The Wet Web
FINALLY, spring is on the horizon! Easter at the end of the month, and thoughts of sunny days with… well, a festival vibe? There are any number of music festivals on the calendar but tickets can be eye-wateringly expensive. So, here’s a rundown of a few musically flavoured events around the canal network that are free to attend.
At the end of this month, over the Easter weekend, Sheffield will be holding its Folk Sessions Festival in the pubs in the Kelham Island area of the city. Last year included a wide variety of folk styles, including Irish and bagpipe music, and there’s a Big Sing from 8pm each evening to which all are welcome. This year’s programme hadn’t been released at the time of writing. So, visit the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SheffieldSessionsFestival) for information updates.
A great excuse to visit the lovely Ashby Canal is the Moira Furnace Canal Festival (www.moiracanalfestival.com) on May 18-19, which this year hosts the National Trailboat Festival. Live music and bands will include national and local singers, ukelele bands and a headline act of Military Wives Choirs. A Battle of Britain flypast is planned and you’ll find train rides, stalls, demonstrations and boats, bar and refreshments.
The Bradford-on-Avon Green Man Festival (www.boagreenmanfest.org) takes place on May 11 and offers traditional dance, music, songs and folklore. An enthusiastic community event, it will have more than 300 dancers—performing European styles as well as, of course, morris dancing—and there’s a chance to try out a dance or two yourself.
Ten-feet-tall Jack in the Green, with partner Jill, will be wandering the town with band and menagerie in tow. Music includes folk, choral, samba and blues and there are mummers’ plays and three different street markets.
On the other side of Bath, Keynsham (keynshammusicfestival.co.uk), on the Kennet and Avon Canal, sees its annual eight-day music festival from July 1-7. Billed as the largest free community music and arts festival in the South West, it covers a wide range of musical genres.
Included in the line-up are Opera in a Box, who present intimate adaptations in unconventional venues and The Allergies who, since forming in 2012, have topped download charts and featured on BBC Radio 6 Music.
In recent years, internationally known street performers have dropped by after Glastonbury, and there are family activities that include circus skills, painting and clay modelling. This year includes, for the first time, a stage for the best performers aged 11-19 from local youth clubs.
Later that month are the Cosgrove Canal Festival ( July 20-21) and the Linslade Canal Festival (on July 27, at Tiddenfoot Waterside Park) on the Grand Union, on the Buckingham arm and near Leighton Buzzard respectively.
Neither has any definite information on their website yet but you can expect trade boats and entertainment at both (Cosgrove organisers are currently advertising for entertainers—amateur and professional, should you feel tempted, www.facebook.com/BuckinghamCanalSociety).
Information is sparse on the ground for Linslade (www.leightonlinslade-tc.gov.uk/council_events) at the moment, but it focuses on celebrating canal life, conservation, the countryside and rural crafts. There’ll be trade boats, musical entertainment from local choirs and artists (award-winning duo Leannán were on the bill last year), and demonstrations—be prepared for stick makers, skep builders and wood-carvers.
And, winding down the summer, Worcester Music Festival (www.worcestermusicfestival.co.uk) returns on September 13-15, supporting emerging artists, hosting 250 bands in 20 venues around the city over three days, as well as running free musicrelated workshops that include drum clinics and Q&As with industry experts.
Donations are encouraged, and they’ve raised nearly £60,000 for charities in the past 11 years since they started. Expect to find a vast range of genres, from rock and metal, to jazz, reggae, country and acoustic acts. Roll on summer!
The Worcester Music Festival offers three days of music and music-related events, as well as a photography competition. This image, Capas @ Bottles from Ollie Ridley, made it into the top 20.