With the usual ingredients of double bass, banjo, fiddle and
a vast array of different guitars, plus the sunshine that materialises to order
each year, the sixth Maverick Festival once again turned Easton Farm
Park into a little piece of Americana nirvana. This fast expanding genre has
seemingly found its home in the rural surroundings of deepest Suffolk and while
there are other highly laudable festivals for this music, Maverick has perhaps
the largest gathering in the UK of likeminded artists under a single ticket.
From the opening bars of London band Mad Staring Eyes (or in its singular form
on this occasion) launching the Clubhouse Records dominated Peacock Café on
Friday evening to the delightful Carrivick Sisters closing proceedings in the
mid Sunday afternoon heat, the procession of quality artists was relentless,
rewarding and refreshing.
The downside of any festival is the yet to be discovered
ability to have a simultaneous presence at more than one stage so apologies to
any artist omitted from this review. A precision planned agenda was also
strictly adhered to as there were so many artists who have raised their profile
with me this year and this was a wonderful opportunity to see many live for the
first time. So sit back for a highly structured and chronological journey of
Maverick Festival 2013.
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| Paul McClure |
Like most of the weekend, time was spent on Friday evening
split between the Barn and the Peacock Café. This decision was based on the
latter being almost the domain of artists signed to the evolving stable of
talented acts known as Clubhouse Records. Prior to checking out the other
stages, a trio of performances caught the eye and definitely raised their
awareness as all were on my radar awaiting the opportunity to impress. The folk
influenced style of Troubadour Rose was first out the blocks and they managed
to overcome the sound distractions of a nearby stage to deliver a great set of
roots- infused music. The more upbeat output from The Cedars was to follow and their
exciting vibrant sound confirmed the admiration given to them by many trusted
online sources. In between, Paul McClure completed this Clubhouse trio with a highly
entertaining bout of competent and confident singer-songwriter material
flavoured with a dry spontaneous wit which depicted exceptional, if unintended,
comic timing. Hopefully all three will receive further coverage here in the
future.
Redlands Palomino Company and Case Hardin were the other
Clubhouse acts and while the former have long been firm favourites, it is hoped
to catch up with the latter sometime in the future. Unfortunately they both
missed out to the strong calling of finally catching, after a number of visits,
a Police Dog Hogan set. Also there was the evening’s highlight of the UK return
of the fabulous Eileen Rose. Now settled in Nashville after moving around for
many years, the rejuvenated Eileen showed all the old sparkle that has endeared
her to UK audiences. With a hot off the press new release proudly brandished
(and is rather good), she impressed immensely throughout her set which also showed
the Barn audience why the Legendary Rich Gilbert is known as such. His guitar
playing was spellbinding whether on pedal steel or full on electric and will
certainly remain in the memory bank for a long time.
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| Hannah Lou and Trevor Moss |
The Saturday of Maverick, as in my previous four visits, was
once again blessed with warm sunshine and there was no better launch of twelve-plus hours of music than ‘Lulu Walls’
by Porchlight Smoker. This Brighton-based four piece band has been continually
acquiring new fans over the past year with a sound which straddles a multitude
of sub genres, all true to the core of American roots music. Amongst the early
Barn performers was a duo who gave a spine tingling demonstration of how to
capture exquisite harmonies around a single mic. The latest album by Hannah Lou
and Trevor Moss is good and many people have raved about their live shows.
Quite frankly, for forty minutes on Saturday lunch time they blew me and many
others away to fully justify these reviews. Just before indulging in some
afternoon sun at the main outdoor stage on The Green, a self determined promise
to watch the set of Scottish singer-songwriter David Latto was fulfilled. David, undertaking a rare venture south with his sidekick Gavin, produced a great self
titled album at the end of last year and enough people hung around the Barn to
hear some fine songs including the impressive ‘God I’m Drinking Tonight’. David is the sort of UK Americana talent
that needs developing and supporting to enhance the home grown band of
artists.
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| Carrivick Sisters |
The first artist witnessed who was entertaining those
basking in the welcome rays on The Green were the highly sought after Carrivick
Sisters. Firm favourites of the festival scene, the siblings from Devon have a
traditional sound that flirts between bluegrass and orthodox folk. Their talent
and sincerity to this art form is self evident when catching them live and this slot at the
Maverick Festival saw a double bass added to provide more rhythmic support.
