The intriguing part for me was the acts that I knew nothing about previously but which I enjoyed immensely, Radio Tarifa on the Friday evening were a standout act, musical virtuosity mixed with flamenco passion.

The Warsaw Village Band were the same, only different, if you know what I mean? Playing the main stage at midday on the Sunday their moody eastern European drum driven sounds were a sheer delight, even making the sun shine for a while, although their music would probably be best appreciated late at night.

It was the chance of seeing acts like them which attracted me to Wychwood, and I was not disappointed.

The Warsaw Village Band were the same, only different, if you know what I mean? Playing the main stage at midday on the Sunday their moody eastern European drum driven sounds were a sheer delight, even making the sun shine for a while, although their music would probably be best appreciated late at night.

It was the chance of seeing acts like them which attracted me to Wychwood, and I was not disappointed.

Also in the Big Top tent, the only real alternative to the Main Stage, Jim Moray and his band threw some rock and roll shapes, I’m still not totally convinced of his reputation as the Next Big Thing of Folk music, but the audience seemed to appreciate him. Back on the Main Stage, The Matthew Herbert Big Band provided a fine visual feast but their jazz sounds weren’t really my taste, which helped me get an early-ish night.

Saturday morning was a real treat because the BBC, who were well involved with the festival overall, were hosting Radio Four’s Loose Ends programme at the site, with free tickets for those who asked early enough. A lengthy wait for the start was the only drawback to an otherwise very enjoyable morning. Held in a tent at the perimeter of the festival grounds music was provided by Radio Tarifa, the stars of the previous evening, and local country band Dirty Red Bandanas, introduced by Ned Sherrin, our genial host, as Dirty Red Bananas (Oh how we laughed! As instructed of course!) It was interesting to see how the programme was put together, the music was great and Eliza Carthy and Steve Earle were panellists as well, to provide further appeal for music fans. A special mention here for comedian Tim Vine, who acted as warm up act and panellist and who was very funny; laughing heartily is a great way to start a festival day of distinctly dubious weather. The actual programme was broadcast on the Saturday evening, and sounds like a live show, fooling many, me included, prior to this event, but now you know!

I apologise for this cliché in advance, but Allison Moorer, on Saturday lunchtime, was the brightest ray of sunshine all weekend. She even looked sunny, (Yes Richard Thompson, red hair and black leather is probably my favourite colour scheme too!) demonstrating again, if it was needed, how effective a simple guitar accompaniment and a great voice can be.

Her version of the old Irish standard, Carrickfergus, accompanied by lucky boyfriend, Steve Earle, on mandolin, was, for me, the highlight of the festival.

She repaid the compliment later that evening by joining Steve Earle, albeit very briefly. His set came alive when she joined him, which only illustrated to me that, very good as he was, and he was very good indeed, a solo singer songwriter for a full set is not really a suitable headline act for an outdoor festival Saturday night audience. I know that there are matters of protocol involved about who is the bigger star, and Steve Earle was undoubtedly the headline act of the festival, and rightly so, but putting him on after Mory Kante’s very rhythmic band had whipped the audience up into a mass of dancing bodies was probably not the wisest of programming decisions. Now if The Dukes had been there as well, that would be an entirely different matter.

Earlier on in the afternoon, Eliza Carthy had joined Finnish band Varttina for a colourful collaborative spectacle consisting of traditional songs from their different cultures. Talented, handsome ladies all!

BBC Radio 3 were recording much of the Sunday Afternoon show for future broadcast, and I’m sure that their future involvement will ensure a festival of high standards, so I’ll reserve judgement on some of the featured acts, but suffice to say, I ended up listening to them from the relative luxury of my tent concocting a very fine meal of ingredients I was determined not to take home two years running. It’s amazing how a bottle of wine can improve the perceived quality of a simple meal, and how good tinned potatoes taste when you’re really hungry. Ah camping!

