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| Duke Special |
It may usually be the domain of the thespian crowd, but for
one day only Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre went into full operational mode to
present a near eight hour continuation of primarily local folk and roots music.
This was a significant step up from the venue’s occasional Monday night
experiment with live music in the bar as both this usual space and the main
auditorium housed around a dozen acts on a seamless rotation. To borrow one
half of the pun-induced title, a great time was had by those sharing their Sunday
with the conveyor belt of artists on parade.
Folkin’ Great held onto the ideals of its organisers to keep
it mainly local by ensuring four of the six main stage acts didn’t have far to
travel. The two exceptions did have pride of place at the top of the bill with East
Yorkshire based Edwina Hayes returning to a venue where she played a successful
show last summer. Shortly after Edwina finished her set, necessary stage
adjustments were made to introduce the headline act all the way from Northern
Ireland in Duke Special. If you’re trying to cover a fair few bases, these contrasting
artists fit the bill neatly. Edwina’s velvet vocals produce reassuring warmth
as she embodies a mellow touch of affable charm. In stark contrast to the conventional
style of Edwina, Duke Special emerges as a quirky random character, spiky in
persona, but totally absorbed in the dedicated art of song.
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| Edwina Hayes |
Duke is also no stranger to Birmingham, with the Glee Club
being a stopping off point on his tours. Tonight the enigmatic pianist and song
writer once again hooked up with his regular percussionist Chip Bailey to play an
enterprising headline set to an audience of whom some took up his second literal
offer to join him on stage. A recurring theme of Duke’s set was his love for
sheet music and he lived up to his billing of possessing theatrical style
inspired by vaudeville and music hall. Perhaps the surroundings and the thinning
intimacy created by a few calling it a long day before the final hour, sent
Duke spinning into a seeking role to explore ways of sharing his obvious
passion for song. This was folk music with a left field tinge, encouraging an
open mind and inviting an adventurous engagement.
Edwina was assigned the role of penultimate headline act in
a mini festival format where the audience was spared a solitary moment of
downtime. Each twenty minute slot of main stage switchover saw a local acoustic
act perform in the bar area. Engaging in refreshments, socialising and
shuffling around the theatre possibly impacted a touch on fully absorbing these
artists, although short sets by the duo Ashland and young singer-songwriter Eve
Singleton were noted for further investigation at a later date. There were no
such distractions in the main house at the festival’s midpoint when two emerging Midlands artists played a couple of
lengthy sets.
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| Kim Lowings and the Greenwood |
Chris Cleverley has been active on the Birmingham gig scene
for a while now, often supporting major touring acts playing the smaller local
venues. Chris launched his own debut album in 2015 and was no doubt thrilled by
the reaction it got from sections of the national media. Chris reverted to his
solo status for this show and displayed his immense acoustic guitar
playing flair alongside a thoughtful and introspective song writing style. Amongst
playing a handful of songs from the album APPARITIONS, Chris intimated a
passion for immersing into the creative world of song writing, aligning this with
a wry sense of humour and increasing maturity as a performing artist.
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| Chris Cleverley |
Following Chris onto the main stage was another rising
Midlands folk performer and the ever impressive Kim Lowings, backed by her
usual band The Greenwood. Kim has been the subject of more than a few column
inches in these quarters over the last couple of years, as the blossoming of
her talent has been witnessed. The band were also busy in the studio last year
with their second album release, but on the second occasion seeing Kim this
year, she is not holding back on the itch for presenting further new songs. If
these unwrapped offerings are pressing to get out then why hold them back. Kim
used the expanses of the Crescent stage to play a couple of these freshly
painted numbers on piano with the applied effect lifting her performing
artistry onto another plain. Upon listening to ‘Firestones’ and ‘I Fly Away’
on this first occasion, one can envisage them being around for a long time,
such was their control and finesse.
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| Soundboard |
The remaining two acts to complete the auditorium line-up were also locally based and in line with what
we were to see later presented as an eclectic view of folk music perception.
Making the short trip from the Black Country was the three piece band The Empty Can
which launched the festival in a folk rock direction with the meatiest offering
of electric guitar that we were to hear throughout the day. This was punctuated by graceful violin and a lead singer swaying between some hearty local
dialect vocals and an alternate singing style comfortable with successfully
pulling off a couple of standard rock covers. The other three piece band which
completed the line-up was known as Soundboard and represented the more traditional
side of the folk genre with severely impressive classical pretensions.
Multi-instrumentalist Natalie Mason raised a few eyebrows when saying she only
returns to the violin for this band and subsequently produced a performance
towering above many on the circuit who major on this instrument.
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| Empty Can |
Upon reflection this eight hour extravaganza of folk music
worked a treat and ensured an enjoyable Sunday afternoon and evening was
had. The inevitable teething issues for a venture in its ultimate infancy
impacted little on the listening audience and overall the sound came across
well in the auditorium. While the organisers may have liked to have sold a few
more tickets to give the main arena a fuller atmosphere, there was a continual
buzz about the venue as folks moved between performances and frequently packing
the bar area. The most important aspect was that the Folkin’ Great guys put on
a fabulous, value for money, diverse show and gave a welcome platform to
several artists representing the depth of local talent with a couple of highly welcome
out of town guests to top the day.
