I'm doing two dates at a festival with Marie: 10pm on Friday 6th /2.45 pm on Saturday 7th.
Event: Women Chainmakers' Feastival (open-air, family friendly event, live music stage + bar + fair + stalls).
Price: Free! (despite costingthe TUC many thousands of pounds to stage and attracting around four-thousand people, amazingly, it's still a free event!)
Address: Bearmore Park, Bearmore Road, Cradley Heath, Sandwell, B64 6DU
Parking: See the official event's blog – http://womenchainmakersfestival.blogspot.co.uk/ – as I think there are some recommended free parking places and a free shuttle bus. But this is just what I've heard, so do please check the official blog for details.
More Info:
There's a great open-air festival in Black Country that has been running for the past decade. It's named after women chain makers whose historic strike in 1910 led to better pay and conditions. To commemorate this, the TUC put on a free festival each year complete with two days of live music, and a parade through the streets of Cradley Heath on the Saturday morning: local history and music, great stuff! :)
I played the festival for the first time last year, as a solo gig, and earned the title of 'Mr 110%' for the effort I put into my shows. This year, I'm taking my percussionist Marie with me, so, as challenging as it will be to top last year's performance, I think we can do it ... Though I may need to lie down for several month afterwards -lol!
I've been asked to close the Friday night again, so I expect to hit the stage somewhere around 10 pm.
Saturday, Marie and I are taking to the stage around 2.45 pm (the event finishes at 5 pm).
Both sets will be approximately 45 minutes long.
Last year around four-thousand people turned up to watch the music, enjoy the fair and the stalls, and take in a bit of important local history, so if you live in the Black Country or surrounding area do come along and make it an even more spectacular event this year. The event is free, it's family friendly, and yes, there is a mobile bar ;)
Here's the current line up for Saturday the 7th
(I don't have exact details for the Friday line-up).
Bryn Phillips & Steve Grosvenor : 11.00 - 11.45
Alex Vann : 11.45 - 12.30
East West Infusion : 12.30 - 1.15
Carol Widenbar : 1.15 - 2.00
Tom Martin and Helena Rosewell : 2.00 - 2.45
Brett Huckfield (& Marie Timmins) : 2.45 - 3.30
Easy Street : 3.30 - 4.15
Billy & Lozz : 4.15 - 5.00
I know most of the acts, so it should be a great festival. Can't wait! hope to see you there if you live close enough ... for all my friends who don't, I'll post some pics after the event x
Showing posts with label Women Chainmakers Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women Chainmakers Festival. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Friday, July 12, 2013
Women Chainmakers' Festival 2013 (part 2)
Saturday (8th June, 2013) at the festival:
I arrived at the festival's Leftfield stage just in time to catch Nick and Bryn from FolkLaw entertaining the audience with a lively set of their original songs. I was already familiar with some of their tracks, as the last time I bumped into Nick he graciously gave me a copy of FolkLaw's album.(Time allowing I hope to review many of CDs that have been given recently).
Unexpectedly, my good friend Jan was there too. She'd travelled back from Oxfordshire that morning but still managed to make it to the festival to watch me play, bless her! Jan's always been a great supporter of my music, but I hadn't had a chance to see her for a while, so it was great to catch up for a long overdue chat. She took this photo of me (centre) with my new friends from FolkLaw:
Since I'd let another act swap their time slot with me, to help them out, I was due to play the Leftfield stage immediately after FolkLaw. so, having played a sit down set on the Friday night – so I could play a stompbox and other percussion with my feet – I opted for a stand up set on Saturday and proceeded to – as Lozz, the musical coordinator for the festival later put it – 'give it some!'
Given that I was just getting over a throat problem, I asked for a s**t load of onstage vocal monitoring. The sound crew were a great – if a little amused at my request – and did a first class job, not just on my set but throughout the whole event.
