Loading

Great British Folk Festival

Venue: Butlins
Town: Skegness
Date: 30th November - 2nd December
Website: http://www.bigweekends.com

Saturday

Morning at the Great British Folk Festival is definitely a leisurely affair. Wander off, get a paper, head to the Yacht Club to take in the full English breakfast. Either potter around on the site, taking advantage of the amenities Butlins has to offer or simply socialising with friends.

For the few, those hard few, there's a walk down to the sandy beach to be vigorously awakened by the North sea breeze. It would be fair to say there are a number of hats and scarves on view, but it's also worth noting how quickly they come off once you get indoors.

It has to be said there is something very civilised about this indoor festival malarkey, I guess that if this is your first introduction to the festival scene, it could quite easily ruin you for other festivals, The lure of a warm bed, reasonably priced beer and food and a dishwasher does give a cold and uncomfortable tent a very different perspective.

There is one thing that the Great British Folk Festival does need to look at, timing, more so because they are now running two stages all the time. On the plus side they are now scheduling the opening of the venues earlier in order to get people in in plenty of time, they need to ensure that they open at the time stated.

The main reason for the overrun was soundchecks. At a lot of festivals, all the artist gets is a line-check, here they get a full soundcheck and that leads to over runs which have a knock on effect down the line and difficult, if not impossible to catch up. Personally I would rather have a choice of acts and accept that the sound may not be spot at the start, rather than either running a single stage to make backstage management easier or have to wait outside in the cold. Rant over.

First choice of the day is singer-songwriter Patsy Matheson over ceilidh band Shinjig, or at least subsequent reports described them as being a dance/ceilidh band who seemed more than capable of delivering a good time. Patsy used to be part of the quartet, Waking The Witch, who had previously played the rock and blues festival, but this was her debut at The Great British Folk Festival and the first time I'd seen her perform solo in some time.

Her set starts with a slowed down, folked up version of the classic Clash track, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" before slipping into something with a slightly more jazz feel. Patsy recently released the album "Stories Of Angels & Guitars" and that formed a good section of the set, including a couple of sing-a-long numbers, resplendent with the obligatory run through of the choruses. It has to be said, some people were in a lot finer voice than others, with volume making up the short fall.

Patsy also took the opportunity to give two new songs a day out and if they are any indication of the album to come, then personally I can't wait, but frustratingly know I'll have to. I think the title of one of the new ones was "Hollies" a song about first real love with a fantastic bittersweet feel to it, but it was her composition "Seven Buttons" that was for me the star of the show. It was a song with a real poignancy to it and one of those songs that lingers in the head, long after the last chord has drifted away, a great way to start the afternoon.

I choose to stay in Reds for the next act, Deborah Bonham and yes she is related to those two other standard bearers of the Bonham name, being sister to the late, great John and aunt to the very much alive Jason.

Though better known for her blues rock sound, this set veers much more towards the folk rock genre, partly driven by two numbers from her brother's previous band, Led Zep, of which the definite pick of the crop was her cover of "The Battle Of Evermore" a track that in the day featured folk legend Sandy Denny and to paraphrase the IBM quote, no one ever got sacked for performing a Sandy Denny song well.

In part Deborah's set was played with the ghost of John sitting on her shoulder, with another song being dedicated to him along with her parents and another brother. Whilst the set featured her two most recent albums, she also chose to showcase tracks from her forthcoming album, "Spirit" which has already spawned a well received single and if it's all like this much critical acclaim to come.

There was a lot of good natured banter with both band, a close to the knuckle dig at the box player, separated from his drum kit, and audience who knew they were watching something special. Deborah Bonham is a great artist in her own right and don't let anyone else tell you different. This was a set out of the top draw and the rockier side of the genre and probably beyond.

More