Bampton Free Folk Festival 'After the fair' in Devon October 31st to November 2nd 2008 Anglo, Irish, Breton

The Bampton Free Folk Festival 'After the fair' in Bampton, North Devon from October 31st to November 2nd 2008 is one of my favourite folk festivals with its unique flavour of Anglo, Irish and Breton.

I've just received a leaflet from the organisers Pennymoor Singaround on which the information in this article is based.

If you have been to the Bampton Free Folk Festival, you will only need to know the dates because you will know you will want to go again. If you haven't, I hope the information below helps. For any last minute changes see Bampton Free Folk Festival Web Site.

The Bampton Folk Festival is one of my favourite folk festivals because it is organised around pub sessions and it gathers so many interesting musicians, singers and dancers together in one place, including from Ireland and Brittany. The sessions are particularly welcoming and various singers and musicians will be leading them throughout the weekend to ensure everybody feels included. Roger and Jo Quigley (see photo) will be hosting the Saturday 12 noon session at the Bridge House Hotel, for example.

This year I see there are four pubs that will be hosting sessions from Friday 31st October to Sunday 2nd November 2008, The Bridge House Hotel, the White Horse, The Swan and The Quarrymans Rest.

For those of you who like a good concert (tickets five pounds to festival expenses), there will be one on Saturday afternoon in The Public Hall with Martyn Babb, Breezy Willow, Nicola Clarke, Patook, Trio Threlfall, Travellers Bag and 'the festival's Irish and Breton guests'.

Originally funded with a grant, Bampton Free Folk Festival continues to thrive on the immense goodwill it has generated over the years.

I look forward to seeing you there :-)

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author

Swanage Folk Festival in Dorset was a pleasant day out despite the sogginess

We decided to have a day out at Swanage Folk Festival in Dorset away from Hopcott Mansions in soggy Somerset although it involved traveling something like 97 miles (and back) with a weather forecast suggesting it would be soggy in Swanage too.

So, enclosed in Madame Hopcott's rather snazzy and waterproof Ford Focus Zetek, instead of my usual rather beat up and leaky old transit camper, we headed for the Purbeck Hills and Hardy country.

I don't recollect ever having been to Swanage before - which probably means that I haven't been there for at least a couple of weeks given my recent tendencies to senility - but I was pleased to find it a very pleasant place which had all the best and gentlest folkie vibes.

There were lots of Morris dance sides skipping up and down and the afternoon parade of dancers was spectacular including Exmoor Border Morris and some dancers from Bradford on Avon who gave me a nice wave and a number of friendly faces from the Weymouth and Portland area that I met during Wessex Folk Festival.

We dropped into the tented area which was a bit soggy underfoot but quite negotiable and chatted with Roger of Rogers Rant in the main performance tent. Roger runs a very nice small festival I visited recently (see photo below).

The music in the tent was free and Madame Hopcott, in particular, gave it the thumbs up (I almost fell into the mud in deep shock as Mm Hopcott normally hates folk music!)

Then onward to see if there was an English session at the Crows Nest, although to be fair the programme only advertised a session to be on in the evening. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything impromptu happening but we did enjoy the walk along the sea front.

So back to the high street we went in search of the White Horse hoping for an impromptu Irish session where we found violinist Fred whom I know from Christchurch Folk Club and various other folk festivals bravely entertaining the lunchtime pub drinkers and eaters with the help of a rather good banjo / mandolin player. So, after a cup of coffee during which I watched them manfully struggling on, I submitted to the urge and joined them.

As lunchtime moved into afternoon, quite a few musicians came and joined us, including a rather good squeezebox player and his daughter so it developed into quite a good session with appreciative support from the audience.

When 3.30pm arrived we had to make a dash for the car park because I'd only bought four hours although it still still cost me five pounds sterling! I sometimes wonder whether District Councils have any comprehension about how difficult it is to earn any money these days? A fiver for parking only four hours. We was robbed!

I liked Swanage Folk Festival - although it was a long drive home :-)

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author and pub folk session enthusiast

Wadebridge Folk Festival sessions in Cornwall

It had been a while since I popped down to Cornwall so I thought I'd nip down to the Wadebridge Folk Festival on a quick day-visit and play some traditional tunes in the local pub sessions.

