Maverick Festival 2017
Maverick Festival 10 (June 30th, July 1st & July 2nd)
Easton Farm Park, Easton, Suffolk
The following was just a 'flow of consciousness' report on this year's festival with no editing or real thought. I did start to edit the photos but ultimately decided to just upload most of them to give a flavour of what we saw at another great festival.
Looking at the weather forecast a week or so before the event could easily have put many off, with the chances of rain for the weekend being about 90%. As is so often the case the forecast was out of touch with reality and the temperatures ranged from very warm to hot and humid throughout the whole festival, with no rain but the occasional cloud cover as respite from the hot sun.
So the weather got us off to a flier as did the first artists I saw at 5-00 p.m Friday afternoon in the Barn. Hymn for Her are a husband and wife team who play a raw updated blend of blues, hillbilly and much else in their own completely unique and hugely appealing style. Having only discovered Cleethorpes based alt, country band The Life and Times of the Brothers Hogg two albums recently I was looking forward to seeing them and was not disappointed when they took to the Barn stage a little later on. They are a four piece band and in front man Darren Capp have a strong vocalist and songwriter who gets tremendous support from Nena Mager, Simon Huxford and Shane Thornberry in the form of some excellent playing and tremendous four part harmonies. After that I wandered from stage to stage seeing a little of several artists such as the wonderful Erin Rae, the incredible Ramblin' Steve and Bill Steber but prior to both of those only managed to catch a few songs of Danni Nichols set. I first saw (and wrote about) Danni a few years ago and was hugely impressed back then by her talent feeling that she had huge potential in both vocals and song writing. It's pleasing to be proven correct as she captivated the packed audience on the 'Peacock Stage' with a tremendous set. The evening's finale for me was the incredible Curse of Lono, a review of whose debut album I had uploaded to this website just a couple of days before the festival. It was a recording that I found tremendously impressive, similarly the incredible set this five piece band put on at the Peacock Stage, with the Shruti box giving their sound a unique eeriness in support of the tremendous songwriting and lead vocals of Felix Bechtolscheimer.
Saturday got underway with a 20 minute set from Helen & the Neighbourhood Dogs, a band I had never seen or heard of before but who had more than enough about them to suggest they should have been given a longer set and who we should hear more of/from in the future. I then went from the Barn into the sun of the Sweet Home Alabama stage and saw a tremendous set from the Fargo Railway Company a hugely, talented four piece band that play their own original songs, blending alt. country and southern rock into a quite addictive stew. Following on from them was Australians Lachlan Bryan & the Wildes, who again played an excellent set, this time of Lachlan originals, in their own stylistic take on alt. country. I should add that I saw them later in the day on a small acoustic stage behind the main bar area and thought they were even better, with Lachlan at times sounding like the late great Guy Clark. Then it was back into the barn to see the Henry Brothers. I've seen them before and am always happy to witness these two unrelated 'brothers' haunting and entertaining take on the old murder ballads with just their two voices, a double bass and the beautiful sound and look of the national resonator steel bodied guitar. Then it was back into the sunshine with a packed crowd to witness Case Hardin. I've seen them on numerous occasions and it's always a treat to listen to Pete Gow's emotion charged songs and vocals backed up by Jim Mavings tremendous lead guitar playing and vocal harmonies, supported by the best rhythm section around. After that it was back into the barn to see the always wonderful Annie Keating, a lady who as a songwriter has few peers and whose tremendous, evocative vocals do those songs full justice. She was helped out by New York guitar maestro Steve Mayone and Brighton's own double bass maestro Scott Warman, a man who seems to be in great demand by a good many band; unsurprisingly! They were followed by the Danberry's, a Nashville based husband and wife duo who seem to currently be getting a huge amount of attention and on this showing it's easy to hear why. Their songs and playing are excellent, both are talented lead vocalists, but their harmonies have to be heard to be believed. They were helped out by the prodigiously talented Nashville double bass player Geoff Henderson who helped provide some extraordinary three part harmonies. Because both the Danbery's and Annie Keating were so good I made a note to catch both on the following day as well. Had another wander and just happened to be near the bar when I realized Stompin' Dave Allen was playing on the little stage behind the bar to a small crowd. Dave has played the festival before and always pulls a good crowd with his tremendous virtuoso banjo and fiddle playing, allied to some evocative vocals and his incredibly dexterous clog dancing, all made the more remarkable by the fact Dave hails from Dorset rather than the Appalachians.
