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Festival of sessions.
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Subject: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 19 Mar 11 - 06:24 PM I've only once been to a festival and paid to see an act. (New rope string band in Saddleworth the year before last. Wonderful.) My main reason for going to festivals is to partake of the sessions. Are there any festivals that are purely for session goers? If not can somebody start one please, ideally in the North West. Would any one else be interested in this? |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Jack Campin Date: 19 Mar 11 - 06:36 PM Selkirk Sessions in the Scottish Borders, early October. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 19 Mar 11 - 06:47 PM Cheers Jack, What is it like? I am fondly remembering a series of festivals held at Edale, near to Manchester some years ago. It was nominally a bluegrass festival held in a farm site which had several bars, barns and other places where sessions could occur. All sorts of music got played. There was a large barn for gigs etc and instrumental competitions and workshops, but it was the sessions that I remember best. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: johnadams Date: 19 Mar 11 - 06:54 PM The English Country Music Weekend is session based and has no concerts although it does have booked guests who join in the sessions (song, tune and mixed). There are usually some talks for those who want a break from sessioning. This year's ECMW is at Brightlingsea in Essex. http://www.ecmwbrightlingsea.com/ |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 19 Mar 11 - 07:01 PM John, This sounds absolutely brilliant. Any chance of moving it nearer to Manchester? Maybe my tired old camper will make it that far down south. Thanks |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: johnadams Date: 19 Mar 11 - 07:13 PM Stan, it moves every year or two years. For the last two years it was in Ampthill, Bedfordshire and the nearest it has been to you was in 2001 when I ran it in Todmorden. There's every chance of it moving nearer to you at some time in the future but your best bet is to service the camper van and get it down to Essex this June. I've organised for the Thames sailing barge that we charter for our annual sailing holiday to be at this years festival and we'll be having some sessions on it during the weekend before sailing off at the end of the festival for a week long trip (featuring even more session music). |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: BanjoRay Date: 19 Mar 11 - 07:22 PM The Foaotmad Old Time weekend at Sewerby Hall near Bridlington over the Mayday weekend is purely a set of sessions, with a small number of performances. There's also a whole week of nothing but sessions of Old Time music at Sacrewell Farm near Peterborough in August - see the Foaotmad website. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Jack Campin Date: 19 Mar 11 - 07:57 PM Selkirk Sessions's website: http://www.selkirksessions.com/ but it doesn't get updated until quite near the date. The tourist information office seems to know about it first. This site is not very informative but does at least have the date (and a pic of me playing the ocarina in a pub): http://joobili.com/selkirk_sessions_selkirk_13636/ I've only been in 2006, it was pretty good but a few pubs have closed since. I think they'll have enough venues. Accommodation is tight. The main website has photo galleries which include a picture of at least one other Mudcatter, wearing a blue Mudcat T-shirt. (She probably won't want to say who she is). Also a washboard player who isn't me and who I don't know (there aren't many of us about - he looks like a skiffler, I'm not). Selkirk is easy to get to by public transport - bus direct from Carlisle if you're coming from Manchester. If you're coming from the east coast it's probably quicker to go via Edinburgh, buses from Berwick are infrequent. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Leadfingers Date: 19 Mar 11 - 08:30 PM Stan - I believe there are sessions all day every day at Whitby , as there are at Sidmouth , both a full week of excellent sessions of all types |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST Date: 19 Mar 11 - 08:55 PM Cheers folks, It's true that loads of festivals support sessions. My point is that a festival that was just for sessions would be a lot less expensive to produce. Therefore,perhaps, it would be a lot less expensive to attend. My dream festival would have cheap camping, various venues dedicated to different session formats. Irish trad in one, English or Morris in another, old time somewhere else, separate sessions for singers and 5 reed wet discordians somewhere else. You could move from one to another as the mood takes. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Jack Campin Date: 19 Mar 11 - 09:04 PM Whitby has all you want except for the cheap camping. You don't need to go to official events to go to sessions. That is, camping isn't all that expensive but it's some way out of town, there is no public transport from the campsite, and you can't use a car either because you won't be able to park it in the city centre. Get used to the idea of walking a couple of miles each way every day. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 19 Mar 11 - 09:16 PM Can you camp at the camp site at Whitby, or any of the others, without buying a performance ticket? There are many festivals that will not let you do this. I have turned up at one or two only to have to leave because I wouldn't buy a performance ticket. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Jack Campin Date: 19 Mar 11 - 09:27 PM Looks like Whitby doesn't - I didn't realize that: http://www.whitbyfolk.co.uk/camping.html I don't know anything about their suggested alternatives. I don't much like staying in a tent and haven't done it for years. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Dave Hanson Date: 19 Mar 11 - 09:30 PM Whitby is not a ' festival ' it's called Whitby Folk Week, you can do whatever you want. Dave H |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Jack Campin Date: 19 Mar 11 - 09:37 PM ...except camp on the Folk Week's campsite without a season ticket. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 19 Mar 11 - 10:02 PM Jack I share your view of camping. Most uncomfortable. Thats why I got my little camper. It's a 198? Bedford Bambi. Based on a Rascal van and a miniture home from home. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Ross Campbell Date: 20 Mar 11 - 12:28 AM Rob Malaney who occasionally turns up at the Moorbrook session in Preston runs a session weekend in the south of Scotland:- Quote:- Moffat Weekend of Traditional Song & Music 8th, 9th & 10th April 2011 2011 is the 6th year for the Moffat Weekend of Music & Song, Scotland (click here for map) Centred around the Annandale Arms Hotel, the Buccleuch Arms Hotel and the Black Bull Hotel. Folk song sessions, Folk music sessions & Blues sessions. The event is free! It's participation event, unfunded with no guests. Musicians, singers poets & listeners all welcome. Plenty of B & Bs, Hotels and a very good camp site within walking distance of the town The purpose of the festival is "... to promote traditional song & music of these islands ..." Unquote It says all that here too:- Rob Malaney's Moffat session weekend The Visit Moffat website also has a link to Rob's site but it doesn't work (they need to get their blue clicky program sorted). Maps and accommodation details there too. Sounds like a possibility but I'm trying to persuade my friend Nic Gardner to the Moorbrook session on the 8th (I knew that date was familiar!) Ross |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Mo the caller Date: 20 Mar 11 - 04:34 AM There are campsites at 2 schools in Whitby. The 'official' site is cheaper but ticket holder only. Moor and Coast run an 'unofficial site'. Anyone can stay, if vaguely coming for the festival. There are official sessions, in the programme and with advertised leaders. So if you know the leaders you can guess the 'slant' of the session (and I suppose you can ask on here if you don't know). These are free, you might have a collecting tin shaken at you. Also there are unofficial sessions in dozens of pubs if you are in the know; the same people congregate in the same pubs every year and each has it's own flavour. The beauty of Whitby is that there is SO much going on. I find it worth buying the season ticket and catching bits of this and that. But you can go to the sessions free, and if you want a concert or workshop, pay on the door (£5 for workshops) |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Folkiedave Date: 20 Mar 11 - 05:10 AM Surely the answer here it to organise your own festival? You could then make it exactly as you want. No charges, free camping etc. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,FloraG Date: 20 Mar 11 - 05:24 AM There should be sessions at Faversham this year during the day as well as the evening. The organisers are currently looking for suitable pubs. Its the first weekend in September. FloraG. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST Date: 20 Mar 11 - 06:05 AM "the answer is to organise your own festival" or he could do the cleverer thing of asking nicely for information about festivals of the kind he would like to attend, which are already established. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Mr Happy Date: 20 Mar 11 - 06:39 AM Some above hae alluded to Me & chums have been doing this annually for many years. Our minifest's all sessions & the venue's big enough to accommodate differing types of self entertainment in other rooms if needed. Camping's more than cheap, being completely free! Guest Stan, You & campervan would be most welcome, see here for details thread.cfm?threadid=135378 thread.cfm?threadid=135378 |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 20 Mar 11 - 06:48 AM Anglesey in April sounds great. I'll be there. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: johncharles Date: 20 Mar 11 - 06:59 AM we go to Whitby every year. We usually spend most of the week in the station playing songs and tunes. you can see some of our songs at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FysVZlW1iMc&feature=related each pub seems to attract different types of session, some are into box players others fiddlers etc. If you can't find one that suits then do what we do; start a session and usually someone will turn up and join you. A great week if you have the stamina for it. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: OlgaJ Date: 20 Mar 11 - 07:10 AM Moira Furnace Folk Festival is reasonably priced and has good camping. The idea is to keep the cost down by featuring mainly local and up and coming artists (many of them play for free). The intention this year is to have music/song sessions running in both pubs during opening hours, so if anyone wants to help out by running a session for a couple of hours please let us know. There will be song sessions in the 'Song Loft' plus a mudgather, so there is plenty to do if you don't fancy watching the acts. Details on website.Moira Furnace Folk Festival |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 20 Mar 11 - 11:03 AM I've just followed the link to Moira Furnace and the camp site requires proof of ticket purchase. If you only want to attend sessions you are being asked to pay for nothing. There's no shortage of festivals like this. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Leadfingers Date: 20 Mar 11 - 12:52 PM Stan - It may be a bit far South for you , but there are campsites within easy reach of Sidmouth that wont require you to have a season Ticket , and there are sessions al over the town that are just walk in and pay - Unaccompanied song in the Middle Bar (At the Anchor) The English Tune at The Radway , Various in the various bars of The Bedford , Mixed at The New Tavern End of the High Street with NO Pub sign) and at the Swan , also The Yacht Club , and several other sessions . |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Mr Happy Date: 20 Mar 11 - 01:56 PM Stan, That's exactly my thinking. I've absolutely no interest in attending concerts & me & the Gloom Band at practically any organised festival we attend are willing to pay for camping only, if that's an option, otherwise we book in at some other nearby campsite. The weekend following Easter in Anglesey, we'll be going to Upton on 7 where there's scope for a good fringe with seshes in the many hostelries. We've booked in at a site near Malvern, which isn't so far. Other FFs we go where its poss to just pay for camping are, Middlewich, Sedburgh, Dent, Ingleton. Some other fests, we steward or do set-up/take down duties. I do Chester & Shrewsbury this way. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 20 Mar 11 - 02:03 PM Cheers Mr Happy. Some very welcome info here. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Mr Happy Date: 21 Mar 11 - 01:35 PM GUEST,Stan You're welcome & hopefully there'll be a chance to play together at Easter. What insts do you play? I'm melodeon, whistles, gobirons, guitar |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 21 Mar 11 - 01:42 PM My 1st instrument is guitar. For tune sessions I started with mandolin and moved on to fiddle. I'm now trying some tunes on guitar but it's not easy. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: CupOfTea Date: 21 Mar 11 - 04:52 PM We have a local-to-northern-Ohio festivalish of sessions called "Music in the Valley" that runs the second weekend of July at Hale Farm and Village, in Bath, Ohio. It has been running as a do-it-yourself festival for almost all of the possibly 30some years. (they tried stages and schedules a few years) It's a multi acre historical village where local musicians are invited to come and play. Other visitors to Hale Farm play admission. (as they would just to view the place, part of the Western Reserve Historical Society. Some local organizations or bands have their own favored area. You'll find bluegrass, old time, celtic, contradance bands, some singers. It runs during the day on Saturday and Sunday Some years there's been a barbeque on Saturday for the musicians and primitive camping across the road, other