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The 2009 Shrewsbury Folk Festival was held at ts usual spot over the August Bank holiday weekend, and folk and roots were there to enjoy the atmosphere..
Friday 28th August.
Shrewsbury Folk Festival, in its fourth year at the county showground, is only 180 miles from London, but it's held over the Bank Holiday weekend in August, meaning that journey times doubled or even trebled in the typical sunshine/showers weather.
I finally arrived at 7.15pm, which gave me less than an hour to find a pitch and get sorted before Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson started in Stage 2. In the end I abandoned my homemaking, and I'm glad, because the boys were great. Supported by the hugely talented Ali Hutton on guitar and Duncan Lyall on upright bass, Ross and Jarlath played tunes from their album 'Partners in Crime', including the brilliant 'Dirty Bee'. Jarlath sang a couple of songs too, the vocals clear and his accent strong- this added a whole new dimension to the band, meaning that captured all members of the audience.
No sooner had they finished when it was along dark footpaths to grab some food [a Heidi pie from Pieminister] and stick my head in the back of the main tent. Hoven Droven were on, a Swedish folk rock band. Mixed feelings about this lot - fairly entertaining and engaging but musically not where it's at - the mix of electric guitar, bass and saxophone didn't sit well in this environment and lots of empty seats proved I wasn't alone in feeling this.
Back out into the cold clear night, the people of Shropshire dressed in coats and scarves, to walk back to Stage Two to the welcoming sounds of Faustus. The warm air in the tent was as welcoming as the band - Paul and Benji from Bellowhead and the ubiquitous Saul Rose - this trio had packed out the smaller marquee and there was standing room only at the back. Great banter between the three of them [the sound man often seemed like the fourth member] had the audience laughing appreciatively.
Faustus is rousing English folk - Bellowhead without the jolly sea shanty vibe - and sing typical tales of brave hearts and bad deeds. All in all a warming end to a very cold night and hot chocolate in hand I made my way back to finish setting up camp.
Shrewsbury Folk Festival, in its fourth year at the county showground, is only 180 miles from London, but it's held over the Bank Holiday weekend in August, meaning that journey times doubled or even trebled in the typical sunshine/showers weather.
I finally arrived at 7.15pm, which gave me less than an hour to find a pitch and get sorted before Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson started in Stage 2. In the end I abandoned my homemaking, and I'm glad, because the boys were great. Supported by the hugely talented Ali Hutton on guitar and Duncan Lyall on upright bass, Ross and Jarlath played tunes from their album 'Partners in Crime', including the brilliant 'Dirty Bee'. Jarlath sang a couple of songs too, the vocals clear and his accent strong- this added a whole new dimension to the band, meaning that captured all members of the audience.
No sooner had they finished when it was along dark footpaths to grab some food [a Heidi pie from Pieminister] and stick my head in the back of the main tent. Hoven Droven were on, a Swedish folk rock band. Mixed feelings about this lot - fairly entertaining and engaging but musically not where it's at - the mix of electric guitar, bass and saxophone didn't sit well in this environment and lots of empty seats proved I wasn't alone in feeling this.