My first impression on Saturday afternoon was that things were a little quiet. This was confirmed by a friendly old chap who was tap dancing on a wooden board at the Bridge on Wool who suggested it 'lacked the buzz' of previous years.

However, when I turned up at the Bridge on Wool, it was quite packed with an appreciative audience.

Wadebridge is a pleasant place to wander around, even on a day that was rather grey, and I did spot one Morris side dancing next to the pizza take-away doing a great job. I wonder where the others were?

I popped across the bridge and checked out The Ship Inn late in the afternoon where some acoustic guitar players and singers were performing with an unaccompanied singer. There I bumped into that great singer Nicola Clark who I last saw at Crediton Folk Festival. She transfixed me with one of her great smiles and said hello, which was nice.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author

Relocated English Music Session second and fourth Mondays of each month previously at The Beehive Pub, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

Sadly, I've just heard from Chris Timson to say that the folk music session at the Beehive pub in Trowbridge Road has had to be discontinued due to the closure of the pub.

I can think of no better way to report this news than to quote Chris:

Well it's a classic case of good news bad news ...

The English music session in Bradford on Avon convened in what we hoped would be its new home, the Beehive, 2 weeks ago, only to be told by the landlord that he was being forced into bankrupcy... That's a shame for the session but a body blow for Mark and his wife, who had worked hard to keep that pub as the best in Bradford.

That fine pub is now closed. We don't know its future or if it will even remain a pub.

The upside of the poor trading conditions for pubs is that it seems to be much easier than it used to be to find landlords who appreciate the value of a bunch of musicians turning up every 2 weeks or so, drinking beer and wine and extortionately priced soft drinks and otherwise not making nuisances of themselves. So finding a new home was pretty straightforward.

From Monday October 13th the session will be at the Barge Inn, 17 Frome Rd, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 2EA. It will be following its usual 2nd and 4th Mondays cycle thereafter.

My original post follows:

Yesterday, I wrote here about an excellent folk music session at the Sidmouth Sailing Club during Sidmouth folk week.

Today, Chris Timson, who is closely involved in that other Sidmouth English folk music session phenomenon at Sidmouth's Radway Inn, has sent me details of a relocated Bradford on Avon English music session which will be held at The Beehive second and fourth Mondays of each month from September 2008.

I have to say that the pub Chris and his friends have chosen looks a real cracker. It has real ale, a big car park (narrow entrance) and is located close to the Kennet & Avon Canal and Bradford-on-Avon Marina.

Mark and Bel, the landlords, sound really nice too and very folk-friendly, based on information I have taken from their web site:

Inside we have an inviting real wood burning fire place; a welcome sight on those cold, wet and windy winter afternoons! The Beehive is a traditional real ale pub with no piped music, football, juke boxes or gaming machines to interfere with your meal, drinking or conversation. Outside we have one of Bradford-on-Avon's best kept secrets - a huge beer garden which includes a boules, (or petanque), pitch and even a children's play area.

It sounds like bliss and I shall be aiming to get up in my camper van to sample the session's English music and the pub's traditional beers as soon as I can. (I wonder if the camper van will fit through the narrow entrance to their car park?)

Finding pub venues that are happy to host folk musicians can be a difficult task but the guys and gals of Bradford and Avon seem to have found a corker here.

The English folk music should be good too with Chris Timson involved.

So, if you are in the vicinity of Bradford on Avon on one of their session evenings, I hope to see you there for some great traditional English tunes :-)

From Chris Timson's email to me, the English Music Session is 8.30 pm, on the following dates in 2008

Sep 8th Sep 22nd
Oct 13th Oct 27th
Nov 10th Nov 24th
Dec 8th Dec 22nd

or second and fourth Mondays of each month. All musicians welcome.

The photo shown above was taken at the last Sidmouth Radway reunion weekend and shows Sidmouth seafront in the early morning before most people have got up, when everything is so wonderfully atmospheric.

Remember, before travelling, to avoid disappointment, confirm details with venue, in case of changes.

Especially in these credit crunch times, sadly no pub can be guaranteed to stay open in perpetuity as the above closure amply demonstrates.

Bye for now

Rob Hopcott
(Online author and folk music session groupie)

Sidmouth folk festival 2008 success story I hardly dare to tell

Well, Sidmouth folk festival 2008 is over today and, as I look back over the week, there is a success story I hardly dare to tell.

