All Images by Gail Foster
One of the fundamental elements which makes Mantonfest such an absolutely brilliant festival, aside its beautiful location and friendly atmosphere, has to be the varied age demographic. It may be the case Marlborough doesn’t do separate niche festivals for this, and for that, but I’m thinking after my third consecutive Mantonfest, Marlborough doesn’t need to when it’s all encased in this Treacle Bolly bowl of wonderful….
If I smiled to note the same bunch of groupies gathered front of stage for the standard protocol Barrelhouse hour I see annually, a smidgen more grownup each time, it was far from the only time I smiled.
For as well as Barrelhouse, who on their home turf can attract kids from nine to ninety-nine with this insatiable groovy appetite for vintage jump blues, beach balls and, this year, a homage to Tina Tuner with a Rolling on the River cover, this age demographic was truly catered for musically, this year, I think, more than ever, and I’m backing this claim with another couple of examples as to why.
Reason one being the simplest; the penultimate act is a timeless recipe for success. The fairground version of ska, via an incredibly entertaining Madness tribute from Hull, Badness. Not content with knocking out Baggy Trousers, Night Boat to Cario et al, in a fashion unpretending to mimic the appearance of Madness visually and drop in a little of their own panache, they encompassed the entire two-tone and eighties reggae scenes with equal gusto.
Badness was a chicken dinner, not only their proficiency and amusing stage banter, but of the formula; ska gets everyone up dancing. They were a blessing to a festival doing amazing without them.
This was equalled by a high-energy finale whereby tribute Rolling Stones Now not only mimic the era-spanning royalty of British blues, but recreated groundbreaking concerts. Showmanship ablaze with swagger and colourful costume changes, this was a true crowd-pleaser. Something of a history class both entertaining and precise, but more importantly coupled with Badness made a finale which catered for all. As a group of young teenagers loudly requested Baggy Trousers as an encore for Badness, I realised these classics aren’t only relished in retrospective appeal to my generation, but are timeless danacable favourites for everyone.
Second example why this year’s Mantonfest catered for its age demographic so astoundingly, was prior to show-stopping performances of rock n roll and blues, firstly from Welsh guitar virtuoso The James Oliver Band, Tony Briggs as a replacement upright bassist, and Jodie guest vocalling, who’s energy is unparalleled by the funny faces he pulls while strumming, sixties legends Swinging Blue Jeans, and nestled in between, the aforementioned Barrelhouse set, Mantonfest hosted an hour or so of upcoming talent from St John’s School.
There we have it, those ageing rockers The Swinging Blue Jeans, still so cool with their classic cuts of sixties hits, still commanding the stage with gusto and a depth of experience beyond all else, against a plethora of young local students eager to advance their music, surely meets my criteria for a festival for all.
Five acts in this section I hope the festival will repeat, was kicked off with a nervous looking Renee Hawkins, who through her divine voice came out the other end of her songs looking deservedly chuffed and a hundred percent more confident. Followed by Elton-like pianist Sammy Till-Vattier who breathed so much expression into some self-penned marvels I nodded akiness to Bowie in subject matter, and that’s a high acclaim for anyone.
A second student at the keyboard, Beth Jones, with equally accomplished vocals blessed the festival with some beautifully spun covers, and while they found time for a second tune from wonderful Paul Simon-esque acoustic guitarist Tom Schusster, who previously had first billing at the festival, nestled between those two we had a surprisingly funky collective known as Jvno.
Jvno, pronounced Juno, were sublimely united and tight, with talented saxophonist, two vocalists on bass and drums, and some mechanically ambitious original songs; technically a tricky stunt, the funky rhythms of a contemporary Average White Band, but going on their confident showmanship and collaborative genius, given time these guys are seriously heading places.
If I hark the talented upcomers in my town, Chippenham, Melksham and from Swindon to Salisbury, everywhere young people are creating an exciting new generational scene. Sitting on the grass at Mantonfest thinking about Nick Harper giving a young George Wilding a shot at Avebury Rocks, I reaffirmed Marlborough is no exception.
Of course, the proficiency of Swinging Blue Jeans or James Oliver is going to rock my world, the archetypal brilliance of a Barrelhouse show at this festival built for them I will never tire of, and though I’m sorry to say I missed breakfast rockers @59 and Ol’ Man Witcomb & the Bergamots, I made up for it with the fun of two fantastic tribute acts, the icing on the cake for me personally was this St Johns section, that and some unique chicken and chips I had from a vendor called Surf n Chips, naturally!
We continue to highlight upcoming talent at Devizine, because face it, sadly the mainstream local press seems only interested in projecting an image of gen z hooliganism for clickbait.
Overall, Mantonfest is a little gem which grows in equal amounts of kindness and charm as it does in stature, yet it seems it hardly expands to unworkable proportions. It doesn’t strive to be the next Glasto, seemingly content with its regulars. Like an exclusive club, if you know you know. Mantonfest will continue, I hope to simply be what it is. If it’s not broken is the motto.
Still, with a wonderful idea to contrast the appeal of matured rockers and embrace the younger ones who tend to not mess around here, rather, to become apprentices of the music they’re witnessing, and that is something commanding the utmost respect for Mantonfest.
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