Next up on the outside stage was Californian country outfit I See Hawks in LA
and for a brief moment you could have been excused for letting your mind drift
thousands of miles west to the Sunshine State. While it was hard to drag
yourself away from this piece of west coast magic, the bonus was knowing you were
going to one of their gigs a mere 24 hours later. Anyway, the added appeal was
returning to the Barn to savour the set of Sussex’s finest exponents of
Appalachian and folk fused roots music, Hatful of Rain. From the stable of
Lewes based multi faceted music enthusiasts the Union Music Store, the beautiful
tones of Chloe Overton supplemented by the versatile string playing of Fred
Gregory and the driving beat of bass man Phil Jones set Hatful Rain apart from many
other acts. Their last album was exceptional and there are high hopes for its
eagerly awaited follow up.
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| Old Man Luedecke |
A Canadian combination of blog favourites The Good Lovelies
and Old Man Luedecke completed the outdoor stage line up as the afternoon
turned the corner into evening which always seems a shame on such a beautiful
day. These two artists never fail to deliver an enticing show whether wooing
festival crowds or entertaining avid fans at their headline gigs. The Maverick
Festival was the ideal setting for them to complete their 2013 UK trips and
there is no doubt that there will be open invitations for them to return in the
future. The strong links between Canada, the US and the UK are central to the
ideals of the festival which by its stature will always seek value for money artists
together with a consistent track record of not compromising on quality.
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| Danni Nicholls |
A little bit of a truncated set by high quality Canadian
roots star Ruth Moody and her band was eased by catching one of her own shows
live 48 hours earlier but the joy of hearing her golden voice even for a couple of songs was unmissable. Inevitably there are going to be infuriating clashes
when so many must see artists gather in one place and on this slightly cooling
Saturday evening once again the Peacock Café proved a greater draw to me than
the Barn. Danny George Wilson led off in the venue with the iconic backdrop and
he was definitely preaching to the converted with a solo Champs-less set that
was enthusiastically greeted by his faithful. Next up was a chance to hear
tracks from one of the best albums to emerge from a UK Americana artist this
year. Danni Nicholls didn’t disappoint with her set as she went about re-creating
the powerful songs from A LITTLE REDEMPTION which received a highly favourable
review here. Previously Danni had appeared solo at this festival but for 2013
her set had evolved with two supporting musicians. This highly recommended
artist is one to look out for, both live and on record.
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| Anna Coogan |
The final three acts to grace the Peacock Café stage each
made a significant mark albeit in their differing styles. Anna Coogan impressed
with a bunch of fine songs embracing a little bit of country and lot of folk.
The Twitter request for the captivating song ‘Red Shoes, Black Dress’ demonstrated the great taste of the
requester and her overall set, including the nine minute long ‘The Crucifixion,’ won many plaudits from
those electing to sample the charms of this singer-songwriter haven. For the
slot allocated to another Canadian, Dennis Ellsworth, a mini band including
festival organiser Paul Spencer on drums and legendary UK pedal steel guitarist
BJ Cole was assembled as the heat was turned up in the Peacock. The strength
and crowd pleasing nature of this set thrilled a packed venue as Dennis flavoured
his songs with a touch of country and led a sing along version of Townes Van
Zandt’s ‘Heavenly Houseboat Blues’.
The end of this set paved the way for festival’s major overseas booking to take
to the Peacock Café Stage and show why they are still a fabulous talent on the
US alt-country scene. It may have been nearly a decade since Mindy Smith shot
to fame with her stunning version of ‘Jolene’
and the subsequent AMA award but this accomplished Nashville artist, once
getting to grips with a few sound issues, displayed the talent that won her
those accolades. Unfortunately the hour long performance started a little late
and thus prevented catching the Leeroy Stagger late night Barn set but with
opportunities to see him live later on the tour, there was no regret in
savouring this rare UK performance by Mindy Smith.
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| Hatful of Rain |
While in essence the soul of the Maverick Festival resides
within the full Saturday programme, a fair number of punters turned out for the
short finale comprising of the now established Sunday gospel brunch. As well as
seeing second performances by Hatful of Rain and the Carrivick Sisters, this
bonus day presented an opportunity to catch a set by a band which by all
accounts had gone down a storm on Saturday. The energetic Rainbow Girls
succeeded in engaging the audience in a high octane bout of roots music which
echoed with an authentic and natural charm. A late addition to the festival saw
a performance by the excellent Polly and the Billets Doux who with a
combination of double bass, drums and electric guitar, delivered a string of
infectious songs to those intent on putting the diversion of events from SW19
on hold and getting their fix of Americana music right to the sad eventual end.