Sidmouth folk festival is many things to many people; for me, it is the instrumental sessions that make it special. There are the Irish and English tunes at the Bedford Hotel, English tunes at the Radway Inn and Irish tunes at the Anchor and many more elsewhere.

But, for me and for a growing number of other people, the sessions at the Sidmouth Sailing Club have come to hold a very special place in our hearts. Somebody said to me that the Sailing Club Sessions are like a cuddly woolly blanket that just wraps around everybody and makes them feel welcome. I couldn't agree more and obviously many others feel that way because the numbers of devotees to the Sailing Club sessions just keep growing.

On one evening this week at the Sailing Club, I looked to the left of me and saw musicians in ranks, shoulder to shoulder, for twenty paces and then looked to the right to see musicians, in ranks, for a further twenty paces. In front of me there were further rows of them too. The photos in this post tell some of the story but cannot replicate the enormous feeling of being with so many friendly, happy and kindred spirits.

One person estimated there were at least 200 musicians, all somehow playing in time ... It was wonderful!

To discover why this particular session has become so popular one has to look to the people who are running it who are called the Loose Knit Band. Quite simply, they have a policy of meeting and welcoming everybody who comes to their sessions at the Sailing Club. People love it. It's like a big family and people just keep coming back and, whats more, they tell their friends so it is easy to see why growth of this popular session has been so explosive.

To find out more about the Loose Knit Band, I recommend you visit their web site run by Martin Hughes, himself a leading member. It's an interesting story and one rooted in the true ethics and ethos of the folk movement.

Backing up the Loose Knit Band, Martin Hughes tells me

"are the members of Sidmouth Sea Angling Club who do all the hard work behind the scenes and who are responsible for making us welcome at the Sidmouth Sailing and Sea Angling Club. Without them it just wouldn't happen. The parents of our lovely barmaid Caz even close their shop in Walsall to come down and help."

Finally, I did speak to Octogenarian Terry Pearson before writing this article and asked him if it was advisable to give this excellent session more publicity when it was already bulging at the seams.

In true Loose Knit Band style, Terry waved his hand in dismissal, laughed and said 'The more the merrier!'

The Loose Knit Band, is very much as their name suggests, but with the help of Martin Hughes, I finally managed to track the names down of those present at Sidmouth 2008. They were Jacqui Chiplin (Shetland Isles), Will Chiplin (Shetland Isles), Bob Ellis (Cumbria), Bill Francis (Kent), Martin Hughes (Somerset), Chris Malkin (Cumbria), Gordon Newton (Kent), Terry Pearson (Kent) and Geoff Maskell (Cumbria).

What a fine job they all did :-)

So pssst - there's a great session on during the evenings of the Sidmouth folk music week where you will be made really welcome by a group of talented musicians. Yes, it's a lot of squeeze boxes in one big room plus a few other instruments. Yes, it might feel more like a squeeze box orchestra and the sound may hurt your ears. But there is no other place in Sidmouth, in my opinion, where you will get a better welcome or to the same extent be made to feel you are part of a wonderful family and for me that counts for more than I can possibly describe.

But, if you want to get in next year... Psssst ... Just ... Don't ... Tell ... anybody :-)

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author and folk musician)

Thriving David Hall Arts Centre, South Petherton roof repairs granted from South Somerset District Council

At the excellent fortnightly session in South Petherton at the Wheatsheaf, I chatted to Tony Charman, who has done so much, along with his huge band of volunteers at the Petherton Arts Trust, to turn around The David Hall, South Petherton and make it the thriving Arts centre it is today.

Tony was jubilant that he had just received grant backing from the South Somerset District Council for essential and desperately needed repairs to the David Hall roof.

The David Hall sounds like a fantastic project based in the community with strong ethical and community values much deserving of support.

Kudos to the local Councillors for backing the David Hall project and a Huge Hopcott High Five to Tony and his helpers for battling on through much adversity to make it all happen.

I must make an effort to go along and see the David Hall, South Petherton. It sounds like a really interesting project with an enormous amount of exciting performances going on regularly.

If you are local to South Petherton which is easily accessible along the A303 from lots of places and are wondering what's on or looking at gig guides for South Somerset or South Petherton, be sure to check out their current July - December 2008 Programme which is packed with tasty morsels such as Martha Tilson + the Woods, Swab's Lazarus, 3 Daft Monkeys, Stackridge and Bella Hardy plus much more.

