kent folk

Welcome to issue 117 June/July 2023 issue of Around Kent Folk

By the time you read this the 2023 festival season will be underway with most of the May festivals having taken place and many more about to. I’m hearing on the festival grapevine that many festivals are experiencing much lower advance ticket sales this year compared with last year and before the pandemic. Grants and commercial sponsorship also seem to be much harder to get. A few festivals have been cancelled or the organisers have retired but there are also several new festivals being planned. Locally there seems to be plans for two days of “Folk and Beer” at Betteshanger near Deal in July although not many details seem to be available. If that is true June to July will be packed with local festivals and events. Steve Heap, the General Secretary of the Association of Festival Organisers, which represents around 250 festivals nationwide, asks, ”are we shooting ourselves in the foot by making it even more crowded? Can our potential customers actually afford not only a variety of festivals but even one?” Some tickets for some of the best-known folk festivals can now cost between £300 and £500 or even more. Even a day ticket can be well over £50 at some festivals. What do you think? Let us know at AKF.

Tenterden Folk Festival has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign through Crowdfund Kent on Spacehive. With support from Ashford Borough Council and Ashford Federation of Arts the Trust is raising funds to buy some vital extra festival equipment including enlarging the dance stage which is one of the main attractions on the Recreation Ground. At the time of writing, we have pledges of just over 51% of our target of £8719. To find out more and to support the campaign at just go to www.spacehive.com/festivalequiment.

Alan Castle (Editor) www.tenterdenfolkfestival.org.uk www.aroundkentfolk.org.uk

PS: You can make a donation to Tenterden Folk Festival or this magazine via our websites or by post (see payment details on last page). Thank you.

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Front cover: Ted Handley, Ian Petrie, Steve Shorey. The Ian Petrie Band at the Two Brewers, Sweeps Saturday...

Stay well and take care in these difficult times Folk https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english

A traditional song from a particular region, or a modern song, usually with a tune played on a guitar, that is written in a style similar to that of traditional music.

Peter the Punter

Once again the sun shone on Rochester Sweeps, big blue above the Castle and the cherry trees’ pink blossom swaying by the Cathedral welcoming another huge gathering of colours, tatters, snatches of song, jigs, reels, fiddle music, guests swelling the streets and local families enjoying the welcoming warmth of Spring. A quiet (!) Friday evening at the Rising Sun, catching up with the legendary Karen Woebley from the lamented Good Intent and the Hog Eye Men promised well…

Early on Saturday Morris throngs were soon drumming and stick-whacking the heck out of the morning on the High Street. Jingling bells and ‘dancing cloths’, melodeon whimsies and Speed The Plough… faces green and robes purple… floral arches and black-ragged fearsomes… catching up with old friends… exchanging news and glad to be out and active again.

Stages aplenty for music, each with its own style. Castle Gardens for the big ensembles, Boley Hill and the intimate City Wine Bar for acoustic atmosphere and a range of local acts, Crown Stage for the Songwriters’ Den, Eastgate Quarter and the Cathedral Crypt- I enjoyed Paul Corcoran’s bright trio and the Silver Darlings’ female shanty crew. The organization must have been formidable, juggling acts from stage to stage, carting instruments through swelling crowds…

Raven Drummers brought fear and glee to Boley Hill and a real treat was Kitka dancers involving passers-by in their swirl of bright costume and fast-flowing Bulgarian folk tunes… Not just a folk stage- Caramellos with uke hits before Lemon and Paice’s quartet of original crafted songs and Bob K on harmonica classics with his grandchildren dancing along… a very full day with happy faces for CJ and Dave Raey in town and The Lowly Strung up by the castle. A funfair too! And to round off the evening, the Ian Petrie band featuring Steve Shorey and the full frontal (Hawaiian shirt) of Ted Handley in the Two Brewers, along with many folk luminaries… what more could we ask for?

