The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #111691   Message #2393950
Posted By: GUEST,Gadaffi
21-Jul-08 - 05:39 AM
Thread Name: Folk Proms
Subject: RE: Folk Proms
Just one question at this juncture. Where was the infrastructure which might have made Joe Public want to find out more about 'folk' music, either in the park - or at the RAH? Apart from one bloke handing out leaflets for some festival based at Camden, there was no EFDSS stall, nothing about folk festivals anywhere in the country, nothing - not even a beer tent!

Musikasz were superb. Made my day. Folkestra were the antidote needed after a challenging set of European folk song arrangements sung by a mezzo-soprano with as much stage presence as a loaf of bread. I'm not a Martin Simpson fan, but I was mesmerised by his version of 'Little Musgrave'. I endured Bellowhead - but the secret lies in the performance rather than in what they perform. In this, Bellowhead excel, going for sound and presence before everything else. If this makes the incoming generation want to explore deeper, that's okay by me. I'm not sure they were the right choice to showcase 'folk' to a 'classicial' audience if this indeed was the case, but I can see this would only be one contribution to a debate which will long continue. At least we now have a debate!