The David Hall, South Petherton is always looking for volunteers too. If you are interested in actively promoting the Arts and want to join a winning team, The David Hall seems right now the place to be hanging out :-)

Bye for now

Rob

Martin and Vera Jardine of No Strings Attached

I've just received a great photo of Martin and Vera Jardine of No Strings Attached dance band who did such a great job leading the scratch band at the workshop and Milborne St Andrew Village Hall ceilidh for Roger's Rant mini acoustic folk festival last weekend (18th - 20th July 2008) so here they are.

Barn dances or ceilidh's are a great way for a community to get together and have fun and I'm sure that Martin and Vera of No Strings Attached would do a great job of providing the music.

They don't have a web site, as I write this post, but say you can contact them at m_jardine at talktalk.net (replace the ' at ' with the usual symbol).

Bye for now

Rob

Milborne St Andrew, Dorset Village Hall Ceilidh was highlight of Roger's Rant mini acoustic festival for me

Last weekend (18th - 20th July 2008) I nipped down to Roger's Rant mini acoustic folk festival at Milborne St Andrew, Dorset and had a great time but the highlight of the weekend for me was the Village Hall Ceilidh and the preceding lunchtime band workshop, ably organised and held together by Martin and Vera Jardine of No Strings Attached dance band.

For those who like a good old English folk music instrumental session, I would thoroughly recommend the recipe of band workshop and evening Ceilidh. It was just so much fun. The callers were excellent with little hanging about between tunes and I got to meet many really highly skilled musicians (photo top right kindly taken by Richard, partner to mega band violinist and tennis star Elspeth).

One particular instrumentalist that caught my eye was Steve (photo left) and his one man percussion band. I've never seen so many percussive bits and pieces attached around one drum before and they sounded great.

Roger's Rant mini acoustic folk festival, I hear, was started to celebrate Roger's 60th birthday and then repeated as a result of popular acclaim. Any proceeds after paying expenses go to charity and it was pleasantly noncommercial. I have put some photos below to give some of its flavour.

Bourne River Morris Men looked great in their blue yellow and white.













Hobos Morris with their strong band, tatters and fine facial make up looked suitably scary and danced with vigour and verve.



























Roger's Rant was a fine example of a small acoustic festival run by folk musicians and singers for folk musicians and singers whilst at the same time raising money for worthy causes.

I look forward to visiting Milborne St Andrew's mini acoustic folk festival again and thanks to Roger and all his helpers for all their hard work.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - band workshop enthusiast and newly reformed scratch band addict :-)

Dorchester Corn Exchange, Dorset music gig entertainment on Friday 18th July at 7.30pm

The glamorous Nina Garcia (top right) and members of her band Jigsaw and Tree Fellahs will be jigging it up right good and proper at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester on Friday 18th July at 7.30pm in aid of Diabetes UK. Tickets cost six pounds.

I saw Nina, Jigsaw and the Tree Fellahs in action at the Wessex Folk Festival 2008 and was mightily impressed.

So, if you are looking around to see what's on in the Dorchester, Weymouth or Bournemouth area this Friday, why not give it a try. It should be a good bash and the cause is one that could potentially benefit all of us at some stage in our lives.

Bye for now

Rob

(Rob Hopcott - online author)

John Waltham's wonderful unaccompanied singing at Crewkerne brought tears of laughter to my eyes

On a weekend mainly dominated by the excellent Priddy Folk Festival 2008, I managed to get in a visit to a very pleasant private party hosted in Crewkerne by a musician friend I met at the excellent Wheatsheaf pub South Petherton folk music session and, besides playing some great tunes with the other guests, met one of the finest unaccompanied singers I've heard for a long time.

Apparently a farmer by trade, John Waltham's rendition about the trials and tribulations of farming, based on a version of an old pop tune about a prison inmate, brought tears to the eyes - of laughter.

To be honest, I'm not very good at listening to singers. My mind wanders and the words are usually lost on me. However, John Waltham has the curious knack of very gently taking his listeners attention and keeping them enthralled until he has come to the end of his story. A fine singer based around the Crewkerne area and well worth a listen.

It was a busy weekend but very enjoyable and I have to confess I added fairly substantially to my carbon footprint with all the car journeys I made but it was all great fun.

