Weymouth Evening Echo 8 May 2003.

Musicians in folk boycott.

Enthusiasts from around the country claim they will stay away from the Weymouth Folk Festival in a row over entertainment licences.

Licensing laws state that premises hosting more than two people deemed to be singing, dancing or performing should have an entertainment licence.

Local campaigners claim Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, which is sponsoring this weekend's festival with Weymouth Folk Group, have stifled folk musicians by clamping down on informal sessions held at various unlicensed pubs in the borough.

The groups have now organised an alternative event on Portland for people unhappy with the council.
The programme of events at the Cove House Inn on Portland, which has a long association with folk music, has been organised by enthusiast Roger Gall who claims dozens of musicians have pledged support.

The boycott has been backed by top folk musician Eliza Carthy and comes after a small group of singers quit the New Star Inn on Portland after five years because the council warned the owners they needed a licence.

Mr Gall, from Portland, said: "I would like the main festival to be a success because it encourages folk music but the bottom line is that the council's attitude is ridiculous because they enforce this policy. A lot of people have opted to stay away because they feel strongly about this."

He added that the take-up figure of public entertainment licences in Weymouth and Portland was 30 per cent, compared with five per cent nationally. "The council obviously wants to maximise its revenue, particularly at the moment, but people from all over the country say they cannot support this festival because the council only supports folk music when the festival is on." Mr Gall said that he organised the alternative folk sessions because no events were planned for Portland.

"The council is called Weymouth and Portland but yet there's no official events on the island. It feels like Portland has been ignored," he said.

More than 1000 performers are set to attend this weekend's Weymouth Folk Festival from Friday to Sunday.
Highlights include a parade of dance, which sets off from the Jubilee Clock at 12.30pm on Saturday and heads for Weymouth Pavilion, with bands performing including The Oysterband and The Yetties.

Coun Brian Ellis, borough tourism spokesman, said: "There will be no boycott because the line up we have planned is an excellent one. The information I'm getting is that it will be well supported and the event is putting Weymouth on the folk music map."

Coun Ellis added that the row over entertainment licenses should be distanced from the festival.
"I'm a strong supporter of live performance and I do have concerns how the licensing legislation is interpreted by the borough. The borough needs to ensure the licensing isn't too harsh," he added.