Sunshine & Music…

This year we tried a new music festival picked by Dave because it appeared to be small and child friendly with an interesting selection of music and good range of beers. With Deb, Dave and boys Tom and Ollie, with Paul, Lorraine and her granddaughters Jodie and Daisy and with Sue’s sister Deb and friend Shelly we assembled at a roadside café early on Thursday morning and travelled in convoy to the Wickham Festival. There was rain as we travelled but it cleared as we put up the tents and it was wall to wall sunshine until we took them down again on Monday morning after which it rained on our way back home.

Smaller than what we have been used to before it was easy to get around and still had enough to keep us occupied. There was a variety of music to suit most tastes and we had a few surprises during the weekend.

The food was good, the beer and cider even better and the sun beat down and warmed our backs and our souls.

We only saw a fraction of the available acts that were on at the three stages. These are some of them:

Banjo Vie – these French based hillbilly rockers were a great introduction to the festival, and one that we were late back for supper as a result. Hard rocking, energetic and full of humour.

De Temps Antan – A trio of traditional Quebec musicians that were extremely talented and energetic (bought their album)

Andy Fairweather-Low – former front man for Amen Corner played a steady if not exciting set.

Wilko Johnson – saw only a couple of songs from this former Dr Feelgood guitarist before excusing ourselves (not our thing).

Megson – A lovely set from this husband and wife duo that we first saw perform many years ago at our local folk club. They have since gone on to bigger and better things, deservedly so (bought their album).

Charlie Cunningham – a very talented guitarist who has picked up some of his skills from spending time in Spain.

Huw Williams & Maartin Allcock – they provided good background music during a lovely sunny day with a beer in hand.

Roy Bailey – a national treasure with entertaining chat and touching songs.

The South – they delivered a tight quality sound not far from a studio performance from this iconic pop band.

Show of Hands – an impressive set from this heavyweight group of talented musicians who have been entertaining crowds for many years.

Billy Bragg – he is as sharp and edgy as ever and still heavy on the political message.

Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston – they were a quality act that impressed with their energy.

The Askew Sisters – a sweet and harmonious sound, perfect for s sunny morning.

The Spooky Men’s Chorale – a firm favourite of ours they entertained us with their peculiar humour.

Eliza Carthy Wayward Band – born from folk royalty Eliza has managed to carve her own furrow with her punchy variations on traditional themes.

Seth Lakeman – a supreme fiddle player we first saw many years ago as a solo artist now has a dynamic band that manage to keep up with his frenetic style.

The Proclaimers – it was a solid performance from the boys even though we would have liked a little more personal interaction.

Les Barker – a lovely humorous poet that has been around for what seems like forever highlighting the absurdities of our language and human frailties. He seemed to be enjoying himself even more than the audience.

Tankus the Henge – hold tight this band is full of a dark energy that powers them along and drags you with them (bought their album).

Moulettes – I have seen this band perform before and they are an offbeat and an acquired taste.

Luka Bloom – a contemporary folk singer songwriter with heart and passion.

The Dhol Foundation – named and fronted by an array of drums this band has a foot stomping energetic dance attitude that mixes and blends cultural influences from Ireland to India from traditional to contemporary in a seamless way.

Tom Robinson & Band – he is another passionate and driven performer with a message who has been around the block once or twice, a little rock history lesson.

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – like a few of the other more ‘mainstream’ acts they have been around for a while, but they appeared to be very grateful to still be playing and entertaining crowds.

10cc – I wasn’t sure what to expect with this band as I was a big fan of their songs way back when, but they were very professional and tight as an act and the newer members of the group fitted in perfectly and reproduced the band’s sound to the note. The highlight was their acapella rendition of Donna.