CLECKHEATON FOLK FESTIVAL – JULY 2009

Now there are folk festivals and there are folk festivals… and I’ve been going to both kinds for as long as I’ve lived here in God’s Own County . Some stay pretty much the same year upon year, with a near-identical guest-list and unchanging organising team – for some of these, the “tried-and-trusted“ formula works to their advantage, whereas for others it spells stagnation and complacency… and then, other festivals change according to the quality of the guest-list, or the tastes of the organiser or committee.

Cleckheaton has always been one of the stalwarts among the smaller festivals, with a fiercely loyal clientele, a healthy measure of support from the Local Authority (Kirklees Council) and an organising committee who’ve an enviable record of getting so many things right over a long period of time. It’s also one of the longest-running of the smaller festivals, and 2009, its 22nd year, has to be counted one of its best, not least due to its rather fine lineup but also due to a fresh and dynamic buzz that was around the town throughout the weekend.

Any review is necessarily based only on snapshots that the writer has been able to experience first-hand, even though he may’ve wanted to be in two (often more) places at once… On Friday evening I was running a singaround, which attracted some fine participants and continued on through to midnight – so I missed the main concert at the Town Hall, which according to folks I spoke to was stunning, with Tom Bliss’s farewell to Yorkshire leaving nary a dry eye in the hoose and the collected wit and wisdom of MrsAckroyd bringing the aforesaid hoose to its knees in mirth to close proceedings. At the same time, local heroes Blackstone Edge turned in a storming performance fit to bring down the rafters of St Paul ’s Church Hall.

On to Saturday, and again you were spoilt for choice, for following the Grand Parade came a succession of companionable Meet The Artists sessions, each one with much to commend it, yet all competing (to some degree) with the main concert attractions. Stars of the afternoon Town Hall concert were undoubtedly the young (and some say obscenely talented!) Manchester quartet 4Square, whose trademark high-octane, hi-energy chillout music proved full of invention and presence and impossible to resist, furnishing an intriguing contrast to the seriously gorgeous voices and harmonies and ever-excellent choice of songs from Liz and Sue aka Scolds Bridle, who’d opened the concert.

During the daylight hours, the Church Hall hosted two Special Events, Jeff Parton’s fine Going For A Soldier presentation and Tom Lewis’s fascinating exposition of Songs Of The Sea – both of which could easily have been extended to twice their length without a chance of boredom setting in. Another local hero, Duncan McFarlane, excelled himself (and made many new converts!) with two sparkling appearances, while Stoke-on-Trent worthies His Worship & The Pig both delighted and provoked with their winning mix of hilarity (much in the tradition of the modern-day music-hall) and piquant, thoughtful tales drawn from local or regional issues and events. The manic duo Belshazzar’s Feast was another of the festival’s big successes, the two Pauls currying our favour at the Aakash by providing a massive, all-embracing menu of riotous humour allied to dazzling musicianship – quite honestly, there’s no other act like them!

Cleckheaton had also engineered a major coup in getting that ultra-charismatic seadog Tom Lewis onto the bill for two concerts on Saturday and one on Sunday, and true to form he held all in thrall with his abundantly powerful voice and persuasive repertoire of sea songs, folk balladry and tall stories, with virtually no items duplicated through the weekend (how refreshing!).

Another massive success on Saturday was the enigmatically-named five-piece Something Nasty In The Woodshed, who (true to their publicity!) achieved an audience reaction louder than their own act, especially in the Town Hall where they rocked the foundations with their gut-punching, electrifying blend of skirling bagpipes and drum-driven rockin’ electric folk.

Back in the Church Hall, more of Clecky’s local heroes appeared in an evening concert, with Russ Hughes stealing the show from the start with his well-coordinated and melodious set. Over in the Wickham Arms, the singing continued all day, in several places at once; and well into the night by all accounts… and others who wanted to expand their own musicianship in the practical sense were enabled to retreat to the relative safety of an instrumental workshop or session! There was also a lovely little afternoon singaround in the Rose & Crown, and several other new and/or small venues were utilised on each day for friendly, informal events. Not to mention the early-evening Ceilidh, and the return of the Hiring Fair – both of which I had to miss…

But in the end, the last word on Saturday belonged to the magnificent Eric Bogle, on his “final farewell tour” accompanied by the trusty John Munro; Eric and John turned in a splendid finale to the evening’s Town Hall concert, playing many of Eric’s greatest songs (though not all – he’s written enough to fill several concerts!), of which indisputable highlights were Singing The Spirit Home, The Reason For It All, And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, and Leaving Nancy. I can never tire of hearing these songs performed by “his master’s voice”, and though it’s sad we can all understand Eric’s desire to quit while he’s still ahead in terms of live performing (even if his songwriting muse hasn’t yet run dry!). It was hardly surprising, then, that the “full house” notices had to be dusted down and displayed for Eric’s part of the concert.

