The Found Festival is a perfect bijou event for the discerning music lover who doesn’t necessarily get excited at the thought of jostling for space with vast crowds of other, possibly, over-stimulated festival attendees. It’s unlikely to appeal to old rockers, so there’s luckily very little, if any, of those sights of elderly gents in cut off denim etc doing things with their beards that make them look like a cross between Catweazel and Gandalf in a ridiculous attempt to create a geriatric outlaw vibe.

Found is predominantly a Folk and Roots affair, with a few additional flavours added. It’s a successor to the much larger Towersey Festival, which started in 1965 and had to shut shop in 2024. It’s located in beautiful countryside, a flat piece of land next to a lazy river, overlooked by a National Trust mansion. It’s ideal for families. The thought of having a bunch of kids running around may sound unappealing but there are so many activities laid on for children of all ages away from the music stages that they (and everyone else) were kept happy. In fact, the sight of children enjoying themselves in different parts of the site helped create a very pleasant, communal atmosphere. Away from the two main music tents there was stuff going on everywhere, for children and adults alike: a wide variety of arts and crafts, games, circus skills training, meditation and yoga sessions, choir singing, dancing classes, silent discos and so on. One of the activities was to design a lantern for a big parade that occurred ahead of the last act on the final day. All sorts of things were going on, all of which were actively participated in. You could be strolling along from one tent to another, past the very wide selection of excellent food outlets, and find yourself enthralled by an escapologist doing his thing with great aplomb or some other form of entertainment. One tent, the “Dance House” was devoted mostly to Ceilidh bands and dancing. The variety and quality of the entertainment was top notch.

As someone who is interested in all forms of music, to different degrees, it has to be said that Folk music in my collection of vinyl and CDs is overshadowed by other genres. My knowledge of Folk music is pretty limited, which should be taken into account. Folk, like other genres, encompasses a range of different approaches. Equally, rather like Americana, which can seemingly include pretty much anything in its scope, anyone with an acoustic guitar warbling one of their own numbers can adopt a folksy persona. There were a number of artists at the festival that fell into that category. These mostly performed in the smaller, “Overheard” tent, which hosted some excellent acts, the highlights of which on the opening day were Katie Spencer and True Foxes. Katie Spencer’s performance was enchantingly captivating. Her songs (mostly from her latest album ‘What Love Is’) were crafted with thoughtful precision and sung in a distinctive, clear tone. Her finger picking guitar playing was exceptional. Interesting and lyrical. ‘Hello Sun’ was especially good. The True Foxes are a charming female duo; cousins, who’s voices blended together gorgeously on songs that were in turns thoughtful and witty. They were great. Earlier, on the main stage, Stornoway had been the standout act of the day, playing songs that incorporated a Pop sensibility. Tracks like ‘Dig The Mountain’ and the ‘Honeyeater’s Song’ (the recorded version of which features Ladysmith Black Mambazo) were memorable. Their two-man horn section added a bit of swing. The Noble Jacks seem to be a perennial festival act. They are a lively band and went down well as the last musical act on the main stage. The trouble with some fiddle led bands is that the musicality of the playing is fine, but the songs themselves are not particularly distinctive. The ‘Jacks version of ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia’ was the main thing that stood out from their set.