years neither. It's the place where you're likely to see area musicians you might have not run into for most of the year. Another fine idea is the "UNfest" instigated (never say "organized") by hammer dulcimer/cello player Paul Goelz in Michigan, which is basicly camping just to jam. I've been tempted for this one, but will wait till my jam session chops are up to it and my tune repertoire more solid. I'd love to find a singing/song version of a session only festival near here. It strikes me that a Shape Note Sing might be somewhat like that, within that limited repertoire. Joanne in Cleveland, OHIO, in the US |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST Date: 22 Mar 11 - 12:04 AM Hi CupOfTea My tired old campervan would struggle to get to the south of England so I'm sure it won't get across the big salty pond but I like the sound of the gatherings you describe. For what it's worth I'd like to suggest that you wait no longer. Sit on the outskirts and try. If anyone complains stop. Otherwise enjoy. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,SteveT Date: 22 Mar 11 - 05:58 AM I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the various "Song and Ale" events, in the UK at least. If you wanted just singing you could go to Verwood for the "Wail", a weekend of singing with a mediaeval midnight feast thrown in. Or you could try the Pennymoor Song and Ale which has tunes as well as singing, again over a weekend. Both these have a minimal ticket price which just covers the camping (and the feast at the Wail). I presume the Fox and Hounds weekend (Music and song) will be running again this year at Bridestowe (charity collection only but you would have to pay the pub for your camping/bunkhouse/B&B). If you're more of an audience than a participant, there's the Dulverton Folk Festival (even the concerts are free). I do know of others, such as the Whittlebury Song and Ale, but I haven't been to that for years so I can't say much about its current set up but I know the people who go to it are very complimentary. Sorry that these are down south but I'm not much of a festival goer myself and only tend to get my information by word of mouth so I'm limited in my sources. My experience is that, once you find one good session weekend, you'll hear about the others from those that are present – same as finding good sessions in your local area, the best ones are often the least advertised. |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,MC Fat Date: 22 Mar 11 - 06:02 AM Sheffield will be hosting a session festival this easter 22nd-24th April. Singarounds, Music sessions, irish session, Shanty session and much more |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: SteveMansfield Date: 22 Mar 11 - 08:19 AM Music sessions, irish session I'm sure that's accidental, but I do like the distinction :) |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Stan Date: 22 Mar 11 - 04:25 PM MC Fat I have some fond memories of the Sheffield Folk Festival although its 2 or 3 years since the last time I went. You could pay a very reasonable fee to park the van up outside the Museum for the weekend without any other purchase required. That was later in the year than Easter. Is this something different? |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Mr Happy Date: 23 Mar 11 - 07:04 AM GUEST,Stan, Can you become a mudcat member, then I can send you PM's or give your email addy? |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Busy Lizzie Date: 23 Mar 11 - 07:08 AM Have a look and see what we are up to - www.cheshirefolk.com you might like the Folk Set in Sandstone... it's new so we're still planning - guests and sessions... Also - look at www.inanyevent.org.uk to see when the next Anglesey weekend will be in August - dates to be confirmed. Sessions and singarounds on a regular basis as well as concerts! |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Stanron Date: 23 Mar 11 - 08:06 AM Mr Happy This is me as a member. All info welcome. Cheers Stan |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,Rich A Date: 23 Mar 11 - 08:07 AM Stan, there will be very reasonably priced weekend parking at the Sheffield Sessions festival. It will be just outside the Kelham Island Tavern where the late night extra sessions will be. There will be more info coming very soon! |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: Mr Happy Date: 23 Mar 11 - 08:22 AM Stan, Cheers, PM on way |
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Subject: RE: Festival of sessions. From: GUEST,MC Fat Date: 23 Mar 11 - 10:30 AM As Rich says campervan space secured close to Kelham Island there will be a small fee. Kelham Island Tavern will open it's toilets early(ish) each morning. |
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