Nottinghamshire’s Gate to Southwell Festival kicks off on 6th June with an Americana themed Thursday evening on the main stage, starring the tequila-fueled Tex Mex of Los Pacaminos – featuring 80s legend Paul Young, with a strong supporting line-line up from the USA. Truckstop Honeymoon are funny as hell, grisly, and moving – their songs borrowing stories of life as a family since Hurricane Katrina ousted them from their New Orleans home in 2005. Young Californian bluegrass band Blue Summit with supremely talented AJ Lee on vocals and Sullivan Tuttle, Jesse Fichman and Chad Bowen. Rootsy rock-roller Joshua Cook is also in support. There’ll be plenty elsewhere on site too with a full programme on the Folk Stage and a new Midlands’ artists showcase on the Frontier Stage.
Friday’s headliner is Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and it’s his first time at Southwell – with a welcome return for protest singer and LGBTQ activist Grace Petrie amongst the support. The weekend’s European theme starts in earnest on Friday night with a Euro Bal with Hotel Palindrone, an Austrian quartet blending diverse folk traditions with classical, jazz and even some yodelling!
There are many more acts from Europe playing across the weekend, with a celebratory concert on Sunday afternoon with Korrontzi (Spain), BOC (Spain), JigJam (Ire) and Flossie Malavialle (France). Korrontzi are one of world music’s most exciting bands, merging flamenco, fado and fandango and featuring a troupe of brilliant folk dancers. Other European acts across the weekend include SYA (Suddenly Years Align), a young female trio from the Netherlands with beautiful vocal harmonies and a rising reputation for fine compositions.
Joining an eclectic international line-up are Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, Skipinnish, Nancy Kerr, Blue Rose Code, Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys (Canada) and many more brilliant folk roots and acoustic music artists: multi-instrumental virtuosity of Ranagri, the fantastic folk rock dance band Blackbeard’s Tea Party, “Princess of Cajun” accordionist Sarah Savoy, famous punk veterans Otway & Barrett, Nottingham’s own gypsy jazz hot clubbers Maniere Des Bohemiens, world fusion crowd favourites The Activators, the highly-acclaimed Bird In The Belly folk collective, the rich harmonies of Norwich’s Alden Patterson & Dashwood and the sweet-voiced addictive songs of pop rockers Morrissey & Marshall. Other acts include Hickory Signals, Kim Edgar, Calan, Jessica Pearson & the East Wind (Canada), Ruth Notman, also playing with Sam Kelly, Keith Donnelly and many more.
Other notable events over the weekend include a Woodstock @ 50 concert On Saturday afternoon which pairs a festival house band with festival artists to showcase some of the memorable tracks from the iconic 1969 festival; and on Sunday evening Sunjay Brain will be revisiting his love of Buddy Holly on the Frontier Stage.
The festival runs from 6th to 9th June with over 50 artists performing over 4 days on 4 main stages, with on-site camping, ceilidhs, kids activities, street theatre, comedy, spoken word and lots more. Tickets www.gtsf.uk.