There's a music festival in Europe with history and long standing tradition.
I’m not talking about Glastonbury or Isle of Wight, no, this is the Cambridge Folk Festival. Walking around the festival is like a trip down memory lane for
this audience. For me, it was my first and hopefully not my last Cambridge Folk
Festival. You begin to realise why people have been coming to this festival
since 1964. There’s an unlimited number of stages because performers turn up
and play all over the arena, and campsite. It's what makes Cambridge a special
festival even before the line-up has been announced - to most, the line-up is
irrelevant.
Thursday's half-day of music started with The Brass Funkeys, a seven-piece
marching band that played a range of fun originals and covers from The White
Stripes, Eurthymcs, and Beyoncé. They played to a packed out Club Tent, the
third biggest stage. The Willows followed with their quirky americana. Lead
vocalist Jade Rhiannon had a faulty mic holder, which caused some laughter from
the crowd and her fellow band mates. Willy Mason played later on in the evening
with Mara Carlyle on vocals with a singing saw. Mason opened his set with
"Gotta Keep Walking", sounding imperious to Joaquim Phoenix in Walk
The Line. His set was well received and Mason often spoke to the audience,
referring to the miss-print of his age in the festival program (20 instead of
28). The night was capped off by an intimate set by Bombers at The People's Front
room. The tiny tent includes sofas and a neat sound system where a collective
of musicians play their own music and covers. It's a genius idea that travels
around the festival circuit. It's placed in an ideal location, where it's quiet
and not too far from the main stages.
The Levellers owned the main stage on Friday evening, opening with
"What A Beautiful Day". They were joined by the ever-expected didgeridoo.
The main stage was very much the place to be on Friday, as traditional folk
became the focus in the afternoon with Korrontzi and Frigg. The former are a
fast paced lively band from the Basque Country and the latter from Finland with
similar traditional compositions. Then, like with many festivals these days, a
dilemma occurred. The Bombay Royale or Bellowhead? Due to an interview with the
band earlier in the day and the excitement they have been creating on the
festival circuit this summer, I opted to check out The Bombay Royale. Dressed
like a Bollywood movie and armed with a blow up elephant, the Australian troop
invigorated the Cambridge audience. They were the only artist so far to play a
perfect set sound wise. Up to this point, Cambridge had been plagued by sound
issues leading to loud bass shrieks. More examples of this occurred on Saturday
and Sunday.
Heidi Talbot impressed inside the humid Stage 2 on Saturday with her
Scottish traditional songs. The warm weather was something of an upset, but
that all changed when the rain started pouring down in the evening. After
fantastic sets at the main stage from Makoomba, Steeleye Span, and the Heritage Blues Orchestra, I returned back to the campsite on the spectacular free bus ride to retrieve my wellies. However the rain couldn’t keep the audience away.
The Mavericks and KT Tunstall played the main stage, but this wasn't my venture
for Saturday night. Instead, The Den played host to a number of spectacular up
and coming artists. First was the energetic CC Smugglers with a packed out
tent, then came the twee French trio We Were Evergreen. All in all, these are
two highlights of the weekend, both playing flawless sets for a youthful
audience, the future.
Saturday was drawn to a close back at the Coldham's Common campsite. Every
night the campsite organises 'amateur performances' for anyone that would like
to play. That being said, the talent inside this relaxed tent was astonishing.
A gentleman called Will Varley started playing some hilarious songs. One about
the self-checkouts in shops, and one about receiving scam emails. He had a
strong voice and had total power over the audience at 1am in the morning. It
was a true and inspiring end to my Saturday night.
The 49th Cambridge Folk Festival drew to an intense close on Sunday with the
best performances of the weekend. Martin Carthy, an artist I’ve always
respected, played a solid set of traditional folk classics. The son of blues legend
Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield, performed a groovy set to a
very appreciative audience. The music continued with Valerie June, a
singer-songwriter styled on the hard workin' ethics of Dolly Parton. The Tennessee
singer had a powerful voice that ringed around Stage 2. Her vocals were a
little too high compared to the sound of her acoustic accompaniment, a problem
down to the production staff. I noticed members of the audience leave politely
during her set, visibly affected by the off-putting sound. Valerie wasn't a
headliner, or a standout artist. She was clearly an interesting artist and
performed a well routined set, which was a little too scripted for my liking.
The finale was among us, and like Saturday, I decided to stay at The Den. This stage has been impressive every time I stopped by. While The Staves, The Waterboys, and The Chair
closed the main stage with as generic music as their names, The Den offered a slice
of obscurity. Woodpecker Wooliams spilt beer on the audience as she played an
interesting short set with natural emotion. Playing a rare solo set, Woodpecker
Wooliams managed synthesizers and a harp long enough to leave a psychological
mark on the confused audience. It was a spectacle worth sticking around for,
those that were there will always remember her show as a highlight. The
follow-up act at The Den was nothing short of a snooze. I hate to be so
negative at festivals, but The Cadbury Sisters were too slow, too weak. They
had interesting harmonies and a pretty decent cover of Joni Mitchell's
"California", but other than that, nothing. Sunday came to a close
with an exceptional set by Smugglers Records' Cocos Lovers. The audience
danced in circles and the eight piece loved every minute of it. They closed The Den
and the 49th Cambridge Folk Festival with an energetic set of some of their
best songs.
When it’s all said and done, the Cambridge Folk Festival just ticks all the
boxes for a great summer festival. It’s not just a folk festival; it's so much
more than that. Many genres are represented at the festival, and over three and
a half days, covers a range of music that you'd expect from a general indie
rock or pop festival. The up and coming talent is something to be recognised
and the big names keep the tickets selling and the fields filled. My highlights include
Will Varley as an unofficial performer, The Bombay Royale offering something
more than normality, and The Levellers fulfilling everything that was expected
of them. Next year will be exceptional, you'll just have to wait and see what
the family friendly festival comes up with for their 50th anniversary. It may
be huge, it may just be moderately interesting, but one thing is for sure, it
will be another Cambridge Folk Festival. On
more than one occasion, I heard the phrase which has become something of a cliché
at the festival, 'we come every year'. It doesn’t matter who the festival
manage to sign up for next year’s anniversary, the fans will come just because
it's the Cambridge Folk Festival. The food stalls are immaculate, and the beer
is great... It doesn’t matter what I say - this is a tradition that won't be
broken anytime soon, and I hope to continue this tradition with my attendance
in future years.
~Eddie
