Hard to believe it’s a year on from the first Brighton & Hove Folk Festival, which for Folk Witness represented a return to the live scene following lockdowns. This year the festival faced the cost of living crisis, with a concerted sales push required to make sure it could go ahead.
It’s a tough time for live music, but the festival rewarded those who stumped up. It took place in a new venue – Brighton’s Patterns – and with two stages instead of the previous three. But quick turnaround times, relatively short sets and a lively, diverse line-up meant it felt more efficient, rather than more limited.
B&HFF wears the ‘folk’ label lightly, leaning on the singer-songwriter element of the genre, but its selections are smart. I enjoyed the chatty, bluesy Jack Harris and Jersey’s thoughtful Winterfalle, who stepped in to replace Kirsty Merryn at the last minute and impressed, dedicating an ambitious Fall Out Boy cover to their poorly comrade (who happily did visit the stage later, to accompany Ben Walker for a version of John Barleycorn).
Bird in the Belly, a local act I missed at last year’s event, were brilliant: a weird, spirited and adventurous group with intelligent arrangements, great ears for harmony and a singular curiosity when it came to finding inspiration for their songs: check out their track After London, or Employ John Day No More, below. Meanwhile, down in the gloom of the main stage, Sophie Jamieson’s stunning voice, sparse-yet-rich guitar and complicated songs made our insides vibrate. We had to go out for pizza.
But we were back in time to catch The People Versus – who opened the festival last year and who have been promoted up the order, rightly so. They were just as dancey and exciting, but with added confidence and swagger, bringing the feeling of a summery festival to Patterns’ basement.
As with last year, B&HFF concluded with a bit of star power. The love in the room for Martin & Eliza Carthy was palpable and uniting. The festival’s trump card, Chris Riddell, who spent the day diligently and beautifully illustrating every song performed (a few strokes of his pencil and he has created a character you feel you know), sketched Martin as he soundchecked, and even that got a cheer.
The Carthys took us through the greatest moments of their duo album, exploring happiness, Napoleon, booze-ups and elephants (the latter prompting one of Riddell’s sharper, more political sketches). Martin’s version of High Germany was warmly received, and there was an appropriately joyful tribute to Norma Waterson. The room was full, and full of joy, as the curfew time loomed for the venue to be passed over to a club night.
A lot happens in Brighton & Hove, and thanks to the passionate team at Folkroom, now an exciting folk festival is part of what the city has to offer. Let’s hope it becomes established further.
Main pic: Sophie Jamieson & Chris Riddell, by Mark Dishman. To see more pics from the festival, check out the Folk Witness Facebook page
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