 | | Reviews | | |  HOLMFIRTH FESTIVAL 2004
FESTIVAL OF THE PEAK 2004
>> Part 2
Most of us visit only a fraction of the UK's 350-plus annual festivals, but we quickly form allegiances and return time and again to our favourites. Habitats vary, from one-day greenfield events to week-long town-wide extravanganzas but if the event's a tasty brew of well-chosen artists, good venues and amenities and a healthy dollop of atmosphere, the net result is a happy audience and brand loyalty.
Two northern festivals in May and June feature on my annual calendar. One is well established - South Yorkshire's Holmfirth Festival - but Festival Of The Peak at Carsington in Derbyshire began just last year. Holmfirth takes place in the winsome town made famous by BBC TV's Last Of The Summer Wine series and inhabits the Civic Hall, an old cinema and a multitude of pubs, not to mention the dance-team infested streets. FOTP boasts the stunning Carsington Water as a backdrop to its contained site in the Visitor Centre, with an amphitheatre, grassy arena, and plentiful onsite parking and catering. Chalk and cheese, yet both score top marks on the Good Festival-ometer as defined above. Here's a snapshot of the two events ...
HOLMFIRTH FESTIVAL 2004
Sunday May 9th
According to my trusty informants, Levellers Acoustic, Brass Monkey, Coope Boyes & Simpson and a ton of other guests have been fantastic and everyone's looking forward to the final concerts. Bit of a dilemma though: excellent line-ups at both the Civic and the Picturedrome. Some swift mid-evening footwork may be called for.
A bit of onstage japery from irrepressible north-easterners Mick Doonan and Phil Murray (Doonan Family Band, Hedgehog Pie, Jack The Lad) introduces two of their offspring. The vocals/guitar/keyboard set from Ben Murray (Tarras) and Rosie Doonan (Sweet Nothings) sparkles with originality. Jazz-inflected harmonies and subtle timings, mature self-penned songs and a contemporary take on traditional material are all delivered with engaging wit and real empathy. A beautifully understated reworking of Tarras' Arizona (written by Murray with Joss Clapp) is a showstopper.
Irish band Danú prove that seven individuals can meld into an ultra-coherent unit, knitting up a storm with flying tune sets and a warm, cosy blanket of feelgood factor. Latest member Muireann Nic Amhloaoibh's calm contralto is a treat, as is her flute/whistle playing, and they have a rare accompanist in guitarist Dónal Clancy. Clear as a bell why they made Best Band at this year's BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Over at the Picturedrome, the Peatbog Faeries are doing what they do best - driving people to dance! With pipes and fiddle and wild low-whistle-and-beat-driven tunes, it's all about the groove and there's little chat between numbers. Kilts abound, reels morph into ambient trance states and it's hard to remain on the sidelines taking notes. Back over to the Civic, then, to catch the last few minutes of Old Rope String Band and join an audience helpless with laughter and amazement at the ever-original material of this superb trio.
Continued … >> Go to Part 2
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 Highlight of Holmfirth for me was the excellent album launch gig by the Duncan McFarlane Band. Super stuff !
John Robinson, Acoustyistics, Bradford | | | | | | |  |
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Folk & Acoustic