This period of quiet reflection, I’m not a noisy eater, gave me the opportunity to ponder the place of Wychwood in the grand plan of such things. The festival concept has been in existence for many years and new initiatives keep trying to reflect the changes in musical tastes. Glastonbury probably holds the crown for the premier event, at least the best known, and probably offers good value for the extent of the acts and facilities there, but the massive unfulfilled demand for tickets has now left many potential festival goers looking for an event to fill their need. Next year’s proposed hiatus in the Glastonbury programme offers a great opportunity for other festivals to consolidate their customer base and establish themselves as a contender with longevity. There are specialist events, like Fairport Convention’s Cropredy event with over thirty years of support behind it, WOMAD and of course the Cambridge Folk festival where demand for tickets outstrips supply, but as anybody who’s looked for a suitable event will know, there is sometimes a conflict between dates and whether there’s enough people on a bill to make the event worthwhile for you. Americana/alt.country is already well served with major events like the South-by-South West in Austin, Texas and the Kilkenny Roots Festival, amongst others, but there is probably a market for an event which doesn’t require overseas travel for UK audiences. 2004’s excellent, but ill-fated, Spydafest, in Dorset, catered for the specific audience, but didn’t live to fight another day and hasn’t been replaced by a similar event, possibly through mistaking poor advertising and marketing for lack of demand, although we’ll probably never know as those involved are unlikely to want to venture into the same troubled waters again, more’s the pity. In the absence then of a specific event for the Americana/alt.country audience a combined event seems like the best bet and Wychwood certainly had enough to keep me interested.

Having said that, by Sunday evening my spirits were flagging a bit, despite the excellent reggae offerings of The Dream Poets, (which sounded more like ska to me, and all the better for that! But what do I know?), what with the British summer weather, which seemed to worsen by the hour, so I forsook Damien Dempsey (Sorry Damien!) for the relative comfort of the Screenstation solar powered cinema. Showing a variety of films over the weekend, including the unmissable Heartworn Highways, (which I missed actually, having it on video and DVD, but you know what I mean) the cinema had the added attraction of having a very nice café attached, which sold great cake (no, not of the mind-altering variety, although a sugar rush always works for me!) and good coffee, no, not Starbucks as you might suspect! (One too many asides there I think, or maybe two now! Sorry!)) They had been threatening all weekend to show a film about Boubacar Traore, a Malian musician, who I had the pleasure of meeting some years ago, who wasonce the Malian answer to Elvis Presley, but who left music after personal tragedy, only to be rediscovered some years later in Paris and re-launched on the world. I Will Sing For You is described as “a beautiful and mesmerising film”, but even that doesn’t do it justice, it is an absolute delight. The heavy rain caused the projector to fail at one point, but the tireless projectionist obviously had access to the film in the control room (sounds grand, but it was just another bit of the tent!) and very capably talked us through what was happening on screen for five minutes, receiving a massive cheer and round of applause when the pictures reappeared. What a great addition to any festival. A real treat which lifted my spirits totally, despite the continuing rain, even though Boubacar’s music must be the saddest and most moving I have ever heard, in any language.

The cinema was part of a small village of shops and tents offering workshops for all manner of things including Effective Campaigning, Storytelling, Songwriting and the ubiquitous drumming, but I didn’t take any real advantage of what was on offer, preferring to keep as much distance as possible from the bloody drumming! That said, I’m glad that it was all there, the organisers had made a good attempt to ensure that people didn’t get bored, even if the Healing Village didn’t do much business because of the weather. There was a late night Club, which I didn’t visit, but also didn’t hear all weekend, so that was a success. There was a funfair, which didn’t seem to get much attention, and which seemed a bit superfluous, a third soundstage may have been a better option, but we’ll see what next year brings. The announcement about the next year’s festival date came as early as Saturday evening so there should be another chance to see an eclectic line up if the mix of world, folk and country appeals to you. The vibe was left of centre Guardian/Independent reading, silly hat wearing and peace loving (suits me!), camping facilities were good, with well-drained fields available, close enough to the festival grounds, the audience and the stewards were friendly, the food outlets were passable, and the toilets stayed useable all weekend. A problem with running out of beer will presumably be resolved for next year (essential!) and some thought will have to be given to equal the quality of Alabama3 as a Main Stage closing act on the Sunday night, they were outstanding.

In the Big Top stage, I caught the end of closing act The Blackfoot Brothers whose mix of folky, country skiffle really hit the spot for those who weren’t prepared to stand out in the rain, and those who felt the need to dance. They were a suitable final act for a festival which was immensely enjoyable overall. So is Wychwood a suitable festival for an Americana/alt.country audience? Well it was for me, that’s for sure.

barry@americana-uk.com

Many thanks to Maija Handover.