How it is done is within the creative and industrious mind of organiser ‘Beardy Dave’. Regardless of the twists and turmoil, both artists and folk fans alike are mightily grateful that the show continues to go on. So from the striking of the eleventh hour on Friday morning to well past the other eleventh hour late on Sunday evening, a continuous stream of high quality diverse music flowed from a supply line that has been tested but not switched off over the last fifteen or so months.
When it comes round to doing a festival review there has to be a few stakes in the ground. Closely observing thirty-six acts up front and in person is an enduring and a slightly improbable task give or take the odd moments to refuel, socialise and take a breather. Admittedly you can already cross one off the list as yours truly didn’t arrive on site until midday on Friday and thus Garden stage openers The Meadows were missed. Although to my credit every other act at least caught the ear and eye, even it meant a few words have gone astray as we try to revisit what happened, but most importantly what floated the boat on this mid-summer weekend.
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| Merry Hell |
Folk music in its many guises was present across the weekend, which cannot be said about the sunshine and missing British summer. Folk fans are a stoic bunch and as long as you were prepared to wrap up against the unseasonably cold air of the Shropshire Hills especially as the headliners took to the stage, you were faintly rewarded by the rain largely staying away during the day and duly warmed from the stirring displays put on for you by artists hungry for some live music renewal.
Let’s put these meteorological irreverences to one side for a moment and focus on what Beardy Folk served up in 2021. At the end of each day, I decided to nominate four of the dozen acts who made the most impression during the previous twelve hours. This is a wholly personal process and not necessarily guided by eminence or perceived technical superiority. So here are the twelve to shine in these quarters, with a bit of room left for a few general mentions.
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| Phoebe Rees |
The first of Friday’s quartet was a known entity in the shape of Suffolk-based duo Honey and the Bear. They were noted in advance on the back of reviewing their new album earlier in the year. Music is so refreshing when you can match an album deep dive with a live show. Maybe an hour long festival set is not the same as a gig, but growing the duo format to a four piece paid dividends and the elegance and subtlety of JOURNEY THROUGH THE ROKE shone through from the palatial surroundings of the main stage on the Meadow.
In contrast to the familiarity of Honey and the Bear, Roswell were a new name to me, although it turned out one half had crossed my path with a little post-set checking. Roswell is a female duo comprising of Zoe Wren and Jasmine Watkiss and they sprinkle their style of folk with a dash of Americana gold dust. It is the solo work of Zoe that I am aware of, but it didn’t twig at the time. However, the Friday afternoon set on the smaller Garden stage was a delightful place to be.
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| Jacob and Drinkwater |
Staying on the Garden stage and the third key set from Friday was delivered by Lauren Housley and her accompanying three-piece band. Headline is not necessarily the right term for last on the Garden stage due to the balancing of set times right across the day, but Lauren was a fitting act to close things with her classy brand of all things Americana, classic pop and a nod to many genres. There was even a touch of folk, but as US band Dawes once said, ‘all music is folk music when you strip the layers away’. Despite following the career of Lauren Housely since her debut album surfaced a few years ago now, this was a live christening and she didn’t disappoint by knocking out loads of top songs from her recently released acclaimed album GIRL FROM THE NORTH.
So bringing Friday to a close was left to feisty folk ensemble Merry Hell to inject some passion and spirit into the pot with a tub thumping, barn stomping, anthem chanting display of socially conscious protest music. They have been on my periphery for a number of years, but this was the first real exposure and it was an inspiring hour-plus to warm the chilly extremities. We had a preview via co-front person Virginia Kettle playing a mainly mid-afternoon solo set and this neatly segued into a rousing finale.
Apologies for not diving deeper into the other Friday acts, with The Haar, graced by the beautiful vocals of Molly Donnery, coming closest to gatecrashing the final four.
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| Fine Lines |
The unfortunate episode of not making the start on Friday was appeased with an earlier Saturday arrival to catch Lunatraktors on the Garden stage. It transpired that the daily 11 till 12 slot was curated by Fatea Magazine under the auspice of ‘giving artists a voice’. While this inventive and innovative duo didn’t make the final four, they certainly entertained and duly broadened the scope of where folk music can take you.
In fact it was the next artist up on the Garden stage that were first entrant into this day’s most impressionable quartet. Phoebe Rees required only a fiddle, a fine voice and a headful of fascinating tunes and stories to tempt those who like their folk in transatlantic mode. Blending Appalachia and Cheshire from a traditional perspective worked wonders and this artist definitely became a name to mark for the future. Beardy Folk in its four-year tenure has unearthed several young performers to show a glimpse of a flourishing future, and they delivered again with the talents of Phoebe Rees.