I kicked off with 'Watching The Waters' and 'Here Again' from my City Blue album, then carried on with some new, untested songs such as 'The Light of Promise', which really came across well. I don't consider a new song finished until I've aired tested it in front of a live audience. It's kind of an ordeal by fire, but it keeps my writing skills sharp -lol!
Prolific local singer-songwriter, and top bloke, John Langford suddenly appeared in the front row of the audience at that point and started videoing me: it's always nice to be appreciated by fellow writers!
By the end of my set, during 'Give Me Some Soul', 'You' and 'The Oi Song', I'd abandoned my intended arrangements and inspired by the great audience, I'd adopted a more improvisational approach. The attention wild vocal flourish during the final song of my set – that was great fun from my perspective – as I got to see the entire appreciative audience raise their eyebrows in unison :) – was actually a spur of the moment decision, and surprised the hell out of me -lol! So ended my final set of the 2013 Women Chainmakers' Festival. The audience were great and the sound guys were spot-on too.
I was knocked out by the positive comments from audience members and fellow performers. The compliment that perhaps amused me the most (in a good way -lol!) was from one of the sound engineers who, after strongly praising my humble attempts to put on a memorable performance for the audience, inquired with total sincerity: 'Are you sure you're suffering with a vocal problem?'
Actually, my poorly throat was feeling tired by the end of the set. But since even the excellent sound crew were half wondering if I was pulling their leg about being treated for a throat problem, I'll take it that I did a pretty good job of the vocals! :-)
After playing, Jan and I wandered off to get a bite to eat and an essential detour around the festival site to buy double cone/double flake ice-creams – is there any better way to enjoy live music than with ice-cream dripping down your hand and onto your T-shirt? We made it back for the last hours of the festival (which finished around 5pm on Saturday) to catch the other acts, though sadly I missed musician and songwriter Tom Martin's set.
When it was all over and the stage marquee was almost deserted, I sat around chatting for a while with Jan and some other old friends of mine – and some new ones too :-) Here's Jan's final photos of the day:
To my right are my good friends Mick and Jean to my left are 2 excellent singer songwriters: Steve Morris and Carol Widenbar.
And here's the same line-up, but with Jan sitting in to my left, while Mick is now behind the Jan's camera taking the shot. I couldn't finish the blog without including a picture of Jan, especially since she insisted on buying me that huge ice cream -lol!
So, thanks to the talented Lozz – who put an incredible amount of effort into the 2 day event – for inviting me to play at the festival. Thanks to all the other Women Chainmakers' Festival organisers and supporters for creating an annual celebration to mark and further promote a very significant piece of social history.
Also thanks to all the performers, many of whom entertained me with their sets (I only wish I'd have had time to see them all): East West Infusion, The Laners, Folk Law, Easy Street, The Tom Martin Band, Carol Widenbar, Steve Morris and of course Billy & Lozz too.
Last, but by no means least, as without them there would be no festival: thanks to the thousands of people who attended the event on Friday night and Saturday daytime!
PS After the event I got this heart-warming message from the festival's music coordinator, Lozz, that I'd like to share:
'... you were exactly what was required for the festival. You give everything and then a little bit more on top – really Mr 110%.'
I really appreciated that. A perfect end to a brilliant festival. Hopefully it'll continue to grow into an evermore respected and popular event. Do pop along and support the event next year if you're in the vicinity (just check the festival's website next spring for all the details
I arrived at the festival's Leftfield stage just in time to catch Nick and Bryn from FolkLaw entertaining the audience with a lively set of their original songs. I was already familiar with some of their tracks, as the last time I bumped into Nick he graciously gave me a copy of FolkLaw's album.(Time allowing I hope to review many of CDs that have been given recently).