This week, I'm helping my brother and his wife publicise their excellent and comfortable Newpoint Hotel bed and breakfast guest house in Southbourne, Bournemouth. With a bit of luck, I'll get the opportunity of getting down there.

(I wonder if their bed and breakfast guests would like to be serenaded by some folk music as they tuck in - well perhaps not.)

Finally, thanks to R. and A. for a great party with some of the best Brie and other food I've tasted for a long time :-)

Bye for now

Rob
(Peripatetic online blog author and folk musician)

Priddy Folk Festival continues to please

Last weekend I dropped in a couple of times to the Priddy Folk Festival and wasn't disappointed. The parking was still relatively cheap and easy and I found nice sessions on the Saturday lunchtime and the Sunday lunchtime.

Saturday lunchtime I enjoyed an excellent English traditional music session at the Queen Victoria Priddy. It is a very traditional pub and suited the traditional English music we played beautifully. I could just imagine people like us playing the same or similar tunes a century ago, or even further back in time. I wonder if they imagined that we would still be playing their tunes today? (see photo top right).

Although weather forecasts were rather dire for the weekend, the weather stayed clement and Sunday lunchtime and afternoon was absolutely brilliant outside the New Inn, Priddy where we played mainly some great Irish folk music (photo left).

There is almost nothing better that I can think of than playing great tunes with some very fine musicians in the sunshine in the heart of the Mendips.

On the way back home across the Mendips I saw a glider take off at the Mendip Gliding Club - what an amazing sight.

There was a pulley system that literally pulled the glider into the air and then within seconds it was way up in the sky - all too fast to get a picture of the take-off, unfortunately. (Perhaps, on another occasion, I can come back and try again.)

It's amazing what you see when you are out and about :-)

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author and folk musician)

West Somerset Folk Festival for a jolly good sing-around

If you are looking for a nice little folk festival on the borders of the Bristol Channel where they love a good sing-around, the West Somerset Folk Festival may be for you. (The picture is Bristol Channel from North Hill)

Hosted by Mike and Di Dibble and their friends, you will be sure of a friendly welcome. Camping is on a nice level site and there is hard standing for camper vans and cars.

Find out here all about the West Somerset Folk Festival.

I have to admit that, although this festival is really local to me and has many good features, the West Somerset Folk Festival, in my experience, is based around the core idea of the sing-around and I do prefer a good old English or Irish instrumental session.

So I shall be off to Priddy Folk Festival this weekend.

Perhaps I'll see you there :-)

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author and instrumental folk session addict)

Hoping for cheer up time at South Petherton Anglo-French session

After a rather disastrous weekend of festival session seeking at Two Rivers Folk Festival and then bad weather forcing me to change my plans to pay a visit to my favourite Southbourne Hotel in Bournemouth this week, I hope the excellent South Petherton music session at the Wheatsheaf Inn, hosted by Martin Hughes will cheer me up.

Great memories from previous visits include Tony, the humorous guitar accompanied singer (see photo top right), and Sharon, the lady violinist / singer below, who sang last time I was there with an astonishingly earthy and sensual quality.

Later on this week, there is the Priddy Folk Music Festival which is usually good for some nice sessions.

Hope to see you there.

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - folk musician and avid festival and West Country session goer)

Two Rivers Folk Festival Chepstow 2008

It's six thirty in the afternoon on the Saturday of the Two Rivers Folk Festival Chepstow 2008 which I drove seventy miles to visit earlier today but, sadly, I am back at my home on the edge of Exmoor.

For me, the heart of a good folk festival is in the quality of its sessions and I was unable to find any that worked for me in Chepstow. Furthermore, when I asked at the office, they said buy a programme. I bought the programme and said 'now will you tell me?' and they said they didn't know.

The programme suggested The Three Tuns and, after a very expensive Italian meal to the sound of pop music, I found my way there.

In all fairness, if you like accompanied acoustic guitars, the afternoon session in The Three Tuns would probably have appealed to you, sadly, not to me. Eventually, I found a few lonely folk instrumentalists above the main festival office in the ex British Legion rooms (see photo top right). Their audience consisted mainly of festival stewards who were drinking cider in the corner. I was past joining in at that stage.

In the course of wandering the streets of Chepstow, I came across a very fine flautist and her talented guitar playing man, both extremely experienced session players. They had also visited the Two Rivers Folk Festival on Friday evening and had then drawn a blank too in their search for an instrumental folk music session. They told me they were on their way home to Bristol, disappointed.

