Folk music tradition matters...

This last week I decided to watch the BBC red button transmission of the annual Radio 2 Folk Awards. I have learnt that there are more sub divisions in this genre of music than realised at first, with various factions trying to claim their particular style is more authentically orthodox than the rest. My sense is that this is a problem that tends to arise where there is a clearly defined sub-culture, which folk music surely is.

One of the issues that manifests itself is the 'big fish, small pond' syndrome. Some of the music was simply not that great! A bit like poor versions of mainstream equivalents, even prog. rock (to my prejudiced ear) got a look in. There were notable exceptions from the delightful Karine Polwart and the sublime rendition above from Lifetime (he prefers 'lunchtime') Award recipient, fiddler Aly Bain.

This piece is played with such amazing sensitivity and surpassed anything else that I heard during the evening. Of course, it may have been different actually being there, but from the audience reaction I reckon this was most likely a Secret Chord moment! Unashamed plug warning: read more in Jonathan Evens and my wee book, The Secret Chord!

There are those that have managed to 'crossover' (that dreadful description) to the mainstream, in the last few years Seth Lakeman and Bellowhead to name but two, both of whom have amazing talent and virtuosity. This year an 'outsider' was invited to cross back, as a guest, into the fold, from the big outside world, namely Billy Bragg, who also received a special award.

It was all a bit like going to church, those who knew what was going on were fine, to us on the fringe some aspects were a total mystery (church), lots of meaningless drivel (bad sermons), some inspiring speeches, (good sermons), plenty of average music (typical), a rousing hymn at the end (predictable) and the transcendent rendition from Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham (a rare and precious sacred moment which reminds us what it's all about).

There seems to be plenty of energy devoted to maintaining traditions (back to church again!), but those that choose a higher calling prefer rather to build on the traditions and land up producing something very special, long may that continue...

P

Mud, Sweat and Tears - Greenbelt 2012 review...

...the rains came down and the floods came up - inside the G-Source marquee...

It will be inevitable that Greenbelt 2012 will certainly be remembered for the mud! For some the effect the torrential rain and resulting quagmire(s) was very acute, particularly traders in the infield area of the racecourse where the mud matched the images of a rain soaked Glastonbury. The media usually describes such conditions as those attaining 'Biblical Proportions' and, at times, the deluge was as dramatic. Despite these conditions, a surprisingly joyful spirit pervaded throughout the festival and my abiding perception was that it was a good year!

Prior to the festival I contributed to the Greenbelt Five blog, outlining a selection of events I hoped to attend, I landed up scoring a measly 2.5! So let's start with the music programme, it was exceptional this year with astonishing highlights, here's a top five with some extras:

In fifth place I'm going with Nitin Sawhney. It was clearly a coup to persuade such a respected and an artiste with such cult status to appear. And for the audience such a joy to allow the gorgeous sounds to massage the senses with an audio chill after all the cerebral input that happens at Greenbelt.

Next up is Bruce Cockburn with his welcome return to these shores. Whilst being familiar with his catalogue I had never seen him perform live and love the way his solo approach heightened the lyrical beauty of his canon.

In third place is the performer I've seen most, Seth Lakeman, love his material, playing and was delighted to see the incredible percussionist Cormac Byrne in the line up for this Greenbelt appearance. I've blogged before about the Seth Lakeman trio which features both Cormac and Bellowhead's Kirkpatrick.

The Proclaimers made a most welcome return and provided everyone of all ages a delightful, warm and nuggly feeling as we all celebrated their enduring songs at the top of our collective voices, splashing out 500 miles (and 500 more!) together. I'm placing them at two and a half ;-)

So in 2nd place, only by a whisker, is the brilliant Bellowhead. I've been reflecvting on how best to describe their exuberant performance and musical skill so am going with symphonic folk. The arrangements of the songs tips a nod towards an orchestral structure but with joy and instinct rather than being culturally elite. Sometimes what was happening was simply breathtaking in its sophistication and virtuosity.

Retaining their top slot for a second year running is the phenomena that is Hope & Social. Check out their blog to learn more about the chapter of trouble that befell them on their way... then they still deliver a couple of stunning shows. I've already established that whilst some songs will be delivered in a fairly straightforward manner, the rest is totally about the unexpected! Be prepared for an experience... a unique event.

