Banbury Folk Festival, Oxon
Times move on. Riding a cock horse to a monument in an Oxfordshire market town just to see a Palomino is a tad passé to say the least. But then some things don’t change – fine ladies performing a blend of traditional music just doesn’t go out of fashion, even if they do now prefer guitars and keyboards to rings on their fingers and bells on their toes.
Despite the relative geographical obscurity of Banbury and this quaint little folk festival being only be in its second year of existence, somehow Folk ‘n’ Good Music managed to attract an array of talent like filings to a magnet. The so-called ‘filings’ on this occasion included Vikki Clayton with her band, BBC Folk Awards 2001 ‘best newcomer’ Bill Jones, one of the best-kept live secrets The Andy Guttridge Band, and the very accomplished Tom Leary and Kevin Dempsey.
Situated in a converted mill, this festival truly knew how to please its visitors, stuffing the venue’s labyrinth with artists performing folk music of every conceivable style. Each nook and cranny presented a different view of what the folk scene has to offer and still found room for musical workshops and ‘meet the artists’ sessions. The real action though was, not surprisingly, on the main stage.
Renowned for her eccentric taste in shoes, Vikki Clayton disappointed her fans by wearing a simple pair of silver sandals, unlike last year when she tottered on stage in what she describes as ‘leopard-skin spikes’!
But her performance was anything but a disappointment. Vikki is adept at performing in any configuration and is equally at home singing solo or together with her band. Here, she chose the full ensemble with some exquisite musicians, such as Chris Conway, accompanying her as she tiptoed her way through many of her favourite songs including The Ballad of Pearl & Deene and the title track from her new album Looking at the Stars.
Despite the heat and poor ventilation, Vikki smoothed over any problems with her charming repartee, even calling to the soundmen: “Egg and chips four times, please. Bread and butter on one”, to prevent her requests to sort out the sound from becoming an embarrassment.
Food seemed to be on the female artists’ minds on more than this occasion. Bill Jones explained to the audience that the title track of her recently released album, Panchpuran, is a Hindi expression literally meaning ‘five spices’. She told me earlier in the day that this was probably her favourite track, being totally her own work and recounting the story of her Anglo-Indian family’s arrival in the UK.
And this was one of the songs she treated the audience to, sweetly cooing out the lyrics with only a microphone and spotlight for company. It is easy to see why she scooped the BBC Folk Awards for ‘best newcomer’ this year.
For me, though, it was the secret life of The Andy Guttridge Band who was the highlight of the day’s events. The bush they have been hiding their talent under should be dug-up and incinerated for crimes against mankind! Not only is Andy Guttridge an extremely talented and evocative songwriter, his stage-presence and singing ability makes him an exciting performer. The bookers for the Cambridge Folk Festival could do a lot worse than to consider these guys for next year.
So, was it worth getting saddle sore for? The very cosy venue contributed to the intimate experience but was perhaps a little too poky for some and certainly difficult for any disabled attendees to navigate around. The accessibility to the artists, though, more than compensated for this inconvenience and the great standard of the performers made this a very enjoyable event all-round. And…you didn’t have to queue long at the bar!
There are worse ways to pass a Saturday in mid-October and Banbury has earned it’s right to be a recognised event on the folk map.
