HarmonicaUK 2022 October Festival Review

This year's HarmonicaUK Festival took place over the weekend of 21–23 October in the UK at the Hillscourt Hotel in Rednal, near Birmingham - a very nice hotel with signs of recent refurbishment in a number of areas. It certainly served our purposes very well, with all single rooms being booked out and all but two of the double rooms in HUK's name. Over the weekend it proved that the catering was very good and the bar prices reasonable. People started to gather around lunchtime on Friday. It was very soon evident that we were all of the same intent, keen to get to know one another regardless of level of ability or which type of harmonica each preferred. Old friends, starved of face-toface meetings due to Covid, and new friends, made over various Zoom meetings, were able to meet, shake hands, swap news and expectations of the weekend to come.

For my part, even as a comparative ‘newbie’, I was soon chatting to Sam Spranger and Cy Leo, both very much younger than me, and each of a very different musical background. Other familiar faces began to appear and the vibe was palpable. So on to the evening when the programme started with the AGM. Because of good preparation, it was done and dusted in quick time. The HarmonicaUK Ambassadors then gave us a show of what we could aspire to. A short break then two concurrent ‘Jam Sessions’ - one for chromatic players in the bar area and the other for jamming with the Ricky Cool and the band on the stage in the Conference Room. A few ‘first-timers’ played live with the band, experiencing the very good lights and sound system to full effect. The closing number had five harp players plus the band plus Rachelle Plas’ partner Philippe Hervouët on guitar - wow, what a finale! On Saturday the Workshops began, with two sets of three in the morning and another two sets of three in the afternoon. Several of the Ambassadors were heading up workshops. Those that I attended were fascinating, certainly shining lights into dark corners for me. Trade stands had been set up in the bar in the meantime, enabling delegates to peruse their wares in the refreshment breaks. In the evening came the announcement of the tie-up between

Michael Putt

HarmonicaUK and Rockschool, and the issue of awards to Ambassadors, which is covered separately in this issue. Entertainment followed, this time from Shima Kobayashi and her husband on keyboard, who showed us the application of the harmonica to classical music. Mick Kinsella displayed his wide-ranging abilities on different harps, including a comedy element. Following on was Antonio Serrano, who treated us to a wide-ranging assortment of music, sometimes recording on a loop box and playing the piano left-handed whilst playing the harmonica. Rachelle and Philippe gave us harmonica and electric guitar - what a player she is! Finally, Sam Spranger and his band Bad Day treated us to some of the songs on their latest album - on sale in the foyer! Many of the attendees then went to the bar and several jamming sessions started up and lasted into the early hours.

Sunday morning gave us two more sets of three workshops; again, Ambassadors were involved in leading some of these. After lunch, the delegates were invited to showcase their wares. Mike Hatchard was in attendance to provide keyboard accompaniment when required. When

the list of performers was exhausted came the handover and closing speeches by Pete Hewitt and Barry Elms respectively. During the late afternoon, delegates started leaving, others later in the evening, while others stayed until Monday. The consensus is that it was a hugely successful Festival. I was a first-timer at one of Harmonica UK's Festivals and I hope I have portrayed that it was hugely enjoyable and educational. If you are a potential first-timer then I hope to see you next year.