Unexpectedly, my good friend Jan was there too. She'd travelled back from Oxfordshire that morning but still managed to make it to the festival to watch me play, bless her! Jan's always been a great supporter of my music, but I hadn't had a chance to see her for a while, so it was great to catch up for a long overdue chat. She took this photo of me (centre) with my new friends from FolkLaw:
Since I'd let another act swap their time slot with me, to help them out, I was due to play the Leftfield stage immediately after FolkLaw. so, having played a sit down set on the Friday night – so I could play a stompbox and other percussion with my feet – I opted for a stand up set on Saturday and proceeded to – as Lozz, the musical coordinator for the festival later put it – 'give it some!'
Given that I was just getting over a throat problem, I asked for a s**t load of onstage vocal monitoring. The sound crew were a great – if a little amused at my request – and did a first class job, not just on my set but throughout the whole event.
I kicked off with 'Watching The Waters' and 'Here Again' from my City Blue album, then carried on with some new, untested songs such as 'The Light of Promise', which really came across well. I don't consider a new song finished until I've aired tested it in front of a live audience. It's kind of an ordeal by fire, but it keeps my writing skills sharp -lol!
Prolific local singer-songwriter, and top bloke, John Langford suddenly appeared in the front row of the audience at that point and started videoing me: it's always nice to be appreciated by fellow writers!
By the end of my set, during 'Give Me Some Soul', 'You' and 'The Oi Song', I'd abandoned my intended arrangements and inspired by the great audience, I'd adopted a more improvisational approach. The attention wild vocal flourish during the final song of my set – that was great fun from my perspective – as I got to see the entire appreciative audience raise their eyebrows in unison :) – was actually a spur of the moment decision, and surprised the hell out of me -lol! So ended my final set of the 2013 Women Chainmakers' Festival. The audience were great and the sound guys were spot-on too.
I was knocked out by the positive comments from audience members and fellow performers. The compliment that perhaps amused me the most (in a good way -lol!) was from one of the sound engineers who, after strongly praising my humble attempts to put on a memorable performance for the audience, inquired with total sincerity: 'Are you sure you're suffering with a vocal problem?'
Actually, my poorly throat was feeling tired by the end of the set. But since even the excellent sound crew were half wondering if I was pulling their leg about being treated for a throat problem, I'll take it that I did a pretty good job of the vocals! :-)
After playing, Jan and I wandered off to get a bite to eat and an essential detour around the festival site to buy double cone/double flake ice-creams – is there any better way to enjoy live music than with ice-cream dripping down your hand and onto your T-shirt? We made it back for the last hours of the festival (which finished around 5pm on Saturday) to catch the other acts, though sadly I missed musician and songwriter Tom Martin's set.
When it was all over and the stage marquee was almost deserted, I sat around chatting for a while with Jan and some other old friends of mine – and some new ones too :-) Here's Jan's final photos of the day:
To my right are my good friends Mick and Jean to my left are 2 excellent singer songwriters: Steve Morris and Carol Widenbar.
And here's the same line-up, but with Jan sitting in to my left, while Mick is now behind the Jan's camera taking the shot. I couldn't finish the blog without including a picture of Jan, especially since she insisted on buying me that huge ice cream -lol!
So, thanks to the talented Lozz – who put an incredible amount of effort into the 2 day event – for inviting me to play at the festival. Thanks to all the other Women Chainmakers' Festival organisers and supporters for creating an annual celebration to mark and further promote a very significant piece of social history.
Also thanks to all the performers, many of whom entertained me with their sets (I only wish I'd have had time to see them all): East West Infusion, The Laners, Folk Law, Easy Street, The Tom Martin Band, Carol Widenbar, Steve Morris and of course Billy & Lozz too.
Last, but by no means least, as without them there would be no festival: thanks to the thousands of people who attended the event on Friday night and Saturday daytime!
PS After the event I got this heart-warming message from the festival's music coordinator, Lozz, that I'd like to share:
'... you were exactly what was required for the festival. You give everything and then a little bit more on top – really Mr 110%.'