No doubt there are many good things to say about the Two Rivers Folk Festival at Chepstow and I welcome comments from other festival goers below, but I shall have to leave it to others to find its redeeming factors and I won't be back.

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author, English and Irish folk musician)

English Country Music Weekend 2008 marathon folk musician sessions rocked

The English Country Music Weekend 2008 (20 - 22 June 2008) was my first experience of these excellent weekends and it certainly got the Hopcott High Five for Fantastic English Folk Music Sessions Award.

The English Country Music Weekends are an annual event organised by volunteers at different locations around the country. Ali Standring, Jason Rice, Jim Causley and friends were in the hot-seat last weekend and it ran like clockwork with the marathon English Country Folk Music sessions flowing on through the day and night, just as any committed English Country Folk Musician would want. Even the traditional festival folk dance had been jettisoned to allow more time for musicians to do their favourite thing, which is play the tunes they love.

Of memories and stories, there were many. One of the nicest was a chap who, when I and Clare Penney (organiser of the excellent Bampton Folk Festival - After the fair - and the Pennymoor Song and Ale) commented on the very nice sonorous sound of the bones he was clicking, admitted that they really were bones and that they came from a California beach (picture top right). On close inspection, you could even see the marrow mark in the centre of the bones. He suspected they may have been dolphin bones but, whatever, those bones really sang!

Another real find was a lady called Ann but who would like to be known as 'Nursey', and is an inveterate story teller. She regaled me with a story about her nursing days as we walked into the small village of Whimple and was fascinating. I suggested that she get a blogger blog and tell her stories on-line. If you are reading this, Ann, get your free blog here and I look forward to linking to you from one of my story sites. I'm sure people will be fascinated!

Call me ignorant (many have :-)) but I didn't realise that Devon has its very own flag. Apparently yes and because the English Country Music Weekend 2008 was based on this occasion in Devon, it was soon flying high above the camper-vans and tents over the grassy field we called home for the weekend (below).

And here (below) is the camp site.


Hips and Haws English Country Dance Band (below) leading the Friday evening session.


Thirsty Farmer pub session in Whimple hosted by Simon Ritchie and friends (below)


Highlights of the weekend, apart from the great sessions, included listening to Martin Babb sing at the Concert, learning to play The Ladies Breast Knot and The Triumph (in G major) in a workshop ably led by Paul Wilson of the Wren Trust, and watching the excellent display of Jig Doll dancing (see pictures below). Man, I dig those jig dolls!


So, with thanks to the Dartmoor Pixie Band, Hips and Haws Country Dance Band and all the others who made such a great weekend, it was a Happy Hopcott who wended his way back to Somerset from Whimple near Exeter in Devon last Sunday evening.

Were you there? What did you like best? I'd love to hear in the comments below :-)

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author and English Country Music Weekend fan)

Free entertainment Sunday, Hope Square, Weymouth Wessex Folk Festival 2008 main stage

Sunday saw the main stage in Weymouth's Hope Square bathed in sunshine again and crowds flocking in to what proved to be a fabulous feast of music and song.

Around midday the performances were started by Celtic Confusion who made a huge impact and started the afternoon off with a bang.


Followed by Triskele, local favourites and certainly favourites of mine too.



Doey's Daughters certainly caught my attention as they did the, by now, huge audience.


Bag of Rats announced their presence with a high energy performance that blended traditional styles with punk, ska and jazz rhythms.


A Minor Fiddle Orchestra filled in between main acts in front of the main stage. This local band of youngsters formed and taught by Kate Carpenter to play simple tunes such as folk, gave a wonderful account of themselves and are a credit to themselves and to Kate.


Finnian McGurk, a popular regular of the Weymouth pub scene had us eating out of his hand with his blend of humour and music that transferred well to the big stage.


Three Tuns o' Grass set the open stage alight with their high octane bluegrass music performance.



Stompin' Dave Allen got a huge round of applause for his energetic flat footing dancing, playing and singing - all at the same time.


Finally, to round off a memorable day, the local band Jigsaw grabbed hold of the attention of a packed Hope Square, lifted them out of their seats and had them dancing in front of the main stage. Available for functions, I'm told. They rocked!