Well, on Sunday, more… Hot Rats on the Castle in sapphire blue sky… Will Allen in fetching yellow tatters and pheasant feather hat joyfully entertaining on his Hohner, the cracking young Irish dancers of the McManigan Academy, Fezheads everywhere, sophisticated folk from Rachel Lowrie/ James Fromow and Pytchwood (very expensive chords, Dave and Zahira!) and Milton Hide’s brand of committed, powerful acoustic… crowned by Galician power dancing from Faltrukeirass- a truly international festival, something for everyone, and crowds galore again.. up to the Rising Sun for great and unusual jazz from The Beard Conspiracy in the gloaming…

Great to see Henry Sparks, a true original, on Mayday morning and Rosie Eade braving the cooler conditions with her combo before the theatrical Pretending People drew a huge crowd for their entertaining rockabilly… as did Mokum all weekend… spits and spots threatened, but Jack-In-The-Green saw them off- congratulations to the Morris in the procession, most of whom had been up at the grey crack of dawn to dance around their respective stones… lots of Loose Women and Offcumduns… Hartley singing… Four Gone in the crypt… Gypskazz up top, CJ racing up to drum as only she can…before skipping back to play her Wine Bar Stage… wunderbar! Sunblessed, we all headed home… those chants really do work…

Big congratulations to Gordon Newton and Doug Hudson for once again putting on this fantastic festival with such good humour- a memorable treat for thousands of families and us folkies alike. Also the sound crews and security, doing their work with smiles and care, all greatly appreciated. The Council too: the support from the top and the Events organization is wonderful. All that goes on behind the scenes has restored a stunning weekend to the calendar- long may it continue!

Deal Folk Club

1st and 3rd Thursdays 7.15pm-10pm St Andrews Church Hall, West Street, CT14 6DZ

June 1 – Singers Night

June 15 – Porchswing Blues

July 6 – Singers Night

July 20 – Dan Walsh

August 3 – Singers Night

Admission: £7/8 Guest Nights, £3 Singers Nights

Tea & coffee available or bring your own drink www.dealfolkclub.org.uk Information 01-304-360877

KImberleys

In 2022 Isobel and Jim Kimberley started a summer season of folk concerts in conjunction with The Chambers Café bringing national touring folk acts to Folkstone town centre. They have a long connection with Folkestone and after COVID they were keen to continue bringing their music to the town. As a full-time touring folk duo, they found themselves meeting and sharing stages with many quality acts and with the encouragement of Chris and Liz from The Chambers they decided to run a monthly club featuring unamplified traditional folk musicians.

Despite having the most folky name in England, Folkestone was poorly represented in the genre though there is a thriving base of musicians, artists, venues and galleries. Chambers was intended to improve the situation at a grass roots level. Regular touring brought Isobel and Jim to the Harbour Arm and The Chambers and they always looked forward to visiting and enjoying a swim in the sea and the fish and chips. They know a great day out when they have one, and the best end to any day is a tec-free performance to an open attentive audience, bringing acts they have been impressed by, to an acoustically beautiful room. They began in April 2022 with Brown Boots, vivacious musicality on melodeon and fiddle. In May they welcomed Chalk Horse Music, a 5-piece band utterly grounded in folk tradition but creating a contemporary sound pleasing to traditionalists and ears new to the folk scene. The concerts proved successful enough to continue through to December 2022 with groups such as Doves Vagaries (music hall to medieval) and Bridget & Kitty (sibling harmony) to our own Christmas show (Christmas with The Kimberleys).

The 2023 line up so far features international folk pairing Linde Nijland and Bert Ridderbos on 31st May. Broomdasher bring their 5-part harmony astonishment on 21st June and on July 19th, Andy Cutting, multiple awardwinning member of Blowzabella, Leverett and collaborator with The Who! Wherever folk and roots music happen he’s there, being brilliant. Thrilling live authentic music that uplifts the spirit and calms the soul. The folk scene in Folkstone is growing; there’s a monthly session at Home Taproom called Folke Around The Table (first Thursday of the month, Americana, Country, Folk), the occasional folk superstar at Lees Cliffe Hall and of the monthly delight, treasure and treat which is The Chambers with Folk:Sea:Sun.

Jenny Pudding

Folkestone

Scene & Heard

After Sweeps… written before the weather forecast…

March and April saw a feast of folk around the county- a delight to see Paul Downes in his customary affable form at Faversham, with Annie Winter contributing a floor spot. As with Steve Turner at Tonbridge, expertise worn very lightly and enthusiasm which suffuses the room. I was amazed by the sheer camaradie of Brown Boots, Will Allen on squeezebox and Martin Clarke on fiddle showing that pure tunes woven in and out with decorations and harmony can sound as free as country air.

The adventures of Four Gone Confusion continue across the South, thoroughly entertaining essays into guitar virtuosity and a wide songbook… always a surprise in the locker for those who hear them regularly set about with smiles and deft presentation. Their Zoom presence is now being rewarded with festival and club gigs around the country.