I really appreciated that. A perfect end to a brilliant festival. Hopefully it'll continue to grow into an evermore respected and popular event. Do pop along and support the event next year if you're in the vicinity (just check the festival's website next spring for all the details
HERE). The event is free but the entertainment and historical value are priceless.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Women Chainmakers' Festival 2013 (part 1)
Friday night at the festival (7th June)
Although, due to other commitments, I missed the opening act of the night, Sandwell Rock School – a group of local school children who by all accounts did a great spot – did arrive in time to catch most of the other performers.
Having found myself the only empty parking space on the car park (presumably because of the huge wild triffid like plant that was busy taking over half of the parking bay), I followed the sounds of amplified live music across the playing fields to the huge Leftfield marquee.
Just inside I bumped into local folk legends Billy and Lozz. For an excellent introduction to their distinctive style of Black Country inspired, self penned songs check out Ade Edmondson's About Britain programme (Season 2 Episode 18 where he visits the West Midlands). Or check out one of their youtube videos:
Lozz is the music coordinator for the Women Chainmakers' Festival and I was very honoured to be invited to perform two sets at the event. Generations of my family have toiled in the industries of the Black Country (so named for the way the environment was once polluted by heavy industry: legend has it that Queen Victoria kept the blinds drawn when her train passed through, and that Tolkien
based
Mordor on the area). So,
the
chainmakers' 1910 struggle – to attain fairer rates of pay for their hard labours – is a piece of history that certainly resonates with me.
I also bumped into the talented Carol Widenbar. Like me, she's been away from performing for a while. After enjoying her collection of very entertaining original songs and well chosen covers, we had a great catch up chat. A few years back, Carol and I both did opening spots at The Robin 2 – one of the Midland's better known music venues. However try as we might, neither of us could remember who we'd supported -lol! (Though I do a vaguely remember the headline act was a guitarist and songwriter from Newcastle who did a very enjoyable set, but quite who he was I can't recall).
Another act playing at the Women Chainmakers' Festival that night were Easy Street, who added a lovely jazzy blues flavour to the night's entertainment. There was also a solo male performer whose name I didn't catch, unfortunately, but I did enjoy his song about greedy bankers! :-)
I finished off the night with a sit down set of my own songs, that started somewhere around 10.25pm. I'd originally planned to do the gig with my percussionist, but she was unexpected kidnapped by aliens on the way to the venue, and since my other drummer/percussionist was also busy that weekend, I was down to just a trio: me, my guitar and some foot triggered percussion.
I'd gotten hold of a stompbox the day before, (a wooden block with a pick-up that you can plug into the PA system to create something not dissimilar to a bass drum sound) so playing solo offered me the perfect opportunity to give my new toy an airing at the festival. I'd also discovered I could trigger a tambourine with my other foot ... and I had a little shaker that I could hold in my hand that didn't get in the way of my plectrum and fingers. So I had the rhythm section well and truly covered! As the final touch, just for my song 'Faraway', I'd picked up some wind chimes that I'd managed to attach to the guitar and trigger when necessary. It was a crazy, OTT set up no doubt, but hey, it was a festival! I wanted to give the audience something a bit unexpected.
Fortuitously, especially given the very small amount of time I'd had to rehearse with all the percussion while simultaneously singing and playing guitar, it all worked together seamlessly. Although, the smooth surface of the stage presented a slight problem as my foot-triggered tambourine tended to slide away from me over time and so required a well timed jerk back with my foot every so often! Hmm, think I'd better bring a mat to put my percussion on if opt to use a similar set again -lol!
Another lesson learned: I should perhaps have thought to ask for a second microphone (in addition to my vocal mic) to be pointed down towards the tambourine and wind chime to make them a little more prominent in the mix, as my vocal mic didn't pic them up quite as well as I'd hoped. But other than that I was really pleased with the interplay of percussion and guitar.
