Rob and I have long been observers on the excellent work done by Folk 21 (http://www.folk21.net/). For those unfamiliar with Folk 21, in its own words it is a volunteer run organisation that brings together folk club organisers, artists, agents and fans to sustain, support and develop a thriving “guest booking” folk club scene in the UK. One of the many things they do is to organise conferences at which the various different parts of the folk music scene can exchange ideas and discuss best practice on issues like the promotion of folk clubs in local areas and how best to encourage younger people into folk clubs.
Linked to these very worthwhile regionally-based conferences, Folk 21 also organises a showcase concert where artists from outside the region can be introduced to folk club organisers in the region. This is a great idea for both the artists and the clubs. When a regional conference and showcase is announced, artists then apply to Folk 21 for inclusion in the showcase. A selection process then takes place and five or six acts are subsequently chosen for the event.
Owing to prior personal commitments, na-mara hadn’t been able to apply for either of the Folk 21 regional showcases earlier in 2014. So, when the chance arose for us to apply for the North Yorkshire regional Folk 21 event, we were extremely keen to be involved. This was not only because we remain very focused on trying to promote our music into new areas of the UK but also because, if we proved successful, it would mean that we could take na-mara’s music to my home area. Through the commitment and hard work of members of the Saltburn Folk Club, the venue for the Folk 21 North Yorkshire Regional Day was located in the village of Brotton, just outside Saltburn and very close to my home town, Middlesbrough.
Given this background, you can imagine how excited we were to find out we’d been selected for the showcase.
For a variety of reasons, we decided that we would travel up to Brotton and back in the same day – a four hour each way trip. We set off into the rain mid morning and, apart from an immediate but short lived jam on the A1(M), we had a very pleasant run north. The clouds cleared as we passed the M62 and, by Wetherby, the sun was shining. The sunlight showed the North Yorkshire Moors off to best advantage as we turned for Middlesbrough.
Having engineered a bit of spare time, I indulged myself by plotting a course to Saltburn and Brotton, through Middlesbrough. This took us past the end of the street I was brought up in and then on through the town centre – all of which was new to Rob. Then, just as we turned for the coast, Rob was treated to a great view of two of the icons of modern day Middlesbrough, the Transporter Bridge and the Riverside Stadium.
After a run through miles of heavy industry out to Redcar, we then slipped up the coast road for a cuppa in a nice cafe in Saltburn, before joining the event in Brotton.
The showcase event itself was wonderfully organised by members of the Saltburn Folk Club. When we arrived, Guy Cuthbert and his team were very hard at work getting the sound and lighting systems set up. The showcase event was taking place in a large room in a very pleasant, modern, educational establishment. The layout of the room had elements of a theatre and, with tables laid out cabaret-style, there was a nice feel to the room.
Shortly after we arrived the other showcase acts began to arrive. They were Justus KitchyRetro who had travelled down from Sunderland, David Swann from Pickering, Bright Season from Sheffield and Steve Dagleish who, like me, is a native Teessider but is now living and performing in London. Just ahead of the concert, each act was taken off into a side room for a video interview against the backdrop of a green screen. Very helpfully, the organisers intentions were to make a video of the evening, including both interviews and performances, for sending out to all the local folk organisers and placement on the Folk 21 website.
Bit by bit the auditorium filled up and the concert kicked off with a reasonably full house at 7.30pm. It proved to be a splendid evening of music. Each act was very different from the other. Justus KitchyRetro kicked the evening off with some of their own songs and some Americana. David Swann engaged the audience wonderfully with an array of cleverly and sensitively penned songs. We then showcased the various sides of what we do. This included our translations of French songs, some Asturian dance tunes and some of our own compositions. Steve Dagleish played a trio of his sensitive and intelligent self-penned songs and a couple of songs by the sadly departed Teesside folk music hero, Graeme Miles. Bright Season then finished the evening with some songs and tunes from their new album of the same name. One audience member told me after the show how much he had enjoyed the quality and range of music on display through the evening - in his view it had better than some folk festivals. Throughout the night Guy’s team of technicians worked hard and did a great job on the sound and lighting.
People had chance to chat for a little while after the end of the concert at around 10.30pm with everyone on the kind of high that comes with a great evening of music. Sadly, we then had to say our goodbyes and turn for home. Metaphorically, we ‘fired up the Quatro’ - OK, the Touran – and set off through the myriad twinkling lights and steam emissions of the Wilton chemical plant, to the A19 and home.
We knew the journey would be a long one. More’s the pity then that Frustrata, the goddess of roadworks, conspired again to close the A1 half way home and send us hurtling through nether Leicestershire to seek out the true path of the M1. But we eventually made it home and, irrespective of how tired we were the following Sunday morning, it had been a really interesting and worthwhile adventure into musical pastures new for us. We had heard some excellent music from artists we had not heard before and we had met a wide range of folk enthusiasts from a region where the folk music scene is impressively vibrant. Rob and I very much hope that we will be returning to the region again soon to perform at some of its many folk clubs.
We would like to thank Kelly Alcock and all her supporters for their work on behalf of Folk 21 across the UK – it is a great project that deserves every support and success. We would also like to thank Guy Cuthbert and all of his team at the Freebrough Academy Enterprise Centre in Brotton and from Saltburn Folk Club, for all their hard work in organising such a wonderful night. Finally, we would like to wish all our fellow artists every success in getting their music out there to a wider audience and we very much hope that our paths will cross again in the not too distant future.