Folk at the Hall (Day 2)

I had a pretty good night’s sleep ‘under canvas’ (or whatever it is that tents are made of these days...) and was up with the lark to join a singing workshop on the campsite with the great Jackie Oates. It was a lot of fun learning 3 songs from Jackie, and she was happy to let workshop participants record our efforts, so I’m very excited to now be in possession of 3 ultra-rare field recordings (quite literally recorded in a field!) of me (and about 20 other people!) singing with an award-winning star of the folk scene. Maybe it’s not too late to be discovered!

Then it was back to Trelawnyd Village Hall for another day of top tunes from an excellent line-up featuring Jack Rutter, Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith, the aforementioned Jackie Oates, Project Smok, Luke Jackson, Adam Holmes & The Embers, Siobhan Miller and The Tweed Project.

The highlight, for me, was the powerhouse performance by Luke Jackson - the 25 year-old from Canterbury with a big voice and a big musical talent. He’s a born entertainer! Check out ‘Poor Johnny’ https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fr5boCxZ2XE

He’s today’s Blip subject but I’ve also added a few more shots from the day.

And I’m also adding a link to Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith performing ‘The Reedcutter’s Daughter’ because when they played it today it moved me to tears, not only for the beauty and purity of the performance but because Jimmy introduced it by talking about his Romany great-grandmother who gave up her life on the road to settle down with a non-Romany (or gadjo) - without which decision Jimmy wouldn’t be here today! All of which relates rather movingly to the subject matter of the song https://youtube.com/watch?v=IjYY3HFjGug

Thanks, once again, to everyone involved in this gem of a festival and, inevitably, to “Derren and Darren on Sound”.