... a poignant reminder for all those singing along at the Performance Café gig...

In their mainstage late afternoon slot they, as in 2011, started with playing to a sparse audience which grew and grew. Their energy levels, despite the lack of sleep, is remarkable. The entertainment value interminable, the audience engagement powerful and charmingly natural. I persuaded a good handful of friends to make the pilgrimage across the swamp up to the Performance Café for a brilliant, vibrant and deliciously intimate event which won over everyone's heart, I truly hope they will be given better mainstage billing as they represent the epitome of what Greenbelt is all about.

Other honourable mentions must go to:

• The Hobbit of the Austin Francis Connection with his breathtaking (geddit?!) beatboxing.
• Karine Polwart for her charming offer of hope in The Rising singing 'The Sun's Coming Over The Hill'.
• The Tim Crahart Blues Band - caught their excellent set when trying to secure a table prior to Hope & Social's one.
• Willy Porter, the incredible acoustic guitar thrashing virtuoso!
• Abigail Washburn and Kai Welch
• My buddy Rob Halligan's set in the Performance Café

So onto the Talks which I endeavour to try and not overload and land up devouring far more than planned every year! Again there was much to see (or miss!)...

Having earmarked Dave Tomlinson's wonderfully entitled How to be a Bad Christian... talk as a must see it delivered all it promised. A wonderful affirmation of your feelings about there being more of the image of Christ in everyday folk than the established church would acknowledge all imparted in a gentle and inclusive manner.

My next 'Greenbelt Five' plan was to endeavour to catch the first uk showing of Steve Taylor's film 'Blue Like Jazz' drawn from Donald Miller's book of the same title. Various impromptu encounters and delicious Southern Indian cuisine courtesy of 'Lalitas' meant that I landed up in Centaur instead for another keynote speaker, the much hallowed Tony Campolo.

Whilst what he said one couldn't fault, the style was very much a shouty, loud tirade. I was not alone in being a puzzled beratee. The irony was that he made a great case for condemning coercion through use of power yet, by the end, you could only conclude that his preaching style was, well, coercive! Overall the points he made were good, particularly making clear the distinction between use of 'Power' versus 'Authority'. Much redemption was gleaned when he directed some scorn at modern worship music ;-)

The Saturday was all a bit hectic, starting off with Giles Fraser's wise words on 'The Trouble with Growth' then legging it round to the lovely new venue, Eden, for a talk on 'Forest Church'. This was both seriously inspiring and challenging, speaker Bruce Stanley had us all exploring new senses and experiences that are neglected or latent.

I then managed to squeeze into the seminar entitled: Does God love Radio too...? This included representatives from the BBC and the independent production company for Radio 2's 'Pause for Thought' and Radio 4's 'Thought for the Day'. In addition three of the regular presenters of the Pause for Thought were on hand to discuss the working relationship and to give us a first hand read through of one of their own scripts. Here the impressive Abdul-Rehman Malik stole the show with his endearing tale of failing to secure the leading part in a school musical!

From then on the storms started to brew in earnest and the mud started to emerge! My son, Sam, the camera man in the first video above, was keen to go to the Big Top for Frank Skinner and I decided to tag along... a very good move! He was, as expected, funny and articulate, yet it was the extent to which he has explored deep and profound theology that was uplifting. His journey back to a Catholicism included attending services of other denominations and religions, much reading and an acknowledgment that Catholics have ritualised many things that are not biblical. However, it is interesting that now he simply accepts that and goes along with it, seeing it as relatively unimportant. It struck me that Anglicans haven't reached that point in their development yet, devoting far too much time trying to justify all the bits they do that aren't in the bible with absurdly flaky theology. There was no vulgarity, just a couple of suggestive comments which, with perfect timing, coincided with a substantial increase in the sound of the rain pelting down which he made the most of!

Sunday kicks off with the communion service, this year labelled an elemental Eucharist. When I arrived and examined the service sheet and saw 'Lord of the Dance' as a closing hymn I confess I walked away and considered simply chilling instead. However, I did go back...!

