Tag: Gigspanner

Happy in its new home on the Sotterley Estate near Beccles, FolkEast 2025 proved as all-singing, all-dancing and all-everything as it has always been, just more so.

Sure there were teething problems, especially in the campsites, but where it mattered – on stage and in the fields – it was a feast of folk fun in all its tastes and flavours. There was even an old friend in the shape of the resurrected Falcon pub, following the discovery of the original pub sign, a welcome return with drinkers and players alike.

We arrived on Thursday to find Lincolnshire quartet Banter whipping up an eve of festival storm ahead of the main event, mixing their own material with English repertoire reworkings and climaxing with an upbeat version of The Police’s ‘Roxanne’.

Spread over ten different performance spaces, the festival proper kicked off early doors on Friday with everything from yoga, step dance, children’s hour and songwriting workshops and cider talk before Aldeburgh Young Musicians showcased their impressive young talent in the Moot Hall ahead of an interesting set from popular duo Christine Alden & Alex Patterson.

Over at The Barn, a beautiful old building that breathed history and atmosphere, English Folk Expo mentoring body Sound Roots was hosting a Q&A, followed by full sets from each of this year’s intake of artists. Leading the charge was Norfolk singer-songwriter Lucy Grubb, who took to the stage with her full band for the first of two sets over the weekend. Shrugging of early sound issues, the five piece wowed the packed Barn with a thrilling self-penned set. Highlights included a haunting ‘When It Rains’, personal fave ‘While It Lasted’, and a trio of delicious hook-laden new tracks in ‘Worrying For Nothing’, ‘Kinder To Yourself’ and ‘Wild Horses’.

Next up was that rare being, a singing Clarsach player in Anna McLuckie. The Scots songstress kept the appreciative crowd in their seats with a mix of the classical and contemporary, interweaving her own heartfelt lyrical numbers with reworkings of traditional folk songs including set closer ‘Lassie’. Singer songwriter Ed Blunt carried the baton with his own set of autobiographical songs and stories and guitar and fiddle duo Filkin’s Drift completed the set.

Over on the outdoor Sunset arena stage, set against the backdrop of a shimmering lake in front of the impressive Sotterley Hall, Bristol-based folk supergroup Tarren, aka Sid Goldsmith, Alex Garden and Danny Pedler, opened proceedings in the blazing Friday afternoon sun. Combining cittern and concertina, fiddle and accordion for a unique new sound they call New-Folk, mixing traditional sounds and rhythms with playful modern lyrics and subjects.

Even more playful were the The Longest Johns, who had the well warmed crowd on their feet to jig along to fired up versions of sea shanties and maritime folk, like a piratical Pogues. Seafaring standards like ‘Drunken Sailor’ and ‘South Australia’ melded perfectly with The Johns’ global smash ‘Wellerman’ to create a wave of joy for all.

A similar vibe was on offer in the shape of the Levellers-lite jiggling of The King Driscolls but any hopes of getting a move on were limited by the rigid brick surroundings of The Barn and a refusal of people to move chairs or themselves down inside the venue. A bigger, more open stage would have been more suitable and easily arranged via a swap with Sunset closers Sheelanagig whose clever but repetitive set was more watchable than danceable for a main stage headliner.

The same could certainly not be said of Saturday openers, the returning Lucy Grubb and band, who with a perfect sound and a packed lunchtime crowd, were in their element in the larger Moot Hall and had the crowd hooked from the opening bars of ‘Storm’ onwards. Marvellous.

Equally at home were veterans Megson who, now in their 20th year, shrugged off their own technical and hair issues to produce the perfect festival mix of catchy and memorable tunes with inter song banter that covered the lengthiest of gaps. Highlights included footballing love song ‘The Longshot’ and the funny and apt news nod ‘And Finally…’ but the whole set was a gem.