Having had such a fine Summer (a little too fine maybe) it was perhaps odds on that the weather would likely change at a time when you might find yourself in the middle of a field with a pint in your hand (it should be noted that the festival bars – always readily accessible – offered some delicious local products) hoping to soak up some rays. Day two of the festival was soggy from the get go and from early afternoon it chucked it down in a biblical downpour. This was one of those moments when it was time to fully turn on the gratitude button for the all access pass that enabled me to shelter near the front of the stage in a secluded space while other festival goers were huddling close together under the canvass of the main tent in a damp mass. I had to admire one or two chaps that resolutely stayed outside under their (probably not) waterproofs, their pints getting diluted by the second, on the basis that they couldn’t get any wetter. It’s the old Dunkirk spirit that makes you proud to be British! At last year’s festival the comedians that performed did so in the smaller tent, which was packed out. Sensibly, they were given the main tent this year. First act up on the Saturday was comic commentator and poet Robin Ince. I generally found him to be mildly irritating when listening to him on the Infinite Monkey Cage radio show but enjoyed him at last year’s festival. This year, in front of a captive, packed auditorium, against the backdrop of falling rain, he was superb. He hit the right notes with regards to political issues with a force tempered by comedic necessity and mixed in genuine pathos with the humour. His last poem had me welling up (before I manfully pulled myself together and punched myself in the face etc). The crowd were going nowhere due to the downpour so they watched the Felice Brothers do their soundcheck, which must have been slightly painful for the band, who didn’t seem 100% comfortable with audience inter-action. They were one of the bigger names appearing, for want of a better description (although, just try asking any of your friends whether they know the name…). They are outside of the Folk world, but in adjacent songwriting territory. They added some American Indie cool to the proceedings and went down a bomb playing numbers like ‘Valium’ and ‘Flowers By The Roadside’. They were followed on the main stage by This Is The Kit, a vehicle for musician Kate Stables. This is a band with stacks of media support, well reviewed etc. but, to me, seem musically quite drab and uninteresting. The band that followed them had a much greater impact. Elephant Sessions are a young band from the Scottish Highlands. It was a feature of the festival that many of the Folk bands performing on the main stage were pretty youthful and played traditional musical with a lot of energy, often emphasising the underlying beat with amped up foot drums or other percussion. Elephant Sessions created some very attractive, original music, the song ‘Colours’ being particularly memorable. The finale on the main stage was a performance by Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Folk Ensemble featuring a whole army of students from the Birmingham Conservatoire having a lot of fun as they collectively bashed out, with great skill, a number of upbeat tunes.

In the smaller tent the highlight of the day was the husband and wife pairing of Adam Beatie & Fiona Bevan, both recording artists in their own right, who took turns to play their individual songs. This was one of those sets where you could just sit back and just enjoy the quality of the songs and the charming performance. Adam Beattie’s songs were more immediately distinctive. His composition ‘A Song Of One Hundred Years’ was, for me, the most impactful song of the weekend. The audience were invited to join in on its lilting, elegiac chorus, which was, unusually, quite a moving experience (let’s face it, most singalongs are the vocal equivalent of doing the hokey cokey). His other songs had great titles like ‘The Man Who Loves Too Much’ and ‘There’s No Postcard For This Town’. They were fantastic.

Sunday, the last day of the festival, was a bit more chilled (the whole weekend was chilled for that matter). Comedian Shappi Khorsandi kept the laid back crowd entertained in the main tent in the mid-afternoon spot. The temperature in the tent increased with the performance of Dele Sosimi’s Afrobeat Experience. The London based Nigerian singer and keyboard player played with the legendary Fela Kuti back in the 70s and fronted a hot band that kept the infectious grooves going in a series of elongated numbers that crackled with horn riffs and percussive beats. Their set included a Fela Kuti song ‘Opposite People’ and Sosimi’s song ‘Too Much Information’. Slightly less exotic but no less entertaining were the Hackney Colliery Band, a (no surprise) brass ensemble that played traditional band instruments in a way designed to chime with a metropolitan audience ready to dance with their funked up Jazzy arrangements. It was good stuff but dragging myself away from the big sounds in the main tent I walked over to catch the last act on the smaller stage. A modest crowd were treated to a highly enjoyable set from MJ Hibbett & CJ Thorpe-Tracey. The former of the two sang/spoke songs that were alternatively funny and moving, wry observations on life. His partner in crime accompanied him rather beautifully on electric piano and helped with the onstage banter. They created a warm, funny atmosphere. The songs were fabulous; two in particular resonated with me: ‘In The North Stand’ was all about becoming a Peterborough supporter as a result of being taken to watch them by his Grandad, the description of which brought back my memories of going to see Charlton with family members that are no longer around. Another song ‘Timewasters’ addressed the problems of trying to put a band together and having to deal with unsuitable applicants. In this telling the band never got together until after the death of the main character in the story. A tragi-comic epic that was all too familiar. Their set was a brilliant way to end the festival and one of the highlights for me; highly individual songs, with a bitter sweet edge, delivered with great charm and humour.

An excellent weekend at a wonderfully unique festival.

Review and photos: Simon Green