folk songs are your friends

Priddy Folk Festival originated from a Parent Teachers' Association. Now it is a good sized event with a very friendly vibe and a great selection of bands and singers, over a long weekend interspersed with cider, beer plenty of sunshine and a variety of tasty foods from around the world.

Everyone is friendly and the bands and singers happliy sit amongst the visitors between gigs and play and sing from the grassy areas around the venues. There's the larger tents with well-known names and the smaller club tent which is showcasing new singers. We wandered around happily between all of the areas and found almost exclusively accomplished, entertaining and tuneful singers and musicians.

So here's a few samples...We started with KTB, singer, songwriter, performing with a small ensemble of accompanying guitarists and violin players. Tuned 'Close enough for folk' and entertaining.

Then it was Ember, who I particularly wanted to see. The photos from the set were rather blurry, so see instead a moment captured on the grass the next day, with engaging and humourous troubadours Emily and Rebecca playing alongside KTB. Next we rushed to see the end of the Jim Moray set which included some sonically experimental moments. By co-incidence, we met Jim's sister and then Jim the next morning and had a good chat about life on the road, guitars and clever effects.

The final act of the evening was Waterson and Carthy, who are proper folk royalty, playing a strong set and on this occasion complemented on accordian by Tim van Eyken. We enjoyed the set which ended around midnight; an appropriate time to stroll back through the starlit village.