I had a great time at the Festival listening to the other artists, and then finishing off the night with a set of my own songs to a wonderfully appreciative audience. To top it off, even the wrong turn I took on the way back home worked out well when I happened upon a chip shop that was still open :-)
As I was on my own that night, I don't have any photos to post (though I do have some from Saturday's performance that I'll include part 2 of this update).
This was the first year that a Friday night music event was added to the Women Chainmakers' Festival – hopefully it will become a permanent addition to the festival in future years!
Although, due to other commitments, I missed the opening act of the night, Sandwell Rock School – a group of local school children who by all accounts did a great spot – did arrive in time to catch most of the other performers.
Having found myself the only empty parking space on the car park (presumably because of the huge wild triffid like plant that was busy taking over half of the parking bay), I followed the sounds of amplified live music across the playing fields to the huge Leftfield marquee.
Just inside I bumped into local folk legends Billy and Lozz. For an excellent introduction to their distinctive style of Black Country inspired, self penned songs check out Ade Edmondson's About Britain programme (Season 2 Episode 18 where he visits the West Midlands). Or check out one of their youtube videos:
I also bumped into the talented Carol Widenbar. Like me, she's been away from performing for a while. After enjoying her collection of very entertaining original songs and well chosen covers, we had a great catch up chat. A few years back, Carol and I both did opening spots at The Robin 2 – one of the Midland's better known music venues. However try as we might, neither of us could remember who we'd supported -lol! (Though I do a vaguely remember the headline act was a guitarist and songwriter from Newcastle who did a very enjoyable set, but quite who he was I can't recall).
Another act playing at the Women Chainmakers' Festival that night were Easy Street, who added a lovely jazzy blues flavour to the night's entertainment. There was also a solo male performer whose name I didn't catch, unfortunately, but I did enjoy his song about greedy bankers! :-)
I finished off the night with a sit down set of my own songs, that started somewhere around 10.25pm. I'd originally planned to do the gig with my percussionist, but she was unexpected kidnapped by aliens on the way to the venue, and since my other drummer/percussionist was also busy that weekend, I was down to just a trio: me, my guitar and some foot triggered percussion.
I'd gotten hold of a stompbox the day before, (a wooden block with a pick-up that you can plug into the PA system to create something not dissimilar to a bass drum sound) so playing solo offered me the perfect opportunity to give my new toy an airing at the festival. I'd also discovered I could trigger a tambourine with my other foot ... and I had a little shaker that I could hold in my hand that didn't get in the way of my plectrum and fingers. So I had the rhythm section well and truly covered! As the final touch, just for my song 'Faraway', I'd picked up some wind chimes that I'd managed to attach to the guitar and trigger when necessary. It was a crazy, OTT set up no doubt, but hey, it was a festival! I wanted to give the audience something a bit unexpected.
Fortuitously, especially given the very small amount of time I'd had to rehearse with all the percussion while simultaneously singing and playing guitar, it all worked together seamlessly. Although, the smooth surface of the stage presented a slight problem as my foot-triggered tambourine tended to slide away from me over time and so required a well timed jerk back with my foot every so often! Hmm, think I'd better bring a mat to put my percussion on if opt to use a similar set again -lol!
Another lesson learned: I should perhaps have thought to ask for a second microphone (in addition to my vocal mic) to be pointed down towards the tambourine and wind chime to make them a little more prominent in the mix, as my vocal mic didn't pic them up quite as well as I'd hoped. But other than that I was really pleased with the interplay of percussion and guitar.
I had a great time at the Festival listening to the other artists, and then finishing off the night with a set of my own songs to a wonderfully appreciative audience. To top it off, even the wrong turn I took on the way back home worked out well when I happened upon a chip shop that was still open :-)
As I was on my own that night, I don't have any photos to post (though I do have some from Saturday's performance that I'll include part 2 of this update).
This was the first year that a Friday night music event was added to the Women Chainmakers' Festival – hopefully it will become a permanent addition to the festival in future years!
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