Mitcheldean Festival

The last part of this year’s Folk Festival was the Folk Walk. Starting with breakfast in the White Horse, the group set off for the first short leg to the Lamb Inn. The theme for songs here was animals and we were joined by two dogs and a puppy in the beer garden, two of the dogs and their owners continuing on the full walk.

Lunch was at the Yew Tree, Longhope with some enjoying a Sunday roast from the carvery and others taking the lighter option of sandwiches. Faith and the Forest was the theme here, with the Yew Tree being a common sight in churchyards.

At the Box Bush end of Longhope the bar in the Nag’s Head was already home to some live music by two locals on electric guitar and vocals so the party retired to the new decking in the rear garden and found a cosy space around the sides of a bouncy castle, with songs on the theme of horses.

After a short walk to the Farmer’s Boy Inn , which featured a second bouncy castle, the group took shelter from the sun under some large table umbrellas (or parasols?)  and enjoyed songs on the theme of farming before a traditional group photograph in front of the horse mural on the side of the pub. Many also took advantage of the ice cream bar before departing.

The return to Mitcheldean passed through fields of barley and herds of cattle. Wild camomile was growing at the edge of one field, and the cherry trees along Bradley Court Road provided a welcome snack for those who could reach! Relaxing albeit briefly back at the White Horse, it was soon time for our American visitors from Renegade Rose Morris to retire to their lodgings at the Oakraven Centre, with many of the survivors joining them for a chilled out evening of good food, good company and music.

A big thank you to everyone who walked, sang, played, danced, watched, listened, and to all our helpers both front of house and behind the scenes. See you next year!

The Mitcheldean Folk Festival 2015 has begun. The Friday night regulars at the Brewery Tap are being entertained by (and in some cases joining in with) a mixed bag of musicians from near and far. Some have come from across the Atlantic Ocean whilst others have come from just across the road.

Come and join us this weekend for what promises to be a great event!

2015 Programme Master Version 16

Click on the link here to download a copy of the 2015 Mitchedean Folk Festival Programme

Don’t miss the Poetry Recital events at the Library during Mitcheldean Fete and Folk festival. From 12.00-4.00pm there will be recital, a workshop, performances and the results of the Young Poets’ Competition.

 

 

If you liked the live shows, why not relive the experience in the comfort of your own home, headphones…

19 tracks with almost 70 minutes of music from artistes performing at the 2015 Mitcheldean Folk festival. Includes performances from the Brewery Tap concert of 30th May.

Copies will be on sale during the festival at the special price of only £5.

Watch this space for further details of how to order your copy by post……

 

 

Showcase Concert

This year’s concert will be taking place throughout the day in Mitcheldean Parish Church of St. Michael and All Angels.

12:00 – 12:50 — Introduction

Introduction, crowning of Festival Queen and performances by local schoolchildren

13:00 – 13:25 — Peaky Blinders

Acoustic duo play country and folk with a touch of bluegrass

13:30 – 13:55 — Tracey Dixon

Powerful and moving songs from this extraordinary Mitcheldean vocalist

14:00 – 14:25 — Tommy Lee Fallon

Country music with a mix of original and classic material

14:30 – 14:55 — Dave Thompson

One of Mitcheldean’s finest singers and musicians

15:00 – 15:25 — Rebecca Kay & Company

Ballads and folk songs with guitar accompaniment

15:30 – 15:55 — Uke Hunters

Expect Mumford and Sons songs, well known classics and originals from this Lydney ukulele and cajun band

16:00 – 16:25 — Mike & Fiona Taylor

Accomplished guitarist and flautist perform singer-songwriter items from the 1960s and 70s

16:30 – 16:55 — The Wanted Men

Storytelling and songs with guitars, harmonicas and stomp box

17:00 – 17:25 — The Vogwells

Gloucester guitar duo that perform and arrange traditional folk music

17:30 – 17:55 — Bygonz

Experience 700 years of English music on the pipe, tabor and hurdy-gurdy

18:00 – 18:25 — Clint Mann

Singer-songwriter with indie meets folk guitar thrash

18:30 – 18:55 — Sid Harvey

Folk/roots originals with a Gloucestershire twist on guitar, harp and washboard

19:00 – 19:25 — Drybrook Male Voice Choir

A male voice group singing a variety of recognisable songs

19:30 – 20:05 — May Thrill

Three musicians and vocalists combine to arrange traditional folk music in their own style

20:10 – 21:00 — Jules de Bharra and Friends

Distinctive vocal harmonies and accompaniment are on the cards tonight. The Jade-Olivia Patrick Band from Stroud are unable to attend so Jules will be bringing some extra friends to entertain you .

