NEWS
"Traditional Music Maker" magazine has now reached its 12th issue and is about to mature into an A4 glossy. TMM covers both a wide range of traditional music styles including Cajun and Bluegrass. It is very strong on festival previews and reviews and well worth checking out. Details 0171 424 0027.
Next year the Morris Dance festival at Scarborough expands to an amazing 9 Days;
Jenny McCaffery writes "Morris 99 Scarborough Fayre Traditional Morris Dance Festival 1999. 28th May - 6th June 1999 Nine days of Dance, Ceilidhs, Music and Song at Scarborough, England Hundreds of dancers are already coming, there will be room for you too Room for 4,000 participants at Scarborough Spa Convention Centre Further Information on http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/parade/pd95"
I was in Scarborough for part of this years event and despite duff weather the town was full of colourful teams with dancers and spectators alike enjoying themselves.
ARTISTES
Walters & Warner an Australian duo are at Fylde (5-6 Sept.) Crewe & Nantwich (11-13 Sept.) and Bromyard Folk Festival s(18-20 Sept.). Margaret Walters and John Warner were last in England in 1994 and are returning to share their music. They are traditional-style singers with a wide ranging repertoire biased towards chorus songs and songs of history,industry and the environment
South Staffordshire based singer songwriter Barry Hunt, a relative newcomer to the festival scene despite over 20 years in clubs, can be seen at Bridgnorth(28th -30th August) and Bedworth(28th Nov.). If you would like to find out more about Barry's humorous and serious facets, and about where he is playing visit http://www.geocities.com/broadway/alley/9692
Tom Lewis is at Portsmouth International Festival of the Sea Aug. 28-31, Sea Fever, Hull Sept.11-13 and Bromyard Folk Festival Sept. 18-20. We are also putting him on at our club at the Loyal Trooper, South Anston, South Yorkshire on Thursday 17th September. Judy writes;
Anyone who knows me would wonder why I would want to promote a shanty singer, shanties not being my favourite form of song as they often promote racism and sexism. Well it started out a folk concert on board ship at Caversham folk festival last year where I witnessed the most daring rescue of a Folkies Stetson from the billowing sea,(well the Thames actually), quite exciting it was (actually), and everyone cheered, our hero was none other than Tom Lewis, singer of Sea songs. My other influence has been my son William after seeing Tom perform become his most devoted fan. Subsequently exposed to Toms singing I discovered a songwriter who deals with not only robust shanties but other matters of the sea, someone who is compelled by life on the waves, yet warns against others following suit. I was impressed by his fine singing voice, which exhorts the audience to join in,
At Chester Folk Festival we attended all of his concerts, (due originally to Williams requests) and found that each set was compassionate, rousing and funny. Most of his repetoire is self penned, but he does incorporate traditional material along with other notable writer such as Cyril Tawney.
Resident in British Columbia, Canada, Tom is an internationally renowned entertainer, currently on a round-the-world tour and has just arrived from Australia before heading on to Canada and the U.S.A.
He has four CDs to his credit, his self-penned songs are heard wherever rousing choruses ring-out, with an impressive line up of mates to supplement some excellent material. Converted, oh yes.
Judy Dalton.
Tom Lewis Homepage: www.folk.emich.edu/~tomlewis
(This article is from "Stirrings" folk magazine homepage; www.stirrins.demon.uk
REVIEW
Inland England
Portraits from a Landscape.
This show, first presented at Broadstairs Folk week, takes the audience on a journey round inland England, through the vehicle of song, music and poetry.
The material stems from a variety of sources, an almost even balance of traditional and contemporary, featuring songwriters of note, such as Keith Marsden, Cyril Tawney, John Kirkpatrick, Ewan MacColl and even Noel Coward. Other traditional tunes and songs, with extracts from poems by Edward Thomas, paint a picture of rural life before the turn of the century.
The programme is in two parts, the first literally taking us on a musical tour around England, from "Hopping Down in Kent", to the humorous "Crooked Spire of Chesterfield", sung by Keith Kendrick, calling in at the Fens, Dartmoor, and Swaledale.
Whilst this is not a route recommended by the AA for being the most direct, one must surely be pleased with the destinations, each one sung with feeling by members of this very able cast. Barbara Brown uses her deep warm voice to good effect as we pass via Silbury hill, whilst Tom Brown, (the instigator of the show) regales us across Sussex Downs.
Each stanza is introduced by a short piece of prose and an occasional bit of banter. Many of the songs are in harmony, often in two or three part, some using all five voices, Part one ends with the haunting voice of Anni Fentiman singing the "Shepherd on the Hill", by Graham Miles, the audience was spellbound.