Proof that local music is picking up came mid-April where the diary gave Broadstairs Woodshed (Tomfoolery, puns and jollity galore), Tonbridge Caroline Kendall (delightfully lyric-clear vocals ornamented with sympathetically gentle guitar), Dartford Johnny Coppin (a long-time hero of mine, new album and such rapport, encouraging audience harmony to their favourites as the sound soared), Faversham Si Barron (quicksilver DADGAD and quirky intros), Deal solo (recently reopened, always a strong bunch of characters, songs maritime and Kentish)… and so much more that there’s always a choice…. Young ‘Uns at Sandwich, John Conolly at Rosslyn Court, Liz Simcock at Orpington… we should recognize how lucky we are to have so many sound organisers and rooms in Kent. Particularly good to revisit Dartford in the Far North- looking forward to a Southern double-header with Steve Moreham and Capella on 4 July…. A lovely venue and excellent sound.

Well worth checking out Rosslyn Court’s monthly attractions, Una Bellingham’s new Irish session, James Kerry’s Scratch Band venture and French Connection, for which see Morag’s advertisement for exact dates and times. All good participation.

Delighted to be officially an Artefact… my family has been telling me that for years…

Maidstone Museum’s fine Hoodening and Guising exhibition is still running, with the Whitstable Hoodeners’ song immortalised in Aaron Janes’ evocative cartoon… James Frost has curated a fascinating display of horses and other traditional relics together with plenty of stunning footage from country-wide sources- Abbots Bromley, Combe Martin, Padstow, various Jacks-In-The Green. Definitely worth a visit, and allow plenty of time… Guest nights, singarounds and sessions abound: the former Good Intent in Medway is now at the Rising Sun, Delce Street Rochester on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, and hosted the Sweeps sessions… there’s always Crabble Mill, the Moore Or Less, Tenterden and Egerton as advertised…the long-established Tartar Frigate Wednesdays; the Market Inn at Faversham continues … and many more.. when do we sleep?

However there is also some sad news that some publicans are preferring not to open on quiet nights rather than host folk sessions. This isn’t new, stories across the county have regularly arisen over the years of successful sessions not being to the taste of the landlord, or being uneconomic to run.

Roger Resch of Travelling Folk made the point recently that sessioneers could helpfully include some of the more popular and recognizable songs to which pub regulars relate… and Mike Wheeler and I have had many conversations as to how we cannot expect publicans to live on a single drink per person per session. A difficult one; expense of drinks/ driving have weakened our case for free room. If we are performing in a public arena, it’s to be expected that if customers drift off the publican will start looking at his till. Very rarely is quality an issue in truly acoustic sessions; it maybe more to do with the autotuned apprentice era…

Which leads to delving into world music: forgive me those who know far more. However Joe Boyd in his excellent White Bicycles makes the point that once you let the genie out of the bottle (he was talking about traditional American music) and introduce new recording techniques it’s almost impossible to go back. His mantra of ‘straight to stereo, no mixing, no over-dubbing- and no digits’ for the best sound is worth restating. It’s where recent recordings by Brown Boots, Milton Hide, Megson, James Kerry et al score- they can actually play live what they record.

Some world performers like Sona Jobarteh blend traditional instruments with guitars and modern drums to make a sound which gets their message recognised. Hi-tech mastering and phrase editing inevitably become the norm. The same probably happened in the 1970s somewhat suddenly to English folk music- personally I found then that Phil Tanner was pretty difficult to listen to on cassette… though instinctively I tuned in to George Belton… and that Fairport and Steeleye were immediately accessible to those of us new to folk music. The big bands led so many of us into diverse passages… and opened so many doors…

We are indeed fortunate that so much is still available and that festivals and clubs keep alive so many excellent performers to be seen close too and live… also that long may that continue!

Have a Jolly Good Summer!

Bob Kenward

7-9 JULY 2023

STUNTNEY ESTATE

SOHAM RD · ELY · CB7 5TR

★ F erocious Dog ★ Eliza Carthy Trio ★ Edward II ★ Gerry Colvin Band ★ Katie Spencer

The Willows ★ Banter ★ Seto Kanuteh ★ The Often Herd

The Magpies ★ The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonigan

The Finn Collinson Band ...and lots more. *All artists confirmed subject to contract MORRIS DISPLAYS, REAL ALE BAR, TRADE STALLS, WORKSHOPS, DANCES, CHILDRENS’ ENTERTAINMENT

WEEKEND TICKETS: Tier 1 from £99; Tier 2 from £112; Tier 3 from £126 Concessions available • Children under 12yrs free • Day Tickets available

Box office: www.elyfolkfestival.co.uk