It’s an early start on Monday to hear Cole Moreton’s seminar on ‘Reading the News’. An insight into how newspaper editors choose their stories and what angle or perspective they’re going to take. Interestingly, newspapers seem to be the last place that most of the audience get their news from (radio and internet being top of the list).
There’s time to look at the art installation of “heaven in a box” which is in a darkened room viewed by hand-held torches – hundreds of tiny boxes filled with Greenbelters’ ideas of heaven in ordinary which means there’s everything from tea bags, pregnancy test kit and house keys to photos of friends and family and memorials to departed loved ones.
Then it’s the last session of The Rising with the awesome Peter Wilson aka Duke Special, Rebecca Worthley who sings a stunning song called ‘Little Sister’ using just her voice and a looping pedal and Denison Witmer who plays an excellent cover of Nick Drake’s ‘Northern Sky’.
Following this, an extra session is squeezed in for Peterson Toscano, a theatrical performance artist who uses comedy to explore difficult issues; he’s proved very popular over the weekend and punters have been turned away in droves from his other appearances. Peterson runs through highlights of his previous play ‘Doin’ Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House’ (a hilarious take on surviving a Christian residential program to save people from homosexuality*), and his current one ‘The Re-Education of George W Bush’, as well as his newest ‘Transfiguration’. He has the audience in stitches for the whole hour.
[*Why are some Christians homophobic and believe that homosexuals need saving? That view is more abhorent than anyones sexuality; someone should save these evil idiots from themselves - ed]
I’m afraid I missed out on the guilty pleasure which is Chas and Dave’s afternoon performance as it clashed with the exquisite Beth Rowley - no competition! Beth looks fragile and petite but has a huge voice, very powerful and soulful with a jazz and blues influence. She sings old standards effortlessly – ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’, the amazing ‘Almost Persuaded’, originally a country song and covered by Etta James, ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ also sung by Etta James, George Formby’s ‘Leaning on the Lamppost’ and Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’ with a backing choir of Duke Special, Gabby and Rachel (partners of Paul and Phil Pilot who are playing in Beth’s band). Other highlights are ‘Beautiful Tomorrow’ which Ben Castle plays saxophone on and duels with Beth’s voice, and the very lovely ‘Sweet Hours’.
Mainstage in the evening opens with a guitar-driven band from Ohio called This Beautiful Republic, dressed alike in military shirts and tight jeans, who perform a very energetic and well choreographed set; there’s a lot of posturing as well as leaps and spins, and each time the bassist poses at the front of the stage, there are screams from the young females in the crowd and mobile phones held aloft. They play an excellent cover of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ as well as their own loud, rocking songs including their single ‘Going Under’.
They’re followed by the superb Iain Archer, the Northern Irish singer-songwriter who won an Ivor Novello award for his songwriting with Snow Patrol. He has Phil Wilkinson on drums, John Kensington (from Phil’s band) on bass and his wife, Miriam, lending backing vocals. He plays songs from his fourth album ‘Magnetic North’ including ‘When It Kicks In’, ‘Canal Song’ and ‘Frozen Northern Shores’.
The performance I’ve been anticipating all weekend is Duke Special and they excel themselves. When Duke aka Peter Wilson is accompanied by his full band of talented multi-instrumentalists, the set is always much more of a theatrical show than just a gig, which doesn’t detract from the songs but merely enhances the whole visual experience. Ben Castle on clarinet and saxophone is mischievous and the unique Chip Bailey on percussion has no limits to his enthusiasm – at one point he bounds into the pit and across onto the crowd to lots of screams and cheers and back up onto the stage to continue bashing the cymbals on the drum kit during the last song ‘I Let You Down’. The set goes much too quickly but other highlights are Beth Rowley joining Duke to sing ‘Ballad of a Broken Man’, the spine-tingling ‘No Cover Up’ and the audience joining in the chorus of a new song ‘Our Love Goes Deeper Than This’.
The festival ends with the final session of Last Orders featuring Beth Rowley, Steve Lawson (jazz infused bass) with Lobelia, and magician and illusionist Steve Price, who manages to freak out the audience with his illusions and mind games. The show finishes just after 1 am and the festival is winding down; the only sounds now are the chattering and singing emanating from the organic beer tent, and a slight sadness creeps in with the realisation that the weekend is over.
Of course, Greenbelt is such a vast mix of ingredients that the experience is very individual to each person who attends but somehow people always take away what they need and inevitably return for more next year.
review by Helen OSullivan photos by Helen OSullivan
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Greenbelt Arts Festival 
