Tag: trowbridge festival

By Andy Fawthrop

Folk Me! – Another Great Local Music Festival

You don’t necessarily need a long pedigree to stage a successful music festival, but it certainly helps.  Started way back in 1970, and now in its 55^th year, Trowbridge Festival is definitely coming of age, leaving its long, long heritage as The Village Pump Folk Festival trailing in its stellar wake.  This was the fourth year at its latest site in Southwick, and things are starting to settle back in again, attracting an increasingly large number of folks who want to buy a weekend ticket and camp in a field for three days of fabulous live music.  This year was as near to a sell-out week-end as makes no difference….

Full disclosure – I was part of the Site Team that helped to build the arena (and knock it down again later), so I might be said to have something of a vested interest.  I might also even have sneaked in an Open Mic appearance on one of the stages on Sunday. However, I had absolutely zero influence over the programming of the event, nor any over the truly excellent quality of the many fine artists who appeared this year. So what follows is my honest appreciation of what I saw and heard over the weekend (aided and abetted by fellow Devizine roving reporter Ian Diddams).

Apart all the usual random stuff going on all over the arena (yoga, tai-chi, impromptu music sessions, Morris dancers, stilt-walkers, SAT Co comedy troupe, demonstrations, book launches, photo booths), just like any other festival I suppose, there were three stages of scheduled entertainment to choose from and (thanks to some thoughtful programming) a nice overlap between time-slots, allowing folks to wander around and taste most of the wide variety of talent on show. The arena is not so large or crowded that you couldn’t get across from one venue to another fairly quickly, yet just far enough apart to ensure that there’s no sound leakage between the stages.

And, oh my, the entertainment on offer was simply stunning, both in terms of quality and quantity, to say nothing of the huge diversity of styles.  We had original traditional folk, folk rock, roots, indie, comedy, punk, Irish, swing, bossa nova, big band jazz, dance & ceilidh, euro-romantic/ bohemian, singer/ songwriter, together with the traditional categories of the slightly bonkers, and the totally deluded.  There were over sixty acts, across three stages, and nary a covers band or a tribute act anywhere to be seen.  Whilst the latter certainly have their place in the festival scene, and there are those who really love them, this festival was absolutely not the place for that type of offering.  Here it was all about original music, and whilst there was certainly a smattering of older, traditional folk tunes perhaps re-worked and re-interpreted for the modern era, that was very much in the minority.  Long gone are the days of old men, with their fingers stuck in their ears, singing (ahem) unaccomplished. This weekend it was almost entirely new stuff- fresh, original, lively and an absolute bloody pleasure to listen to.

The selection available to the punters, very much aided by a comprehensive programme booklet, and by a helpful Clashfinder online (thank-you Kieran!), was:

The Pump Stage, at the top of the field, curated and marshalled by our old friend Kieran Moore, promoter, producer, rescuer of venues and general all-round good egg. This year his appearance was completed by his sporting of a wizard’s cloak – say no more! The eclectic array of acts included Water Thieves (excellent skiffle & folk trio), Andy Skellam & Anna Kissell (a little bit serious and too dour for me), our very own Vince Bell (local Devizes hero who, of course, delivered his usual excellent set), Concrete Prairie (best act on this stage on Friday), Ravetank (OK), Antoine & Owena (old folkie friends of mine and who were polished, amusing and really excellent), Woodkern (OK), Terry Sheppard (OK) and Merv Grist (veteran excellent comic poetry and stories). 

Plus several more acts who I didn’t get to see personally (M/X, Fly Fly Triceratops (who I’m assured were a teenage indie outfit who were highly energetic and very, very LOUD), Butane Skies (a female-fronted band with a token male drummer delivering fun alt-rock, previously reviewed here by Darren in 2025), Bellyful, Kurt Alexander, Neverlove, Sunshine Frisbee, Brutalligators, Mexican Dave, a ceilidh with Juniper, Bob Gallie, Luke De-Sciscio & The Real Boys, Rob Quo, Toodles & The Hectic Pity, and the ever-hilarious Scott Doonican).  Also headlining Friday night was none other than Salisbury upstarts, now turned globe trotting (and recently signed to one of the biggest and best talent agencies UTA) indie punkers Carsick.  And the only reason I didn’t get to see all these wonderful people was not because I was lying in a field, blissed out on cider, but because I was too busy watching some great acts on the other stages. So much music, so little time!

The Bar Stage in the middle of the arena, pretending to be simply the Festival’s (Kettlesmith) Bar, run by Matt Cook and Simon Taylor of The Pump Acoustic Club, and featuring a varied mixture of artists. These included: Jennifer Crook (meh), The Cleverly Brothers (legendary comedy artists featuring Tim Webb of Spill The Whiskey, and local comic poet Merv Grist), Sid Bloomfield (another excellent veteran comedy performer), Xaphania (young, local, very impressive), Jane Langley (older, but lively and a bright performance), Seren Alyssa (young & upcoming, and recently seen at The Pump Acoustic Club and in The Fold in Devizes), and the Trowbridge Ukulele Strummers (don’t get me started on where strumming a ukulele can lead you!).

Again, there were several acts that I simply didn’t have the time to catch, including The Frukes, The Anglo-American Almost Allstars, John Coventry, J’s Tonic and the Silver Street Band.