The first half of the service was very ponderous and anachronistic with its rather lengthy, earnest and wordy prayers. However, delightfully, the Mike Scott's wonderful song 'Bring 'Em All In' was sung as a congregational hymn and this triggered a different engagement so that from there on it was all rather good. Another important contribution was down to the instrumentation for the accompaniment; acoustic instruments playing in a ceilidh, celtic style that even breathed new life into Lord of The Dance! Immediately after that hymn the band burst into a jig and reel... brilliant!

...or buy the CD here 'Try this at home...' by Gareth Davies-Jones and Rob Halligan...

So, how can I put this gently to avoid derision from my friends? It is an undeniable fact that I, Peter Banks, was actually partaking in, and enjoying, moments of Liturgical Dance... only at Greenbelt, eh??!! (pssst, liturgical dance = dosey doe)

Next was a bit of a reunion as after I listened to 'The Next Factor', an enlightening talk on Optimism for the English and Brits I met speaker Cole Moreton for the first time since he was in my youth group 30 years ago... another one of those Greenbelt moments!

Then there was one of those unfortunate clashes which meant I missed out on another one of my Greenbelt Five selections. Sadly I had to leave Ian Morgan Cron in favour of Hope & Social on mainstage, consoling myself with the thought that I could, at least, get the MP3 of Mr Cron.

My final talks moment of the day came attending the Literature venue, The Hub, for some novel reading by authoress Kate Charles. This made me think I must attend more @greenbelt_lit moments next year.

The first talk on Monday, Ciaron O'Reilly and Ben Griffin on Faith based non-violent resistance, I have already blogged about here, this was my unexpected seminar; unplanned, shocking yet motivating to the extent of wanting to become involved.

My final talk attendance, after my 'note to self' moment re literature, was listening to science fiction author Simon Morden talk about the changes within the publishing world presenting challenges and opportunities, another unplanned moment that proved seriously informative.

So what was there not to like? Not a lot! Just the weather and resultant mud... although I found there were some talks I simply couldn't make either because of programme clashes or because I didn't want to break away from conversations I was having. I felt this was a great festival, a real sense of celebration as Greenbelt moves inexorably toward it fortieth year. As a veteran of the inaugural Greenbelt in 1974 I do harbour a personal hope to be involved in some way next year. Equally I also heartily endorse the implication within the title 'Life Begins' that it should, as a priority, be about looking forward.

To illustrate this another one of those special unplanned moments was stumbling into the Performance Café and hearing Harry Baker giving his Slam Poetry some serious welly. Check out his performance of Paper People here. Here was new blood, effectively another generation spearheading new creativity with vibrant humour and aplomb.

Long live a festival that's all about joy, justice, the planned, the unexpected, nurturing, giving, receiving, faith, hope and love; distinctly Christian regardless of denomination, belief or creed

P

Seth Lakeman, Benji and Cormac play a blinder!

Went off to Colchester Art Centre last week to see the amazing Seth Lakeman, this time in his acoustic trio line-up featuring Benji Kirkpatrick (guitars, mandolin and bouzouki) of Bellowhead and the amazing percussionist Cormac Byrne, of Uiscedwr, as above demonstrating his skill on the Bodhrán. The evening was fantastic, three superb musicians in perfect synergy made all the more special by Cormac's incredible versatility and engaging smile.

Interestingly even though these three guys have done so much to re-energise folk music they are generally frowned on by traditionalists who say they both don't play their instruments 'correctly' and they're dumbing down the genre... reminds me of something??!!

P

Harvest Festival

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Saw the very wonderful Seth Lakeman perform last night at Harvest at Jimmy's, a new cosy and intimate festival of food and music at our customer Jimmy's Farm just down the road near Ipswich, Suffolk. Seth is a consumate professional and a seriously gifted musician - launching into his 'defining' solo fiddle and stompbox piece, Kitty Jay, as shown above. This piece illustrates that special place where musician and instrument become as one, a truly uplifting experience which I first witnessed when he headlined at the Greenbelt Festival in 2008. The band is excellent, too, with unfussy, solid drumming, great musical support on guitar from brother Sean, a new guy on guitar/mandolin/etc. and a very tall double bass player.

The event was excellent, too, bearing in mind this was the first time Jimmy's Farm had staged something of this magnitude. Another one of the irrepressible Jimmy Doherty's great ideas!

P