The successful Poetry Recital will be hosted again in the Library on the afternoon of Saturday 18th June, a unique celebration of Forest life and history. This year the event will include our very own X Factor in the form of a ‘Young Poets’ Competition. Poets from 5-18 are invited to enter. The closing date for entries is 31^st May and the winners will be announced at the end of June.

 

 

Programme for Pre-Festival Concert on 30th May 2015

We now have a full programme for both concerts at this year’s festival. Here is the running order for the event on 30th May. We look forward to seeing you there!

Latest News: We can confirm that the two festival concerts are going ahead on 30th May (7.00pm-11.00pm in a marquee at the Bespoke Brewery to the rear of Mitcheldean Mews) and on 18th July (1.00pm-9.00pm in Mitcheldean Church).

With over 20 applications for slots in these two concerts, places are now (as of 17th March) virtually full. If you wish to take part, it is not too late to send in an application form (closing date is 5th April), but we cannot guarantee you a place or at the times you request – though we will do our best!

If you have already sent in an application form, you will hear from us shortly, with details of provisional slots and times.

Watch this space for further details.

Greetings from the Mitcheldean Fete & Folk Festival Committee.

Plans are well underway for the 2015 Mitcheldean Fete & Folk Festival, which is due to take place throughout the third weekend in July (Friday 17th-Sunday 19th July inclusive). Following last year’s inaugural event, the 2015 festival is expected to see an increased number of visiting Morris sides from both near and far away. The successful Poetry Recital will be hosted again on Saturday afternoon, and stalls and other events will be held across the town. Musicians and dancers will perform throughout the Saturday in the Showcase Concert, and the evening will see further musical events including a Barn Dance. The festival will be rounded off as usual with the traditional Sunday folk walk.

The Showcase Concert on the Saturday is provisionally planned to be held in Mitcheldean Church, which proved to be a successful venue last year both in terms of accommodation for audiences and its good acoustics. We are planning to book acts for slot times of between 10-30 minutes each to perform in slots between approx. 13:00 hours up to at least 21:00 hours and hopefully up to 22:30.

If you are interested in taking part, please fill in the application form, a copy of which can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this blog post.

Return it either by post or e-mail to:
Clint Mann, Edgehill House, Plump Hill, Mitcheldean GL17 0EY (e-mail: concerts@mitcheldeanfestival.fod.uk)

We cannot guarantee being able to give every applicant a slot but will do our best to accommodate as many of you as possible. The Festival is a free event being run as “not-for-profit” and unfortunately we are not in a position to pay performers or offer expenses, but we can offer publicity through inclusion on the programme and website plus the chance to promote their own music.

In addition we are planning to hold a separate pre-festival concert on Saturday 30th May, provisionally planned for The Brewery Tap in Mitcheldean between 19:00 hours up to 22:30. Again, do indicate on the application form if you are interested in this event.

We are also planning to produce and make available for sale (at cost) a CD that will feature music and poetry from acts who took part in the 2014 festival and from those who perform locally in and around the Mitcheldean area. If you are interested in being featured on this CD, please send one track in mp3 format to Clint at the above address (or a CD with the track on it). It will probably be possible to record in a studio any musicians who do not have their own recordings. We should also point out at this stage that the CD will be sold at a low price to act as a publicity vehicle for the festival and contributors will not receive any royalties or remuneration for their contributions (although we hope that the publicity and kudos will make it worthwhile); please also only contribute your original compositions or traditional material that is not subject to copyright.

You can find out more at Mitcheldean Folk Club, which is held at The White Horse in Mitcheldean from 8:00pm onwards on the second Thursday of each month.

Downloads:

• Mitcheldean Fete 2015 Concert Application 3