And finally there was The Main Stage at the bottom end of the arena, offering the largest space to stand or dance, or else sit inside or outside the marquee, and featuring some twenty national and international figures.  These were, I suppose, the bigger hitters of the festival. They included Chris Difford (ex-Squeeze) whose classic songs were willingly taken up (to his very obvious delight) by a packed audience, and whose stories of fellow “pop stars” of the 1980s and 1990s were simply hilarious, including the seemingly large number of other artists who’d managed over the years to keep Squeeze from the No. 1 spot in the charts. And the various “w**kers” who he thought would never amount to much, but who ended up playing Wembley six months later, whilst Squeeze were still playing at the back-street pub in Peckham…priceless!

There was the incomparable John Otway Band who delivered the usual hilarious and manic set, yet completely different to his recent appearance at Long Street Blues Club with Wild Willy Barratt.  There was Martin Simpson whose impeccable delivery on vocals and guitar, woven with music stories was fascinating  There was The Rob Lear Band (our friends from over the Welsh border, having recently played The Piggy Bank in Calne, and several events over the years in Devizes). Apart from a sudden mishap with Terry’s guitar at start of their tea-time slot, they were an absolute triumph, and the new songs (squirreled away onto a sneak preview EP CD) were a total delight.

Did I mention the three great bands closing the stage on the three nights? The Welsh band Rusty Shackle, who were an excellent Friday night band for dancing, 3 Daft Monkeys headline finishers on Saturday night with their loud, brash, and tight arrangements, and Merry Hell the superb Festival closers on Sunday with high energy, high comedy and great choruses.

But there were plenty of other bands too: Spill The Whiskey (one of this year’s ceilidhs), Harbottle & Jonas (really excellent), Luke James Williams (OK, bit samey), Liam Vincent & The Odd Foxes (best on main stage on Friday night), Banter (with loads of traditional/ classic songs but fabulously re-arranged), Gabrial Moreno & The Quivering Poets (Saturday starters, superb, interesting, poetic, definitely one of my “undiscovered” picks of the festival), Bluebeard & The Desperate Hours, (featuring our old friend  Phil Cooper on bass), Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh (three nationalities, singing modern songs), Chris White & Julie Matthews (modern folk royalty, joined on stage with a surprise performance by the wonderful Miranda Sykes), The Terry Hall Big Band (superb jazz/ swing from the 1940s – a real toe-tapping starter on Sunday morning), The Magpies  (OK, but a little lacklustre), and Juniper (a superb lively band for a Sunday tea-time).

In addition to all this there was plenty of stuff to have a go at yourself.  Music, after all, is about participation (except in my own case of course). Apart from an extended Open Mic session each day, there were singing and ukulele workshops, two ceilidhs, and silent discos every night in the bar for the campers who didn’t want to go to sleep just yet.

For children and younger adults there was an extensive programme of daily activities and entertainment, ranging from face-painting, to story sessions, roaming entertainers, circus skills, stilt walkers, a slapstick show and workshops for ukuleles and hula hoops.  This wasn’t just an afterthought (we’d better do something for the kiddy-winks), but rather a fully integrated part of the festival. It was so good to see whole families enjoying themselves for the whole weekend. It sure helped to make this a multi-generational thing, and added to the friendly, safe atmosphere.

Add to this a good choice of pop-up food vendors, coffee etc, craft stalls of all types, Lycra Man (IYKYK), a visiting milk man for the camp site, and a breakfast bar, and you have yourself a pretty good set-up.  There was no possible way of getting bored for more than a few minutes.

The sensible, friendly stewarding and security teams, with plenty of space for camping and parking, made this simply amazing bloody value for such a good festival and for so much entertainment. It was so good to see the festival supporting lots of local vendors and businesses, as well as encouraging plenty of local young up-and-coming performers.

This is and was a huge volunteer effort, back-boned by some hard professional services (power, water, security, marquees, sound and lighting, staging etc), and therefore retained a very warm and friendly atmosphere. The stewards and marshals were super-lovely and helpful, nobody behaved like a twat, and the atmosphere was therefore laid-back, relaxed and welcoming.

Chatting to Festival Director Nick Reed at the end of the festival, he pronounced himself absolutely delighted with this year’s festival.  Numbers were up, the music had been great, and the positive feedback had been overwhelming.  “Clearly, we’re very happy.  We’ve still to do the final number-crunching, but the financials look positive. Keeping it small and laid-back has been the right formula and, as we’ve now built the festival to this point, we have both the physical space and the financial confidence to look at some gradual, but gentle, expansion over the next couple of years. We don’t want to lose the vibe and the atmosphere that we’ve slowly built up.  So the future looks very positive.”  Absolutely great news to hear that, especially in recent times where many live events and festivals have suffered lower ticket sales and/ or cancellation.

Like I said – I’m probably a teensy bit biased – but I have to say that this is now an extremely good local music festival.  It’s extremely well organised and well curated. There’s truly something for everyone, it’s good value for money, and it’s also properly local. If you unfortunately managed to miss it this year, I’d highly recommend that you make a space in your diary for next year, allocate your festival budget accordingly, and buy the early-bird tickets as soon as they’re announced. This, truly, is how to run a music festival.

Links for Trowbridge Festival:

www.facebook.com/TrowbridgeFestival

www.trowbridgefestival.co.uk

Links for The Village Pump:

www.facebook.com/thepumptrowbridge

thepumptrowbridge.co.uk 4

Links for The Pump Acoustic Club:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575730922941

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