After the swift biblical downpour on Friday night, which had dampened down festival spirits at the end of the evening, the weather stayed fine for the remaining two days, which was a relief after having to empty a couple of inches of water from my camera bag before leaving on Friday.  As mentioned before, the festival offers a broad spectrum of different sounds for folk that enjoy seeing live music and also like a bit of spice in their musical mix. The line up on Saturday typified the eclectic selection of acts.

The first act I caught were Haze. They hadn’t done much for me when I’d seen them at a previous festival, but I really enjoyed their melodic, Soft Rock Prog on this occasion. I thought their costumes seemed a bit ridiculous when I saw them before, but I don’t think the band take that side of things too seriously and the extravagant head gear etc. adds to the mystic vibe they enjoy creating. Paul McMahon’s flowing guitar playing fitted nicely within the soundscape of their music. I didn’t warm to the unimaginatively named Albion, who were another returning band. There’s nothing wrong with their energetic Folk Rock and tracks they played like ‘She Is The River’ are perfectly pleasant. They are technically accomplished but, seem to me, to be rather colourless. The addition of a female singer this time around to provide a harmony line to the vocals was a positive move. An act that certainly didn’t lack colour was the redoubtable Mike Sanchez. It was the first time I’d seen him since his days with Ricky Cool in the Big Town Playboys back in the 80s. His set was superb, rolling through old standards like Nappy Brown’s ‘Coal Miner’, Fats Domino’s ‘I’m Ready’ and a whole stack of R’n’B classics.  He’s a singer capable of really selling each number as well as being a nimble piano player. The band, including a two-man horn section, and the larger than life Big Boy Bloater on guitar, were excellent.

The act that preceded them on the main stage was another perennial festival band, Solstice, who were great. Founding member Andy Glass on guitar has incorporated a number of younger musicians within the band that (unlike some other established outfits that add personality free musical muscle to replace departed/deceased members) add a joyful dynamism to their live performances. Singer Jess Holland was assisted by two other female vocalists, one of which, Leoni Jane Kennedy, also added extra guitar. Their songs often featured the three vocalists repeating a chant like musical mantra that was hypnotically attractive. Their set included a new number called ‘Mount Ephraim’ in honour of the festival site. That’s one way to ensure a call back. The Mentulls and The Whisky Flowers kept the festival vibe going with rocky sets on the smaller stage, which featured as its last act another well-established band, Shooglenifty, its members coming from Orkney, the Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh (not a quick drive down the A2 for them). In a similar way to the Peatbog Faeries the day before, they provided a high energy take on traditional Folk airs, mixing in modern elements, although instruments like the fiddle and banjo predominated. Singer Kaela Rowan had a hauntingly powerful voice, which floated above the music in a captivatingly beautiful way. They were very entertaining but they often locked into a phrase that went round and round without developing into anything more interesting.

Lindisfarne were the penultimate act on the main stage and played a nice set, which included all the classics, ‘Lady Eleanor’, ‘Meet Me On The Corner’, ‘Fog On The Tyne’ and ‘Run For Home’ as well as many others that would be familiar to afficionados. Rod Clements, who sat centre stage, is now the only original member remaining, and although looking a little frail, played some spritely slide guitar. The final act of the day was Hawkwind. The space rockers did their thing, led by the only original member, Dave Brock, creating a cosmic wall of sound as the lighting guy provided an overwhelmingly bright palette of colour for the stage and lasers fired out into the trees that looked down on the stage from the top of the hill over which the audience was scattered. Another fine day of music.

Review and photos: Simon Green