A little later I saw Tom Attah, a young British blues musician who has an appealing self deprecating style, but whose music is a cross between Son House and Howlin' Wolf with guitar skills to match. Justin Townes Earle provided another tremendous festival highlight with a set of his own songs that cover many of the sub genres off shoots of country music; all played out to an enthusiastic and crammed Barn. The night cap was the incredible young New Orleans five piece band, Roamin' Jasmine. Often spoken about as a jazz band they bring so much more to their music with elements of blues and country mixed in with some Dixieland and New Orleans street music. A great band to finish a great day of diverse music!
Sunday I saw Annie Keating and the Danberrys again and can't quite believe it myself but if either differed in quality from Saturdays great performances they were even better on this day! The final session of the festival was from British and Irish five piece, the Hot Rock Pilgrims. What a way to close a festival for a packed and enthusiastic Barn crowd with their fiery mix of Hillbilly/Bluegrass, with a dash of folk all played by one of the liveliest and most highly skilled young bands around. Their propulsive music and attacking style is very reminiscent of bands such as the Old Crow Medicine show and the Hackensaw Boys, as are the level of skills they brought to the stage.
After this it was a chat with various band members and remaking an acquaintance with band member, solo artist and member of 'Lands End' Hubert Murray followed by a chat and discussion with the incredible 'Roots' (blues, old timey etc. you name it he'll play it!) musician, film maker and photographer Bill Steber before packing up and heading home. There were quite a number of artists I had hoped to see and hear but didn't and from what I was told it was my loss, but overall I was more than satisfied with what I did see and went home with some great memories, a lot more c.ds and looking forward to next year's Maverick 11!
All of the above artists have anything from one to 'quite a few 'albums out and believe me when I say that any/all of them will enhance your collection. As I write there's only 361 days to the next Maverick festival, but of course a few weeks before that we'll all be back in Kilkenny!
Easton Farm Park, Easton, Suffolk
The following was just a 'flow of consciousness' report on this year's festival with no editing or real thought. I did start to edit the photos but ultimately decided to just upload most of them to give a flavour of what we saw at another great festival.
Looking at the weather forecast a week or so before the event could easily have put many off, with the chances of rain for the weekend being about 90%. As is so often the case the forecast was out of touch with reality and the temperatures ranged from very warm to hot and humid throughout the whole festival, with no rain but the occasional cloud cover as respite from the hot sun.
So the weather got us off to a flier as did the first artists I saw at 5-00 p.m Friday afternoon in the Barn. Hymn for Her are a husband and wife team who play a raw updated blend of blues, hillbilly and much else in their own completely unique and hugely appealing style. Having only discovered Cleethorpes based alt, country band The Life and Times of the Brothers Hogg two albums recently I was looking forward to seeing them and was not disappointed when they took to the Barn stage a little later on. They are a four piece band and in front man Darren Capp have a strong vocalist and songwriter who gets tremendous support from Nena Mager, Simon Huxford and Shane Thornberry in the form of some excellent playing and tremendous four part harmonies. After that I wandered from stage to stage seeing a little of several artists such as the wonderful Erin Rae, the incredible Ramblin' Steve and Bill Steber but prior to both of those only managed to catch a few songs of Danni Nichols set. I first saw (and wrote about) Danni a few years ago and was hugely impressed back then by her talent feeling that she had huge potential in both vocals and song writing. It's pleasing to be proven correct as she captivated the packed audience on the 'Peacock Stage' with a tremendous set. The evening's finale for me was the incredible Curse of Lono, a review of whose debut album I had uploaded to this website just a couple of days before the festival. It was a recording that I found tremendously impressive, similarly the incredible set this five piece band put on at the Peacock Stage, with the Shruti box giving their sound a unique eeriness in support of the tremendous songwriting and lead vocals of Felix Bechtolscheimer.
