FolkEast Festival
Glemham Hall 

Now in its second decade this festival may not be as well-known as other folk festivals such as Cambridge, but it is establishing a reputation for being one of the best-loved events in the folk calendar with both new acts and veterans performing over three main stages in the beautiful parkland of Glemham Hall in Suffolk.

Against the backdrop of broadcaster Matthew Bannister walking 180 miles from the Wickham Festival in Hampshire to raise money for musicians who had fallen on hard times during lockdown, Friday night saw Celtic instrumental group Imar have the audience on their feet. This was then followed by The Magpie Arc, a bringing together of five established musicians with a combination of styles, whose repertoire included the Si Kahn song about the disability rights movement What You Do with What You’ve Got and the English traditional Cutty Wren.

With a mix of medieval folk and progressive rock Saturday saw the Joshua Burnell Band sing songs from their most recent album Glass Knight. Other young performers included Ellie Gowers who sang her song The Stars Are Ours celebrating the Wild Camping court victory and the always engaging Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne with a set ranging from traditional folk to music hall.

Following his performance with The Magpie Arc, Martin Simpson did an inspiring solo set which included Palaces of Gold, Leon Rosselson’s song about the Aberfan disaster, but linking the theme to obtaining justice for Grenfell. Other themes involving social injustice were explored by Rory McLeod in his own inimitable style. 

Later on, though we got some comedy from Spooky Men’s Chorale with their hilarious We Are Not a Men’s Group prior to headline act Capercaillie giving a sparkling set of Celtic sounds.

Sunday saw another veteran Jez Lowe perform songs dealing with the lives of working-class people in the north-east of England and ending with Louisa’s Choice, a tribute to his friend Louis Killen, a key figure in the folk revival, who later chose to live life as Louisa Killen. 

Evening time at the main stage saw the beautiful vocal harmonies of Lady Maisery followed by a stirring performance from festival sponsors The Young ’Uns, with their songs celebrating real-life heroes from John Ball to Johnny Longstaff. Then from the new acts on to veteran legends Lindisfarne who brought the house down with Lady Eleanor, Fog on the Tyne and Meet Me on the Corner. I was not the only person of a certain age singing along, but neither was it solely people of my generation. 

With a nice, relaxed atmosphere and scheduling that did not mean too many clashes this was a thoroughly enjoyable festival and a linking together of the traditional and the contemporary world of folk.

info: folkeast.co.uk