It had been a day when the sun shined again on Wessex Folk Festival creating a wonderful continental ambience in Hope Square and the crowds supported this excellent local Weymouth festival in their apparent thousands.


As I happily headed off for the survivors pub sessions in the Kings Arms and the Sailors Return, I made a solemn promise to myself that I would be back next year.

I understand the dates for the Wessex Folk Festival 2009 are 5th, 6th and 7th of June 2009.

See you there :-)

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author and Wessex Folk festival fan)

P.S. Were you there? What are your memories? I love to hear about them :-)

Free entertainment Saturday, Hope Square, Weymouth Wessex Folk Festival 2008 main stage

Besides the wonderful ambience of the Old Harbour, with the boats passing to the sound of music, the free entertainment in Hope Square on the main stage of the Wessex Folk Festival marked the Weymouth weekend out as something very special.

The main stage acts started out around midday with that excellent local band the Tree Fellahs. Much more than a ceilidh band with brilliant musicianship that got the audience's feet tapping in the sunshine.

Followed by Way Out West, all the way from Tucson in Arizona with classic songs of the cowboys, songs of Hollywood's singing cowboys, and their own mix of cowboy and Western tunes played with their very own bordergrass sound. Way Out West is Emmy Creigh, guitar and vocals; Slim Rost, bunkhouse bass and vocals; and Tom Poley, banjo, guitar and vocals.

Later in the weekend, I saw Way Out West performers joining in at a pub session; a fine and friendly band loved by the Hope Square audience.


The Wareham Whalers were formed from an idea of Dave Wheatley of a group of blokes getting together in a pub, having a few drinks and then ending up at one of their homes for a singalong. From this early idea, they have moved a long way to the professional entertainers that held the Hope Square audience rapt.


No Fixed Abode, who later supported Dick Gaughan at the Saturday night concert, showed that they are performers of the big stage as well as the intimate club setting. Una Walsh sang beautifully in her own lilting Irish accent with Tony Dean supporting on acoustic guitar.


LeDPiN are Neil Martin, David Roger, Louis Hemsley and Phil Wilcox who, between them, play guitar, bodhran, cello, flutes, whistles, accordion, percussion and bass guitar as well as singing. Full of excitement and surprises with a repertoire mainly of Irish origin.

Tramps Like Us performed with bare feet, such is their dedication to verisimilitude. Formed in 2007 with four friends at Bath Spa University and linked by a desire to play their music, their way, they brought youthful exuberance to the Hope Square stage for an unforgettable experience.


Jodie Jones is a singer-songwriter from Devon and showed us all why she was in the Top Ten Winners of the BBC Talent Showcase at the beginning of 2006.



Djambo ended the Saturday Hope Square main stage free performances with their fusion of celtic, latin, folk, rock and jazz blended into a unique style that had the audience dancing in the isles.



As the sun started to go down and festival goers headed for the Saturday night concert or the pub sessions, everybody I met agreed that the performances on the main stage in Hope Square had been a stunning success.

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author)

Dick Gaughan in concert - raw emotion and passion at Wessex Folk Festival 2008

In a performance full of raw emotion and passion, Dick Gaughan, Scottish folk musician, guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer, played and sang to a rapt and packed audience at Hope Church, Weymouth, Dorset.

One of the most highly respected folk singers in the United Kingdom and one of the most sought-after artists, Dick Gaughan was certainly a catch for the Wessex Folk Festival and much appreciated by the Weymouth audience, not only as a consummate entertainer but also for his thought-provoking commentary on political and social issues.

No Fixed Abode (below) started the evening off with a bang and I certainly agree with Wessex Folk Festival organiser and concert compere Pauline Clenshaw's comment.

No Fixed Abode, with Una's pure voice and Tony's uncluttered accompaniment, were the perfect complement to Dick's raw style.

It is a tribute to the musicianship of duo No Fixed Abode that they were as much at home in the intimate surroundings of Hope Church as they were on the main stage of Hope Square (below).


I got a chance to chat to them briefly during the survivor's session at the Sailors Return, where they again put on a virtuoso performance. They have a determination and ambition that, with Una's versatile and accomplished voice and Tony's fine musicianship, I am certain will ensure they have a bright future.

Returning back to my camper-van, I found myself humming the tunes I had heard at Wessex Folk Festival's Saturday night concert, a sure sign I had been in the company of some great performances.

Bye for now

Rob Hopcott
(Online author)