There is surely no finer boutique festival setting or set up
than the delight the organisers of Moseley Folk serve up to the good people of
Birmingham each September. In fact the operation has just celebrated its tenth
birthday and yet another eclectic mix of genre stretching artists was assembled
in the marvellous surrounds of the privately operated Moseley Park. The
perpetual sounds from two closely aligned stages ensure a seamless stream of
good music for nearly twelve hours each day with the added delight for hardened
fans to catch every act on the bill live. This luscious tree lined amphitheatre
setting, with only the brace of stages preventing you tumbling into the Black
Swan populated pool, proves the perfect backdrop to some of the cream of the
English folk scene alongside several surprise inclusions.
Outside commitments prevented attendance on the Friday of
this year’s festival which saw Spiritualised headlining and local acclaimed act
Scott Matthews a late addition to the line-up. Despite a similar commitment
doing the same to Saturday’s stage headlining bands Idlewild and Merrylees, it
is a pleasure to present a complimentary report of many of the artists witnessed
over the weekend. There were a number of ‘must see’ performers on show this
year as well as the usual surprises. Overall the quality was mainly immaculate ranging
from your solo singer-songwriter owning the limelight for thirty minutes to a fuller
assembly of musicians raising the sound to crescendo levels.
With a polite nod to the creaking and depleted Monkees, the vibes
of Gaz Coombes more suitable to other ears and a theatrical anthem fuelled exhibition
from fourteen white cloak clad Texans under the name of The Polyphonic Spree, this
review will focus on the ten most enjoyed sets that lit the festival up in the
eyes and ears of this beholder. So in no particular order here are the artists
that made the cut.
If there was such a thing as the hangover slot, then by
opening the smaller Lunar Stage on Sunday morning Scottish singer-songwriter
Aaron Fyfe provided the kill or cure remedy. With a string of folk songs
delivered in true Glaswegian style and a stray into occasional choice language
for a family environment, Aaron made sure everybody in the vicinity knew he was
there and to say a profound effect was forthcoming is an understatement. There’s
no such thing as kicking a festival into life too soon and Aaron played his
part in rousing the early arrivals out of any slumber. 
The Unthanks are one of the most highly acclaimed performers
on the folk scene and their spectacularly moving ten piece show made the Sunday
headline tea time slot a sheer joy to be in listening range. To be more
precise, this set was viewed close at hand and there was probably no more
stunning moment on the festival fields this summer than listening to Rachel and
Becky melt the heart of folks with their version of ‘Magpie’. Everything about the show from the sisters’ clog dancing,
the beautiful orchestral arrangements, the celebrated trumpet solos and the sumptuous
harmonies was blissful and praise for The Unthanks couldn’t be any higher from
these quarters. 
Mirroring The Unthanks on the five o’clock Saturday slot was
US folk rockers Dawes who have been wooing UK and European audiences for the
last week, since their salivating headline slot at nearby Shrewsbury Folk
Festival. Although their set was trimmed by fifteen minutes this time to fit
into the hour, Taylor Goldsmith and the boys were still in an incredible band
zone spilling out a barrage of west coast inspired classic rock tunes to a host
of new ears. While the immaculate quality was identical to Shrewsbury, the band
seemed a lot more relaxed with Taylor highly complimentary of the festival atmosphere
and aura. 
Birmingham band Goodnight Lenin elevated their status in my
book from just a name to now a name with a sound, and a good one to that. They
headlined the Lunar Stage on Sunday night in a seven piece format with the
curious mix of three contrasting keyboard players. The resulting sound was very
impressive and definitely in the style of contemporary Americana rock. The guys
even had a bit of fun when inviting fellow Brummie artist Michael King from
Boat to Row on stage to give a joyous version of ‘Dancing in the Dark’. The biggest compliment to pay to the band is
that they outshone a certain ‘boyband’ from the distant past who followed them.
