It was an emotional moment for many of the several thousand gathered in and around Wickham’s Big Top on Sunday night as Fairport Convention closed the festival with their inevitable encore, Meet on the Ledge. Emotions certainly ran high for Fairport themselves, playing parts of the set they would have presented at their own, sadly cancelled, Cropredy festival. For most of us, it marked the end of what had been a roller coaster ride of a festival while, for Team Wickham, it meant they could breathe a huge sigh of relief. They had successfully navigated a minefield of problems to deliver a festival in which all of the booked acts had been able to perform their sets. Despite the main stage being unusable for all four days, the festival having been badly let down by the company contracted to supply the stage.
Over the years, Wickham has strived to cater for a wide range of musical tastes whilst retaining the folk, roots, acoustic core that has always been its trademark. This year was no exception, with major crowd-pullers like Van Morrison, Deacon Blue, The South, Cregan & Co and Nick Lowe all giving memorable performances. If, among these names, Jim Cregan’s is unfamiliar, do check him out. As a writer and producer, he’s been responsible for countless, instantly familiar songs from the 70s and 80s when he was often described as Rod Stewarts’ right-hand man. His current band delivers them with an abundance of style, energy and humour, folk it ain’t, it’s good time, happy, sing-along music.
Moving on to folk and roots, for the festival organiser, Peter Chegwyn, attracting Celtic talent to Wickham is a labour of love. I don’t think he ever fails to make a recruiting trip up to Celtic Connections, and the sheer number of Scottish bands and singers that made the trip south was quite remarkable. The Festival’s opening evening on Thursday featured Tidelines, taking their first opportunity to play music from Eye of the Storm to a live audience. The album was released during the first lockdown last year, and, in their set, they sensibly matched it with earlier music that, judging from the audience’s response, was already familiar to many. Tracks such as Walking on the Waves and Far Side of the World immediately had the tent singing along. They were followed by Peatbog Faeries, festival favourites wherever they play and already well known at Wickham. Not much chance of a singalong but plenty of dancing to be had.
Friday, the first full day of music, and three Scottish bands in succession took us from mid-afternoon into the evening on the Big Top stage. First up, Talisk showed, again, how to do the impossible with a concertina, followed by Eddi Reader giving a polished performance of material from across her extensive back catalogue. Less frequently seen south of the border, Capercaillie beguiled with their mix of Gaelic songs featuring Karen Matheson and stunning instrumentals. It’s certainly unfair to single out one name but, for me, hearing Michael McGoldrick’s Uilleann pipes again after so long was the highlight. Attention then switched to the Quay West stage where Peat and Diesel, followed by Mànran, saw the evening out. Saturday was unusually free of Scottish influence, though Moya Brennan, the voice of Clannad, and her band kept the flame of Celtic music alive. On Sunday, the Scottish invasion returned in the shape of Old Blind Dogs and Duncan Chisholm, both receiving rapturous welcomes from the Wickham crowd. Old Blind Dogs have been working on a new album, likely to see a release before the end of this year and, judging from their festival set; it’s a release I can’t wait to get my hands on. Duncan brought with him a stellar band, Michael Biggins on piano, Jarlath Henderson whistles and Uilleann pipes, Innes Watson guitar and Donald Hay on percussion. Together with Duncan’s fiddle, they gave us an hour of simply sublime music. Taking inspiration from the landscape of his native ground has been core to much of Duncan’s music, so, for lovers of mountains, glens and lochs, Sunday afternoon turned into an uplifting mental journey.
There’s rarely a year when Wickham doesn’t play host to Show of Hands, and this time they appeared in their latest four-piece format, finishing off Friday night in the Big Top. Miranda Sykes in her usual double bass and vocal roles, along with relatively new arrival Cormac Byrne bringing in his trademark, astounding percussion. As a bonus, with The Dohl Foundation also playing that night, we were treated to a percussion duet from Cormac and Johnny Kalsi.
Also helping to counterbalance the plethora of Scottish musicians, the likes of Jackie Oates & John Spiers, Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman, Chris Wood, Will Pound, Megson, Seth Lakeman and Eliza Carthy, ensured that English talent, be it traditional, singer songwriter or instrumental was well represented. The Young‘Uns had an early slot on Saturday, their characteristic mixture of hilarious anecdotes and thought-provoking songs receiving a rousing reception.
There were some tough choices to make as the festival reached its finale on Sunday evening, with acts appearing on both stages that many would count as unmissable. At least we were spared one tough decision; Skerryvore were prevented from travelling south as vocalist Alec Dalglish was isolating following a possible Covid contact. The Alistair Goodwin Band stood in to play the penultimate set on the Quay West Stage, followed by Edward II, their unique combination of English and Caribbean roots music proving, as ever, to be an irresistible invitation to dance, even in mud clogged wellies. Meanwhile, over in the Big Top, Lindisfarne had everyone joining in with their anthemic songs before passing the baton to Fairport.
The Wickham Festival Team had put on a four day festival in circumstances that, even as late as Friday morning, had seemed destined to force cancellation. At the forefront of that team stands Peter Chegwyn. His dedication to bringing top-quality music to this part of Hampshire for over 30 years has inspired a loyalty that, it would seem, allows the impossible to become possible. The loyalty comes not just from his small army of staff and volunteers but, as I heard many times over the weekend, from artists and other professionals, sound, lighting and stage crews, they were there, going the extra mile because it was Peter. And, perhaps most importantly, the loyalty extends to the audiences that, all weekend, clapped, cheered, sang and danced, showing their appreciation that live music could, once again, be enjoyed in a muddy field.
Website: https://www.wickhamfestival.co.uk/