Cromer Folk Festival
This year (2003) we were only able to go to the Cromer Folk Festival for Sunday not all weekend. Even so it was a great day out. The day started off by going to a French dance workshop. Part of the reason was to go and see Ruth and her Hurdy Gurdy who were part of the backing band. We were not disappointed the music was excellent and Jenny thought that the dancing was far sexier than English country dancing that tends to throw you around a bit. Could this be due to the climate and the need to keep warm this side of the channel?
The next person we saw in the marquee was Mike West from New Orleans. It may be a laid back part of the country except when it comes to the fingers. They surely fly across a fretboard! he was accompanied by a single string bass - what looked like a broom stick, string and a washtub. It added to the fun of the performance.
The first performance inside was The Sheringham Shantymen. They are very similar in style to either the Cromer Smugglers or the Fishermans Friends. They are local singers who raise money for charity notably the RNLI. For us the best songs were the unaccompanied songs about the sea.
Next up was Meet on the Ledge. An energetic 5 piece band that I hope do well at Cropredy this year. One little thing though I do wish that they could smile a bit more. Apart from that it was a powerful performance.
To finish the afternoon section there was The Old Rope String Band. They are a comedy act. I must admit that I was not looking forward to them but they won me over as despite the comedy they are excellent musicians.
The evening started off with a short set from Mike West. He was still backed by the one string bass and his fingers were still flying up and down the fretboard.
Next up was Steve Tilston. I only knew him as the writer of several FC songs. He did a couple of them. As a performance I found it rather like going to see a Robert Hunter gig. Yes you know the songs as performed by the Grateful Dead (or in this case Fairport) but this is the bit where you hear them by the writer. It was pleasant but not exciting.
After that it was the highlight of the evening FC. They were on form mixing in songs both old and newer. There was not the flute from Chris from the winter tour. There was however Rosie which is a favourite of mine. The start to Matty Groves has become the MASH version. MOTL had the combined voices of FC and the Sheringham Shantymen.
A great day out and good to see fellow listees.
