Folk East, Glemham Hall Grounds, Suffolk, 19th to 21st August 2016. A photo report (text by Michael Moll, photos by Christian Moll).
One of the rising stars on the British festival circuits is FolkEast, in the beautiful county of Suffolk in East Anglia. Set in the grounds of Glemham Hall, Folk East is charming, quirky, relaxed and extremely family friendly. There's superb local food (coordinated by chef David Grimwood, whose normal home The Froize Inn is hosting one of the best folk clubs in the Eastern region), an excellent range of Suffolk beer and cider, good camping and plenty of children's activities too. And I nearly forgot, there's also a superb programme of top folk music!
To revive Folk East 2016, just let the photos speak for themselves... .
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There's plenty of space on the festival grounds of Glemham Hall. |
Ross Cooper & Tom Oates from Shetland and England made a footstomping start to the festival with their superb fiddle and guitar music. |
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The superb Young Uns, patrons of Folk East, presented a very special project with the Aldeburgh Young Musicians, celebrating the life and songs of Suffolk singer Bob Hart. This concert was very moving and undoubtedly a highlight of this year's festival. |
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Friday's headline act was Eliza Carthy & the Wayward Band, with an energetic performance. |
The unique art installations give Folk East a special flair, and are a big hit with young and old alike. The Jack-A-Lope was the masquot of this year's festival. |
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A host of storytellers provide great entertainment for young and old - mostly in an Indian style tent, but here Justine tells a story in the exhibition hall. |
There were plenty of children's activities. Making a short smurf animation with "I made this" was one of the many highlights. |
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Scottish band Rura made a great opening of the Saturday evening show on the main stage, with their high energy folk music. |
Blowzabella, headline act on Saturday, delighted the audience when half of the band ventured into the audience to play a tune. |
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The path through a fairy wood full of dream catchers and fairylights had its magic (particularly for children) - leading to the soap box stage. |
The Soap Box stage offers a stage for a wide range of local performers. The Band of Fools had a wild late night slot after midnight, with hot Balkan gipsy music with English lyrics. |
There were Morris dancers aplenty, dancing on two stages at the festival, providing a pleasant and relaxed village flair to the festival. |
The final headline act, Usher's Island, was a coup for the festival, as it was the only 2016 UK performance of this new Irish supergroup, featuring Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny, Michael McGoldrick, Paddy Glackin and John Doyle. |
The Young’uns "Another Man’s Ground" Eliza Carthy "Wayward Daughter" Rura "Despite the Dark" Blowzabella "Strange News"
Photo Credits:
(1),(2),(7),(8),(9),(12),(14) Folk East,
(3) Ross Cooper & Tom Oates,
(4),(5) The Young Uns,
(6) Eliza Carthy & the Wayward Band,
(10) Rura,
(11) Blowzabella,
(13) The Band of Fools,
(15) Usher's Island
(by Christian Moll).