Highlights of the Sunday’s entertainment for me personally were the rousing Sunday Sing, ably and fairly steered by Sylvia Needham, and the marvellous concert performances by celebrated harmony trio Cockersdale. They may be scaling down their live gigs, but they’re in better voice than ever I swear, and their definitive renditions of the songs of the great Keith Marsden are unlikely ever to be surpassed. Earlier, back in the Town Hall, Ruth Notman sadly could not appear as scheduled due to a family bereavement, but Oldham duo BetterLate did a grand job deputising, with a finely judged set delivering elegant, sensitive and clear-sighted performances of contemporary and traditional folk material alike. And how better to round off the concert than with a hefty dose of the very best of Scottish songs and tunes from the marvellously multi-skilled Battlefield Band, who effortlessly radiated warmth and commitment from their winning combination of virtuosity and versatility.

Organisation-wise, Cleckheaton 22 was a baptism of fire for its fearless new Festival Director. Dave Minich proved himself unafraid to make changes to the well established format set by his predecessor (truly a hard act to follow), and, judging by the intensely positive vibe that folks noted over the weekend, the whole festival felt fresh as a result. Clearly he (and with all due credit to his loyal, hardworking team!) has passed this acid test with colours flying high. Cleckheaton 22 can be deemed a resounding success, and itself will undoubtedly now prove a hard act for 23 to follow!

Dave Kidman July 2009

Happy 21st to Cleckheaton - July 2008

June saw the successful launch of the commemorative CD ‘Mixed Pickles’. Our thanks go to all the artists who kindly donated a track, we would have liked to have 21 tracks, but space did not allow. The music spans the 21 years of the festival, and it is aptly named after our retiring director Geoff Pickles.

Our 21st Birthday festival was an ideal opportunity for Geoff to take the back seat he has been wanting to do, and the late Saturday evening concert, featuring friends who have performed over the years, paid tribute to both Geoff and Jan, who were also presented with an award and basket of flowers in thanks for all their hard work. Not that they are going far away. On the contrary, they will both be on hand to help out Dave Minich, who takes over as director, and the rest of the committee, with their vast wealth of knowledge, and they will have new jobs to do themselves. We’re not letting them get away lightly!

New venues were included this year to take the music to the locals who would not normally know what it was all about. Artists performed in the cafes and surrounding pubs, and the feed back was most complimentary from both the singers and the public.

Despite the rain, the parade went ahead as usual, with the committee members in fancy dress, the many dance sides and a giant Teddy and Rag Doll to entertain throughout the day. Thankfully, the weather did improve, and The ‘Wickham Tropy’ was won (or was it stolen?) by Thieving Magpie, well done to them as it was also their first time out dancing together. Let’s hope they can come back again next year to defend their win.

The Sunday Family Fun Day still went on, with even more rain! We would like to thank Kirklees Council for their assistance in staging the ground games in the market hall. Faces were painted, bodies henna’d, and children and parents alike enjoyed Punch and Judy and crazy golf inside in the warm.

Copies of the CD are still available by downloading the order form from the web site.

Best little festival on the scene - July 2007

From its first few unsteady steps 20 years ago, Cleckheaton Folk Festival now walks tall in the world of folk music.

Folkies from up and down the country swamped the town from Friday to Sunday to see some of the finest acts on the music scene at venues across Cleckheaton. Luckily though,we were not swamped like some parts of the Country. Saturday saw the whole town came alive with the festival parade, street entertainment, dancers and fun for all the family.

Morris dancers, jugglers, balloon modellers and stilt walkers were in abundance, and the Family Fun Day on the Sunday was well attended as on the previous year.

A feast of dance acts entertained the crowds - one even finding its way from the Isle of Wight to win the Wickham Cup Dance Trophy- and a Punch and Judy show found a captive audience with the kids.

The craft fair at St John's community hall proved as popular as ever, and trade was brisk at both the farmers' market and the European market.

Pubs hosted singarounds and workshops throughout the weekend and a festival service was held on Sunday at the Central Methodist Church.

Festival director Geoff Pickles said this year's event had been fantastic. "The town was vibrant for the whole weekend" he said. "Overall it was a great success and I think we did the town proud."

"We are world recognised" he said. "and have come a long way in more ways than one; people are saying ours is the best little festival on the scene and still very good value for money. There are few places where you can get the value that you do in Cleckheaton."

For Geoff and his fellow organisers though, there is no time to catch breath as the task of running this year's event, their 21st birthday, is now upon us. This will be Geoff's last festival as director. He will be taking a back seat and still involved, with his valuable experience which we shall be grateful to draw upon.

"We work hard all year round to make sure the festival is possible, and if anyone would like to offer sponsorship, or helpout on the committee, we would love to hear from them" he said.

Anyone wanting to help can contact Dave on 01274 879761, or through info@cleckheatonfolkfestival.org

June 2008.