Went Walking Through The Trees
Dave Rees lifts the lid on the Tull-inspired A New Day festival.
The name itself suggests a strong connection to Jethro Tull, and it’s certainly true that the festival – now in its third year – carries this through in their choice of artists. “I’ve run A New Day, the Jethro Tull fan magazine, for over 30 years now,” says festival co-founder Dave Rees. “What happened was that I was involved with another festival called Weyfest for about 10 or 12 years, but then it began to change. The organisers wanted to attract a younger audience, and I didn’t agree with the type of bands they were booking. So, I decided to bail out.”
In 2016, Rees and Frank Smith began running their own festival. “We didn’t know what to call it, and then agreed that A New Day was as good as anything else. We’re not officially connected to Jethro Tull, but will always look to book those who have an association with the band. Both Ian Anderson and Martin Barre appeared in the first year.”
A New Day is located at Mount Ephraim Gardens in Faversham. This is where the Canterbury Fayre took place between 2000 and 2003, before going into liquidation. “Yes, it is on the same grounds,” Rees says. “That was a great festival.”
The line-up for the 2018 event will again have Barre on the bill. “Martin will be appearing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jethro Tull. Ian is doing his own things, so is not available. But we also have a lot of other up-and-coming young acts,” he laughs, “like Hawkwind, Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy, Caravan, Gong, Atomic Rooster, the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and Curved Air.
“It runs over three days, and we hope there’s something for everyone. It’s certainly a diverse bill, which we believe will appeal to a lot of people.”
See www.anewdayfestival.com for details.