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| Calum Ingram |
Lukas Drinkwater is one of those artists omnipresent by association, influence and steering the talents of others, but not so much in the spotlight sharing the spoils by name. This is corrected when teaming up with his colleague Tobias Ben Jacob and hitting the stage under the duo name — surprisingly called - Jacob and Drinkwater. Two o’clock on the main stage in the meadow was the appointment time for them to show a wider audience what they can do in tandem. Those settled in their chairs on an afternoon markedly warmer than the previous day were dealt a real treat as the duo set about laying the foundation for an upcoming album release and tour. Jacob, now based in Poland therefore logistics are presently proving a challenge, drives the act vocally and operates very much in the singer-songwriter sphere rather than a folkie wandering down a traditional path. Drinkwater falls back on his trusty stringed talents and together they blend an exquisite sound to reach out far from the confines of genre purists. A stellar performance that eased into one of Saturday’s four peak slots.
A couple of hours after veteran DJ and folk luminary Mark Radcliffe had vacated his Garden stage slot following wooing an attentive crowd with candid tales and shared song, he turned up playing drums for a band from his fellow north west. Fine Lines is the name of this band and they set the stall out of being the weekend’s leading flag bearers for a style of music now commonly bound in the sphere of catch-all Americana. Of course, folk music can be very loose and encompassing around its fringes and this tight-knit seven-piece combo complete with the sole pedal steel spotted over the weekend stole the spotlight with a finely curated and assuredly composed performance. Away from its core, any folk festival can throw up an act that could easily slide into an alternative universe and Fine Lines walked away with this prize alongside a wealth of new admirers.
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| Honey and the Bear |
Just before the fourth key highlight from Saturday is revealed, a quick mention for the virtuoso musicianship of Inlay, the eminence of Benji Kirkpatrick that requires very little introduction and the stirring job Holy Moly and the Crackers did sending a rather sodden audience dancing away into very nearly Sunday morning.
However the final spot on Saturday’s fab four went to the evocative and awe inspiring Sam Brookes bringing the Garden stage to a close with a fully impassioned performance blending shades of experimental rock with the subtleties of alt-folk. This full band performance epitomised how much an artist can totally immerse themselves into a transfixed zone and take an eager audience on a shared journey. This wasn’t the last we saw of Sam Brookes over the weekend as he played an integral part in the closing presentation of The John Martyn Project on Sunday evening.
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| Sam Brookes |
We stay on the Meadow stage for the second Sunday highlight and the luscious coastal and Cornish inspired Celtic sound of Brother Sea. Two-fifths of this band are better known as the folk duo Harbottle and Jonas, but they seamlessly blend into a more expansive act when teamed up with the exquisite fiddle of Anna Baylis, the haunting cello of Calum Ingram and the charismatic leadership of exiled Scot Kris Lannen. A fully absorbing set won over many new fans with the added spice of an upcoming new album to look forward to when these busy musicians smooth the path for a release that will warrant their talents.
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| Aaron Catlow and Kit Hawes |
The Brother Sea connection means we have to skip over the third Sunday pick and land on the fourth and final slot which had to go to Calum Ingram’s solo performance. You could plant it on this guys ability to improvise the electric cello to wild new places or to filter in how he mashes jazz, blues, folk, indie and even electronica into an enthralling and slightly raucous act. Yet the main effect has to be a brief emotional meltdown on stage which pricked the sentiment of every pair of watching eyes. This guy had missed live music probably more than any punter in front of him and the sheer relief of playing for real people again stole the moment. This was Beardy Folk's most important two minutes and with no shame, a moist eye was shared.
Finally we come to the last of the twelve acts, who were technically third in Sunday's list, to make the cut on this virtual highlight of what was a very real festival. Kit Hawes and Aaron Catlow were introduced with a quote likening them to an updated version of Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy, and this lauded praise floated high in a Shropshire sky as the combined talents of fabulous fiddle and gorgeous guitar serenaded a dreamy late afternoon Meadow mellowed audience. Their music took you to far away places in a haze of stringed supremacy. To bring us back down a little, we saw Kit Hawes later in the evening as another key cog in the cleverly curated presentation of The John Martyn Project.
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| Brother Sea |
While not making the final cut, this polished and atmospheric celebration of the work of a true great of English music was a fitting finale for Beardy Folk. Also pushing Sunday’s final four to the limit were Faustus, a band with more superlatives attached to their music than the whole of Beardy Folk put together and the intoxicating world music vibes flowing freely from the chosen instruments of Solana.
While for practical and purely personal reasons there was a need to draw up this highlighted summary list, there was effectively a truly holy trinity of winners across the weekend: every artist taking to the stage; every fan returning to their spiritual home in front of the stage; every active person creating the entity of a festival that Covid-19 can’t conquer. ‘Beardy’ might be figurative, humorous or just plain catchy, but it has played a significant part in rehabilitating live music.