Forfey Festival
Forfey Farm, Fermanagh
Friday 1st August, 2014
Across the Line made the trip to Forfey Farm near Lisnaskea, catching some of the bands playing the Friday night of the Fermanagh festival.
Friday evening and we find ourselves driving along winding country roads on the way to Forfey Farm for this year’s
Forfey Festival. As we park in a Fermanagh field the sound of Amidships rolls towards us from ‘The Hayshed’ stage. The stages and areas to sit & eat are split across barns & outbuildings, corrugated roofs and whitewashed walls. We’re on a farm, there is no doubt. The festival has been running since 2006 and a quick look at the line-up for tonight (and Saturday) shows a list of bands very familiar to Across the Line.
We step onto the site and follow the sounds of
Amidships playing to an almost full Hayshed. On record Amidships remind us a little of bands like Grandaddy and Death Cab for Cutie and that’s present tonight but there’s a little more aggression in this live set. Frontman John-Paul McCorley is into it, the band is sounding great and there are hints of dEUS on their acclaimed The Ideal Crash album, when things get a bit more frantic, urgent and loud.
A very short walk to another building and it’s
Team RKT who are making the sounds now. Behind them a partly open door let’s in the last of the fading light. Their bright visuals take centre stage, helped by a request from stage to turn off nearly all the house lights. Team RKT come across as hugely positive. It is warm, alternative, 8-bit pop. The Gameboy sounds are employed with great effect, mixing well with the rest of the band. The tight, quick attack of the digital noises are complimented by the power of the live elements and by the end the computer generated bass is duelling with its guitar equivalent and it sounds just great.
Next up is
The Emerald Armada. The shed is full and the applause isn’t polite. It’s loud, heartfelt and genuine, like the songs coming from the stage. People are outside in the rain looking in. Once again, the vibes from the band are positive. This is a confident band. There have been references made to other ‘folk-rock’ acts when describing The Emerald Armada but it feels less like they’re drawing direct influence and more that they’re just being themselves. The percussion makes it feel as much ‘trad’ as folk or rock. They’re not emulating another countries style or sound. It feels from right here and as the voices join to sing ‘Oh to be loved is to love’ positivity rattles around the shed, the crowd moving and jumping. This is a party now.
It’s back to the Hayshed for
Hannah McPhillimy. We’ve long been a fan of Hannah’s and tonight is no exception. Her voice is backed with a band to match it, bass guitar, cello and drums. 6 string guitars get a break as Hannah’s jazz styled sound rolls out across the yard. It’s a strong set. Hannah has recently been playing keyboards in Go Wolf, it would seem she hasn’t been ignoring her solo stuff.
The sets at Forfey are so perfectly timed tonight that there’s not really anytime to stop without missing something, so we have to pop out of the Hayshed to take an opportunity to refuel. We step towards More Than Conquerors with the smell of burning turf in the air, leaving behind what looks like a peat spade in the café, it all makes sense.
It’s
More Than Conquerors 4th Forfey they tell us. ‘When the Well Runs Dry’ from their Everything I’ve Learnt album is an aggressive, assured start. The shed is full and they look and sound like all those live dates have paid off. They’re confident up there, the huge sound created seems almost effortless. It’s been a few years since we first saw More Than Conquerors, they were good then but they’re great now.
The last band we catch tonight are
Sons of Caliber. We’re standing on bales of hay to catch the set and it’s starting to get cold now in Fermanagh. On stage, hands are warmed between legs before the set starts and fingers are pressed on strings. ‘Jackdaw’ reminds us of the Handsome Family, there’s a rolling gallop to the snare and it feels like it makes sense to hear Sons of Caliber in a barn. The alt-country, folk sounds fitting perfectly in place between the hay on the floor and the metal roof. ‘Boughs Break’ ends with a bunch of horse hair from the fiddle bow tearing away, the force too much for it to take.
We leave the shed to catch our thoughts, make some notes and prepare for home. Looking down on Sons of Caliber’s final tracks from a building opposite we take a couple of pictures, capturing glimpses of the band through the crowd. It’s busy again, every set we have seen has been and it’s a credit to the organisers, the bands and the audience. We have to leave before Joshua Burnside takes the stage to wrap up Friday night, unfortunately. But what we have seen has been great performances from fantastic bands at a wonderful event. N.Ireland seems to be full of them, great festivals and great bands. Long may it continue.
James Devlin