The deplorable situation of not seeing award winning folk
duo Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker play live was corrected on Sunday afternoon
when a dose of splendid melancholy was served in all its dark splendour. Mixing
Gillian Welch and Sandy Denny covers with their own take on the sad song genre,
described by Josienne as the ‘psycho ballad’, made for an obsessional enticing
half hour. Ben’s exceptional acoustic guitar playing echoed the sounds from
Josienne’s beautiful vocals and together we were invited to wallow in our
misery. There was no hesitancy in adding this golden moment to the top ten and
an essential fix for any folk festival.
While on the topic of beautiful voices, perhaps the stand
out moment of the festival from this standpoint was the delightful set from
Olivia Chaney on the main stage on Saturday afternoon. This is one remarkably
talented lady who not only possesses a heavenly voice, but turns her hand
majestically to piano, assorted guitars and harmonium. Attention was drawn to
Olivia earlier this summer and discovering her debut album THE LONGEST RIVER.
The promise from this finding has been fulfilled after seeing her play live and
as a performer who just views herself as a genre free artist playing, singing
and writing songs she takes a liking to, the future is set to be very prosperous
for Olivia Chaney.
While championing many artists across the globe in this
easily accessible virtual world, it is sometimes refreshing to support and
promote a performer closer to home. As an aside to the two main stages at the
Moseley Folk Festival, local roots venue the Kitchen Garden Café organised a
smaller stage for local acts, strategically located to pull in fans on the way
to the bar. Among the array of talent to frequent this stage across Saturday
and Sunday was Stourbridge based folk outfit Kim Lowings and the Greenwood. More
will be heard from Kim in the remainder of the year as she releases her new
album HISTORIA. However she chose to use her half hour set to mainly sing a
bunch of festival songs often inviting audience participation. The draw of the
main two stages regretfully meant this part of the festival was only occasionally
visited, but an opportunity to once again catch Kim and the guys sing live was
too good to miss.
Two years ago The Cadbury Sisters played the Lunar Stage at
an earlier time than their late afternoon Saturday slot this year. Over the
course of this period, the family trio with the name defining heritage have
evolved their sound from the acoustic side of folk to a more experimental indie
fused output characterised by dark electric guitars and a thumping beat. There
is a little bit of Sharon Van Etten to their new style and the resultant
projected offering from the girls was rather appealing. The success of any
festival appearance is provoking an audience response to further seek out the
band’s recorded material and own shows. The Cadbury Sisters succeeded in
achieving this.
On the back of an eclectic festival giving a stage to such
Americana tinged bands as Dawes and Goodnight Lenin, the solid guitar driven
groove sound of US act Houndstooth went down well with a fair few festival
goers. Of course many purists may scoff at this sound taking precedence at a
folk festival, but as was alluded by Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes recently that underneath
all this electric amplification are just basic folk songs. There is also the
little matter of a certain folk festival in Newport Rhode Island precisely half a century
ago this year. Anyhow, Houndstooth played their part memorably and once again
showed this festival as giving a brief slot to promote aspiring overseas acts.
Last but not least, and this is not in any particular order
remember, it is impossible to ignore the ubiquitous presence of festival
favourite Jim Moray and this time with his new band collaboration, False
Lights. This project is the brainchild of Jim and Sam Carter with both sharing
the limelight leading functions to unveil a plethora of folk songs in a more
rocked up version than you normally associate with either artist. This
fascinating set on the main stage during Saturday afternoon passed a
mesmerising hour and made you appreciate just what fine musicianship was on
show throughout the festival.
Just falling short of the top ten were Peacock Angell, Abi
Budgen, Michael King’s solo slot on the main stage and a rolling back the years
performance from folk icons Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick. However the true
winners were the seamless flow of great music and the festival inhabitants of
the West Midlands who frequented this fine weekend in good numbers, blessed
with the best weather September can offer. Finally apologies to any act missed
off this review and to the festival for slyly sloping off to other gigs on the
Friday and Saturday nights. A footnote and slight clue to the overall highlight
is that they are from Northumberland and very, very good.