Miss an act on Friday and you may see them Saturday. If not then, Sunday may deliver. Seasoned festival goers plan accordingly, though casual observers are not exempt from a rewarding dip into this intangible thing called Americana. Apologies to Canadians, Aussies, Swedes and Brits, we all know it’s undefinable but when you know, you know.
Adaptability came to the fore in 2024. The dry Peacock stage awoke early to rescue the wet Green stage. Freeing it mid-afternoon when the usual Suffolk weather resumed. It rarely rains in early July, they say. The Barn stage remains the heartbeat, the epicentre, the meeting place. The Moonshine stage represents Maverick at its subterranean finest, hidden from the masses until the word spills out.
Guitar cases mingle with goats, donkeys and a menagerie of farmyard delights. Sweet sounds of folk, country and Americana smother those prevalent for the rest of the year. Vendor odours temper the richer ones left to the imagination. Hats, band t-shirts, western shirts, boots and rainwear provide the visual backdrop. The aural delights of rural fiddle, rocking guitar and vocals of all persuasion lavishly infiltrate the sensory experience.
Positivity runs through the veins of a weekend smooth in motion and amenable in effect. Gratitude flows from each performance, acknowledgement and applause. Mutuality merges with comradeship as the gulf between artist and audience narrows to an optimum point of connectivity. Lyrics and chords sprinkle silver dust on the hallowed ground. Songs are more prominent than tunes, but words are fuelled by the notes sparking them into life. All co-exist in a corporate-free vacuum. No sell out or fleeced feeling, just a relaxed aura.
Music matters in Easton Farm Park on the first weekend in July. It has done for seventeen summers, minus the year we were consigned to our box. Maverick has bounced back. A crown jewell for some, a staging reliable in delivery and addictive in a good sort of way. A deep rooted smart operation curating a fistful of annual memories. If it is seventeen and out, a legacy would ensue. If it powers on, the formula is failure-free. Appreciate what you have in the present. Wise words for life in general but pertinent for the Maverick Festival after a successful 2024.
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The following artists were intently watched or causally sampled. Apologies to those missed. There is not a bad act in either pool.
Artist pics on Instagram @threechordsandthetruthuk
Friday 5pm to 11:30pm
Box River Junction (The Barn)
Casey Neill (The Peacock)
Florence Sommerville (The Moonshine)
Electric Blue Yonder (The Barn)
Riley Catherall (The Moonshine)
Hezekiah Procter (The Peacock)
Lizzie No (The Peacock)
Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes (The Peacock)
The Sadies (The Barn)
Saturday 10:30am to 11:30pm
The Arlenes (The Peacock - replacing the rain drenched Green)
Ben De La Cour (The Barn)
Riley Catherall - standing in for Over the Moon (The Barn)
Massy Ferguson (The Peacock - replacing the rain drenched Green)
Savannah Gardner (The Moonshine)
Naomi Bedford and the Ramshackle Band (The Green - when the rain stopped)
Cara Luft (The Barn)
James Hodder (The Moonshine)
Big Wheels (The Barn)
Wild Ponies (The Peacock)
Our Man in the Field (The Barn)
Jennifer Saxell (The Moonshine)
Walter Salas-Humara (The Moonshine)
The Pleasures (The Peacock)
Bill Kirchen (The Barn)
Sunday 10:30am to 3:00pm
Gospel Set - Casey Neill, Ella Spencer, Ethan Anderson (The Peacock)
Dom Glynn and His Sunday Best (The Peacock)
Matt Joe Gow (The Moonshine)
Angel Snow (The Barn)
Todd Day Wait (The Moonshine)
Jerry Joseph All Star Band (The Barn)
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