FourWinds – Photo Tamara Josephine
As I walked through the gate in the glorious sunshine last Sunday I already knew that I was going into this review with incredible bias. So I will do my best to try to dial down how excited I am about the whole thing and give you a reasonable picture of the festival, but it’s not guaranteed.
Every summer a couple of thousand like minded people head to the Kumeu Showgrounds to celebrate the old and new traditions of the folk world. The wonderful thing is that ‘folk’ really has no limitations and if you have a story to tell then you are able to join the club. This means that each year we are introduced to broad spectrums of music from a wide variety of cultures.
The 2017 festival was no exception and they managed to wrangle a bigger and better line up then ever before which included singer-songwriters, alt country, traditional Irish music, and much much more. The only downside to that is I couldn’t see all the acts on my one night there as the concert on the previous night housed other acts too. That being said it’s just another reason to go for the entire weekend rather then just the one day.
The concert itself had a wonderful arc which started with the chirpy Kirsty Bromley and Simon Dumpleton. She has a great power on stage which she uses to connect with audiences. When she performs with no instruments, just her voice, this is even more admirable. Her and her accompanist started this concert perfectly.
Then the Frank Burkitt Band spent little time charging into their original songs that can be very lively. In their set got we a taste of Franks’ great songwriting and some lovely demonstrations of virtuosity from Dusty (Mandolin, Banjo), Krissy Jackson (Fiddle) and James Geluk (Double Bass). His 5 piece band is quite simply fun and that full sound put us into a great mood for the one and only Don McGlashan.
Every summer a couple of thousand like minded people head to the Kumeu Showgrounds to celebrate the old and new traditions of the folk world. The wonderful thing is that ‘folk’ really has no limitations and if you have a story to tell then you are able to join the club. This means that each year we are introduced to broad spectrums of music from a wide variety of cultures.
The 2017 festival was no exception and they managed to wrangle a bigger and better line up then ever before which included singer-songwriters, alt country, traditional Irish music, and much much more. The only downside to that is I couldn’t see all the acts on my one night there as the concert on the previous night housed other acts too. That being said it’s just another reason to go for the entire weekend rather then just the one day.
The concert itself had a wonderful arc which started with the chirpy Kirsty Bromley and Simon Dumpleton. She has a great power on stage which she uses to connect with audiences. When she performs with no instruments, just her voice, this is even more admirable. Her and her accompanist started this concert perfectly.
Then the Frank Burkitt Band spent little time charging into their original songs that can be very lively. In their set got we a taste of Franks’ great songwriting and some lovely demonstrations of virtuosity from Dusty (Mandolin, Banjo), Krissy Jackson (Fiddle) and James Geluk (Double Bass). His 5 piece band is quite simply fun and that full sound put us into a great mood for the one and only Don McGlashan.
Adam McGrath – Photo Tamara Josephine
Don was not intimidated by his predecessors and as he strode out onto the stage he instantly had a captive audience. He is a master of performance and with his encouragement I could hardly hear him sing over my own voice as the crowd and I belted ‘Anchor Me’. I gained a new appreciation for this artist and I enjoyed watching him during the day and learning about how human his song lyrics are. It’s the lazy path of discovery that is part of what makes this festival so special as each day we are introduced to new acts and new styles of music.
The second half of the concert was led by the one and only Dave Khan who shared the stage with many of his friends. These people included Tom Cunliffe, Dianne Swann and Elliot Brown and it was nice to hear him interact with different musicians. He played variety of instruments which included violin and mandolin. It felt like we were on some deck somewhere and we were watching friends trade songs.
Following Dave and his rabble was Adam McGrath who came with an energy similar to Don but he tackled the audience in a more serious manor. Adam’s performances sometimes feel like rowdy church congregations as he uses his stage time to talk about what we can do to battle against new problems the world is facing whilst getting us to sing along joyfully to arrangements of popular songs and his own tunes too.
He made us feel good. Simple as that.
We felt so good in fact, that we were ready to get onto our feet and FourWinds surpassed all of my expectations. Hundreds of other festival goers joined me as we rose up to dance to their music and from where I was standing all I could see was a slowly growing bubble of people dancing, as they started each new track. Their banter was funny and their new arrangements of Irish tunes were perfectly formed to make you want to move.
The final dance is my favorite part of the festival and I don’t think that will ever change. If you want to be introduced to some new genres and be entertained by some of the world’s best entertainers then I strongly suggest you give Auckland Folk Festival 2018 a go. You will not regret it.
The second half of the concert was led by the one and only Dave Khan who shared the stage with many of his friends. These people included Tom Cunliffe, Dianne Swann and Elliot Brown and it was nice to hear him interact with different musicians. He played variety of instruments which included violin and mandolin. It felt like we were on some deck somewhere and we were watching friends trade songs.
Following Dave and his rabble was Adam McGrath who came with an energy similar to Don but he tackled the audience in a more serious manor. Adam’s performances sometimes feel like rowdy church congregations as he uses his stage time to talk about what we can do to battle against new problems the world is facing whilst getting us to sing along joyfully to arrangements of popular songs and his own tunes too.
He made us feel good. Simple as that.
We felt so good in fact, that we were ready to get onto our feet and FourWinds surpassed all of my expectations. Hundreds of other festival goers joined me as we rose up to dance to their music and from where I was standing all I could see was a slowly growing bubble of people dancing, as they started each new track. Their banter was funny and their new arrangements of Irish tunes were perfectly formed to make you want to move.
The final dance is my favorite part of the festival and I don’t think that will ever change. If you want to be introduced to some new genres and be entertained by some of the world’s best entertainers then I strongly suggest you give Auckland Folk Festival 2018 a go. You will not regret it.
(CHRIS DENT – AKA ALBI)