The Barn had been taken over for the day with Second Cousins, a living museum to seminal 1960s London folk venue Les Cousins in Soho, London. On show were guitars owned and played by such folk luminaries as Sandy Denny, Bert Jansch and Nick Drake while on stage, there were performances from erstwhile Cousins’ stalwarts like guitar great Steve Tilston, saxophone playing film composer supremo John Altman and the legendary Bridget St John, a cohort and contemporary of the likes of John Martyn, David Bowie and Nick Drake among others. Bridget was clearly emotional at the rare treat of being allowed to play Drake’s guitar in a set closing duet with Cousins’ stage curator John Wilks.

Meanwhile in the Sunset arena, there was an equally rare treat in the Wakefire collaboration of Lady Maisery, Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith, with their multi-layered incantation to summertime. Showcasing their love of the season in song, from “morris dancing, maydays and magic to ritual, raves and cider with Rosie”, it was a joyous celebration of long summer days and nights through beautiful traditional music played under a perfect summer sky.

Slightly darker but no less beautiful are the Gothic film noir flavours of Amelia Coburn and her band although many of the subtleties of her songs were lost in the murky depths of the large Sunset stage while her between song banter suffered from a mix of nerves, repetition and garbling of her strong north-east accent. She would have been better placed late at night in the more intimate surroundings of the Barn or Moot Hall.

Saturday night headliners Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening were also lost but not in the stage but the darkness that surrounds the Sunset stage at night, and while the intricacies of their playing and their interpretations of the natural world shone a beacon of light through the gloom, it was a subdued end to the day’s proceedings. A brief glimpse of Katie Spencer back in The Barn looked and sounded a brighter alternative although the long awaited jam between Sam Grassie and a traffic delayed and lubricated Alfie Jones proved a damp squib end to the Second Cousins day.

Grey skies, spots of rain and cooler winds did little to lower the musical temperature on Sunday especially in the safe confines of Moot Hall, where an impressive run of acts kept punters warm all day. I could do without the jingoism of Vocally Vintage, especially in the current flag happy climate, but from then on it was plain sailing.

Sam Carter showed his mastery at combining traditional folk with modern rock and soul sensibilities in a varied set from throughout his 15 year career, ably abetted by guest Rowan Rheingans. Folk royalty followed in the shape of Knight & Spiers as former Steeleye Span fiddle player Peter Knight joined forces with melodeon marvel John Spiers for a wonderful set of jigs and reels that had you marvelling at their dexterity. Peter would repeat the trick a couple of hours later on the main Sunset stage with his innovative trio Gigspanner.

By then we had already been treated to a delightful set of indie guitar folk from Saturday’s Second Cousins host John Wilks & The Grizzly Folk, who were literally placed centre stage for his new band’s maiden outing as a live outfit. The big stage inexperience was evident but the songs stood up well to the examination and I’m sure the Folk will be back in better effect next year. That said, it may have been fairer on the talented Kris Drever to be given a bigger space as it was impossible to get near the door, let alone the stage for his early evening Barn slot. But then what do you expect for a man who has worked with the likes of Mark Knopfler, Jack Bruce and Eddi Reader.

Homegrown Suffolk stars Honey & The Bear showed their own polish in Moot Hall with a typically fine set of folklore tales combined with passioned playing and powerful rhythms that flow with ease from their varied fingers. The same tributes could be paid to the visionary Rheingans Sisters Rowan and Anna, whose mix of synths and electric guitar fit seamlessly with the more traditional fiddles, feet and medieval bass tones.

With Penguin Café closing proceedings on the main stage, we chose instead to spend our last moments in the always welcoming Dance Tent with the Climax Ceilidh Band but in truth it could have been any of the Dance Tent performers who had kept the floor bouncing and the feet tapping all weekend. It truly was a joy to behold, as was the festival as a whole, with its blend of folk music, dance and skills, arts and crafts old and new, and with so many numerous sideshow attractions on offer from workshops and demos to steam powered dragons and chuckleberry ice cream.

It may have a new home but FolkEast will always be at home wherever it is.

Mark Taylor

Festival website: https://folkeast.co.uk/