Part 2 looks more closely at the work ethic of the land, at the poachers, gamekeepers and hunters, from both sides of the argument, whilst Ewan MacColls "Manchester Rambler" brings us to the tips of the Peak Distinct with gusto.
Next, a visit to London and a really funny rendition of "The ' ouses in between" by Dave Webber, and then up to Newcastle, down to "Brummagen" and then Dave Webber sings the "Dalesman's Litany", giving a bleak picture of life in industrial Yorkshire.
As we move towards the end of part 2, Tom Brown chooses to edit Sara Morgans, "View the Land", which exhorts us to take responsibility for the prospects of future generations. I personally would have preferred to hear this for the beautiful song it is, rather than recited with the tune played as background on the concertina. If that sounds a bit mardy of me( a Yorkshire expression), all is redeemed as the concert finishes not with a song but a poem, "A Countrymans Catechism", read by members of the cast in turn, rounding up with a profusion of squeeze boxes playing the splendid tunes Black Jack and Salmontails.
Throughout this production, differing instruments are used to good effect, but best of all were the voices, sometimes as single haunting solos, at others rousing harmonies, all the performers blended well, and linked to different singing partners at appropriate times.
This is a show for those who enjoy joining in, many songs encourage audience participation, whilst others just have to be listened to. There were a very few glitches, only to be expected with a premiere performance, as a cast, Dave Webber, Anni Fentiman, Keith Kendrick, Tom and Barbara Brown demonstrated an ability to keep an audience within their grasp for the whole of the two hour show.
Next time you see this particular show advertised, grab the opportunity to see it, you will be rewarded with some excellent singing, some great songs and a lot of hard work that has gone into this production.
FESTIVALS Diary;
This list does not aim to be comprehensive. We include festivals which have sent us line up details, news etc, new festivals which did not make the main guides at the beginning of the year, and those we or our contributors go to and would particularly recommend For a more comprehensive listing try the Folk/Roots site at www.froots.demon.co.uk/
This weekend; Aug 22nd & 23rd ROOTING FOR AFRICA in the idyllic woodland setting of Hebden House at HEBDEN BRIDGE, West Yorkshire with Dave Burland, Janet Russell , Joe Stead, Alchemy , Judy Dalton and lots more fine singers and poets. Tree Aid is a charity that works to promote tree planting and self sufficiency within African villages. All proceeds towards this very worthy cause. Email Treeaid@kingsengland.demon.co.uk
Aug 28th to 30th THE FOUR FOOLS FESTIVAL at Lowton nr. Leigh, Lancashire. A fine weekend with Martyn Wyndham Read, Sisters Unlimited, Alistair Anderson, Keith Kendrick, Cyril Tawney, Dick Miles and a wide selection of other singers. This really is a singers festival, with plenty of opportunity to have a go yourself in the singaround and the Sunday Sing., always excellent harmony singing. Camping on the single venue site. Details Telephone 012744 732117
Bridgnorth in Shropshire had a very successful start in September last year and this year have moved to August Bank holiday weekend 28th-30th . The town itself is well worth a visit and for a first event the organisation was good last year and the school site was excellent. A strong bill with the Albion Band, The Poozies, Rory McCleod and Smiddyburn. Email alan.surtees@btinternet.com
Also on 28th to 30th August in Morecambe, Lancashire, Worldbeat Weekend promises to be an exciting new festival of world music featuring Te Vaka, Viramundo, Quimantu, BlackUmfolosi, King Masco. La Decima. Orquesta la Clava, Dade Krama, PeatbogFearies, Santana Mongoley, and others. Based around the new arts venue, ThePlatform, it also includes a world craft village with shopping and food from
all over the globe, a real ale tent and free craft workshops for children.Details telephone
01524 582803
11th -13th September Crewe & Nantwich International Folk Festival in the historic town of Nantwich. Strong on both dance and song festival guests include; Old Blind Dogs, Savourna Stevenson, Vicki Clayton, the Boat Band, Waa Sylla from Africa and Walters & Warner from Austrailia (see above). Details Telephone 01271 662633
This newsletter is put out by by Little Pot Stove Records. We have a CD stall at many of the festivals mentioned. We also supply most independent label British folk CDs mail order at reasonable prices and put out a monthly list of collectors vinyl folk records.
Contact us at Little Pot Stove
The snail mail address for both Little Pot Stove Records and the English Folk Festivals Newsletter is 213 Nursery Rd, Dinnington, Sheffield, S25 2QU. Telephone/Fax 01909 569481
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