Saturday got underway with a 20 minute set from Helen & the Neighbourhood Dogs, a band I had never seen or heard of before but who had more than enough about them to suggest they should have been given a longer set and who we should hear more of/from in the future. I then went from the Barn into the sun of the Sweet Home Alabama stage and saw a tremendous set from the Fargo Railway Company a hugely, talented four piece band that play their own original songs, blending alt. country and southern rock into a quite addictive stew. Following on from them was Australians Lachlan Bryan & the Wildes, who again played an excellent set, this time of Lachlan originals, in their own stylistic take on alt. country. I should add that I saw them later in the day on a small acoustic stage behind the main bar area and thought they were even better, with Lachlan at times sounding like the late great Guy Clark. Then it was back into the barn to see the Henry Brothers. I've seen them before and am always happy to witness these two unrelated 'brothers' haunting and entertaining take on the old murder ballads with just their two voices, a double bass and the beautiful sound and look of the national resonator steel bodied guitar. Then it was back into the sunshine with a packed crowd to witness Case Hardin. I've seen them on numerous occasions and it's always a treat to listen to Pete Gow's emotion charged songs and vocals backed up by Jim Mavings tremendous lead guitar playing and vocal harmonies, supported by the best rhythm section around. After that it was back into the barn to see the always wonderful Annie Keating, a lady who as a songwriter has few peers and whose tremendous, evocative vocals do those songs full justice. She was helped out by New York guitar maestro Steve Mayone and Brighton's own double bass maestro Scott Warman, a man who seems to be in great demand by a good many band; unsurprisingly! They were followed by the Danberry's, a Nashville based husband and wife duo who seem to currently be getting a huge amount of attention and on this showing it's easy to hear why. Their songs and playing are excellent, both are talented lead vocalists, but their harmonies have to be heard to be believed. They were helped out by the prodigiously talented Nashville double bass player Geoff Henderson who helped provide some extraordinary three part harmonies. Because both the Danbery's and Annie Keating were so good I made a note to catch both on the following day as well. Had another wander and just happened to be near the bar when I realized Stompin' Dave Allen was playing on the little stage behind the bar to a small crowd. Dave has played the festival before and always pulls a good crowd with his tremendous virtuoso banjo and fiddle playing, allied to some evocative vocals and his incredibly dexterous clog dancing, all made the more remarkable by the fact Dave hails from Dorset rather than the Appalachians.
A little later I saw Tom Attah, a young British blues musician who has an appealing self deprecating style, but whose music is a cross between Son House and Howlin' Wolf with guitar skills to match. Justin Townes Earle provided another tremendous festival highlight with a set of his own songs that cover many of the sub genres off shoots of country music; all played out to an enthusiastic and crammed Barn. The night cap was the incredible young New Orleans five piece band, Roamin' Jasmine. Often spoken about as a jazz band they bring so much more to their music with elements of blues and country mixed in with some Dixieland and New Orleans street music. A great band to finish a great day of diverse music!
Sunday I saw Annie Keating and the Danberrys again and can't quite believe it myself but if either differed in quality from Saturdays great performances they were even better on this day! The final session of the festival was from British and Irish five piece, the Hot Rock Pilgrims. What a way to close a festival for a packed and enthusiastic Barn crowd with their fiery mix of Hillbilly/Bluegrass, with a dash of folk all played by one of the liveliest and most highly skilled young bands around. Their propulsive music and attacking style is very reminiscent of bands such as the Old Crow Medicine show and the Hackensaw Boys, as are the level of skills they brought to the stage.
After this it was a chat with various band members and remaking an acquaintance with band member, solo artist and member of 'Lands End' Hubert Murray followed by a chat and discussion with the incredible 'Roots' (blues, old timey etc. you name it he'll play it!) musician, film maker and photographer Bill Steber before packing up and heading home. There were quite a number of artists I had hoped to see and hear but didn't and from what I was told it was my loss, but overall I was more than satisfied with what I did see and went home with some great memories, a lot more c.ds and looking forward to next year's Maverick 11!
All of the above artists have anything from one to 'quite a few 'albums out and believe me when I say that any/all of them will enhance your collection. As I write there's only 361 days to the next Maverick festival, but of course a few weeks before that we'll all be back in Kilkenny!