Folk Weekend Oxford is a plethora of friendly, folky treats

Folk Weekend Oxford 2013 review

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Folk Weekend Oxford 2013

Friday 19th to Sunday 21st April 2013
various venues around Old Fire Station, Oxford, OX1 2AQ, England MAP
£46 adult weekend, youth £30 under 5s free

Daily capacity: 700

Driving to Oxford always has of the feeling of journeying to a folk mecca. The evidence is on the road signs; place names like Eynsham, Bampton and Headington inhabit a special place in the hearts of the folkies of England. Such souls are the reason Folk Weekend Oxford exists. When Oxford Folk Festival folded a couple of years back, the dance sides and the ceilidh fans kept on coming. After two successful years as a dance festival, 2013 marks the very welcome return of a festival of folk concerts to Oxford.

It's probably fair to say that Folk Weekend Oxford is catering to a crowd which contains a higher than average percentage of people who themselves enjoy performing in the folk tradition, be it singing, playing or dancing. It's no surprise then, that the biggest event of the weekend is not a concert but a ceilidh, performed by the Simon Care All Stars. Simon's all star line up has no problem packing out the far-from-poky Newman Rooms on Saturday night, and a fine time is had by all.

Staging concerts to entertain this crowd will then, require a certain cageyness on behalf of the organisers: artists that are booked need to be of a certain calibre in order to exceed the high standards of their audience. Thankfully, there is a well chosen programme of concerts, with a refreshing number of new faces on the bill. I arrive on Saturday just in time to catch a charming performance from Jamie Huddlestone and Gabi Maas, whilst young folk award winners Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar play a blinder on Sunday. Tim Graham & Rose Lippard, who play in the Studio on Saturday, sound like one of those duos that is just meant to be.

Oxford has a thriving folk scene from which it can draw class acts, and there is a splendid local symmetry on display in the form of Magpie Lane who headline on opening night, and Catweazle Club veterans, Tandara Mandara, who take us on a musical tour of eastern Europe during the final concert on Sunday.

The main venue is The Old Fire Station, which offers three small but perfectly formed concert spaces: The Theatre, The Studio and The Gallery. Chairs are comfy and are arranged in such a way that everyone fits in, but even in the largest room there are no one than five rows. It provides an intimate and enjoyable listening experience for all.

Oxford is a campus city and, true to this spirit, Folk Weekend stages events at various locations out and about. Behind the Fire Station, we have the Oxford Summer Fete. There's a village square, there are craft stalls, and there's a crowd enthusiastically filming the performances on high tech devices of sundry kinds. I'd guess that few,if any, would identify themselves as folkies, so it warms the cockles to see them giving our traditional dances and tunes such a warm reception.

The nature of the festival guarantees a wide selection of dance sides on display. All styles of Morris are present, then there's Appalachian clog, and just for a change, some belly dancers strut their stuff too. If you're tempted by the dancing bellies, you can learn some moves yourself, from Dogan Mehmet whom the programme describes as 'a master' of the art.

Other workshops are of a similar calibre. You can try clog dancing with Fiona Bradshaw; Kirsty Cotter runs a fiddle workshop; there's Playford dance with Boldwood, and you can even have a go at the harp with Steph West.

Oxford Castle is also hosting dance sides, in addition to the festival artists who are giving free concerts in and around the grounds. After The Melrose Quartet close with a rousing singalong 'John Ball' on Sunday, a five minute walk to the castle reveals a performance of the same song, this time by Pedal Folk.

Pedal Folk is a project featuring Tim Graham, Robin Grey and Katie Stone Lonergan, who have combined their love of music and cycling into a self powered tour. They've pedalled from Bath and, via Bristol and Swindon, have finished up in Oxford, entertaining the punters in the castle cafe for free, and promoting the festival into the bargain.

Memories are made of the kind of gig that Saul Rose & James Delarre perform in the punishment cells of Oxford Castle on Sunday. Cold and dark, with barely enough room for a handful of people, it hardly seems like the ideal concert venue. The acoustics though, are superb and as the cells grow ever darker as more and more people cram their way in, it becomes an intense, collective listening experience.

Jenkinson's Folly are similarly memorable when they perform in the stairwell of the Ashmolean on Saturday. They're playing to a laid back crowd of passers by, who lie and loll among ancient statues, such as an old legless fisherman from Aphrodisias and Amenhotep Huy, the chief steward of Memphis. Every now and again you'll notice people pausing on the stairs just to take it in for a few minutes. It's an apt venue for the performance of old songs, and an effective promotional tool for the festival.

Back at the Old Fire Station, the headlining performances are a mixed bag of moods and sounds. Jackie Oates performs her Lullabies concert on Saturday night, and on paper it doesn't look like the sort of thing you'd be wise to attend in the evening after a pizza and a couple of pints. I've sat amongst my fair share of snorers and it's never a pleasant experience, but Jackie's performance is captivating as ever and nodding off is never an option. There are dandling songs, songs to sing children to sleep at night, songs to get them back off if they wake up too early and, just in case you forget you are at a folk festival, there's a song to sing to your child before throwing it into a deadly raging torrent of death. You can take the girl out of The Unthanks....

The Melrose Quartet, fresh from recording new material, are top notch entertainment from beginning to end. They get a good long slot so we're treated to the whole of the new album. It's a packed house, everyone sings along and there's even a group of people in the gallery doing actions. The Melrose Quartet is a surely a must see act this festival season.

The highlight for many is Dogan Mehmet, who closes the festival on Sunday with a memorable performance that is full of twists and turns. There are soulful Turkish songs from Dogan's Cypriot roots, one from War Horse, in which he is currently starring and some interesting takes on traditional English songs. The set culminates in an inspired version of 'Haul Away' with body percussion from Dogan and a packed room full of folks heartily singing along.

Although size wise, Oxford Folk Weekend is at the smaller end of the festival scale, the event itself never feels sparse. There's always plenty going on and, with it's strength-in-depth line up, rock solid dance programme and friendly community spirit, it deserves to run and run.

review by: James Creaser

photos by: Ian Wright