oates Trio as Jackie's album "Hyperboreans" is a particular favourite of mine. Accompanying Jackie were Mike Cosgrove on accordion and Tristan Seume on guitar. I am pleased to say that Jackie sang several songs from "Hyperboreans", including "The Miller And His Three Sons", "The Pleasant Month Of May", the title track "Hyperboreans"[written by Alasdair Roberts] and parting song "May The Kindness" by Exeter songwriter Dave Wood. "Hyperboreans" was produced by Jackie's brother Jim Moray, who also wrote for her the lovely "Wishfulness Waltz", which Jackie sang beautifully tonight.

Jackie's most recent release is the recorded-in-Iceland [the country not the shop] "Lullabies" album and from it she performed the lovely "Dream Angus" concerning the Celtic god of dreams and "The Posey Rhyme", a playground song from Ilminster.

From lullabies we were taken to a grisly murder ballad, specifically Child Ballad No. 88 or "Young Johnson" as it is known and which appears on Jackie's 2011 album "Saturnine". Jackie's spirited delivery belied the grim nature of the story.

Mike Cosgrove apparently has a penchant for writing Finnish-style Tangos and the Trio gave us a set of these quirky tunes called "Finnish[Ish]" which incorporated Mike's "Well Done Nigel"and "The Humours of Berry Pomeroy" and which featured some great interplay between Jackie on fiddle, Mike on accordion and Tristan on guitar. I understand that the "Nigel" referred to is the vicar of Berry Pomeroy, a village near Totnes.

Jackie played tribute to the Incredible String Band with a rendition of Mike Heron's morning hymn "Sleepers Awake" on which she accompanied herself on a shruti box that "someone left at my house".

This was a most enjoyable and warmly received set from Jackie, Mike and Tristan. Jackie is currently working on a new album and I, for one, can't wait to hear it.

Continued