Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr

Subject: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 02:46 PM

I'm planning a day trip to Oxford on Saturday. Who else is going, and where will you be hanging out?

Kitty

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Pete_Standing
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 05:02 PM

I'll be at the Mawkin:Causley & Martin Simpson, Danny Thompson gig in the afternoon.

On Friday night I'll be at the folk club, as usual, Sunday busking with the Cry Havoc morris musicians, the Kathryn Tickell concert and probably the Half Moon session Sunday pm.

I won't be wearing a rose in my lapel or holding a copy of the times, but I will be wearing my dark brown leather bush hat.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: skipy
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 05:12 PM

I'll be out & about with posters / flyers & hanging around pub doorways, hope to see you both.
Skipy

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 05:16 PM

What's the fringe situation?

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 05:34 PM

I'll be here, there, and everywhere. Mostly in the concerts MC'd by my beloved.

:)

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Judy Dyble
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 05:46 PM

and I'll be there smiling and nattering and getting in the way in all sorts of unexpected places and peculiar times...

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: skipy
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 06:03 PM

I may dress as a "girlie"
Skipy

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: vectis
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 07:00 PM

I'll look out for you Skipy, it would be nice to be able to put a face to the name at long last.
I'll be there from Friday afternoon.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 04:13 AM

Sounds like this could be fun... where can I find details? Google has let me down today.

LTS

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 07:10 AM

Try sticking Oxford Folk Festival into Google....

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: melodeonboy
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 07:12 AM

I'm stewarding there on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon in The Town Hall.   6'3", unshaven with scruffy desert boots. Blimey, I sound just like a folkie! (Please don't tell Diane; I might get a GEFF badge pinned on me!!!!).

Come and say hello.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: GUEST,Jemma
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 08:01 AM

I'll be there dancing with Pecsaetan Morris. We really enjoyed it last year (it was gloriously sunny and we found lots of nice pubs ;)
Jems

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 03:36 PM

I can recommend Telling the bees.

S

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: GUEST,Jonny Sunshine
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 04:41 PM

Me too

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 04:51 PM

I tried that, Google fell over.

Thanks.

LTS

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 05:05 PM

Liz - does this direct link work any better?

Kitty

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 13 Apr 08 - 05:15 PM

Well, I saw Pecsaetan dance (in Cornmarket), and said hello to Skipy - heard the sets from Afropean, Andy Turner, Vinegar Tom and the Oxford Folk Club on the Cornbury stage. Also said hello to Dave and Jen Spiers, who were waiting in the queue to hear Bellowhead - so no family privileges in the folk world then!

Kitty

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Snuffy
Date: 13 Apr 08 - 06:12 PM

Did you get to sing at all, Kitty?

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 13 Apr 08 - 08:11 PM

Snuffy - yes, inasmuch as I sang in choruses of other people's songs. Didn't manage to find a pub session though. (Unlike Derek, who sang at the Oxford Folk club on Friday night, and then in the Half Moon...)

Kitty

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Dave Earl
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 08:03 AM

For vectis

Mary you know who skipy is. You met him at Whittlebury.

dave

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Pete_Standing
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 09:01 AM

What's the fringe situation? Short, otherwise it gets in my eyes ;o)

What a great festy! Saw Skipy and heard Derek sing at OFC on Friday - very nice voice indeed. M:C were great, though I thought the more intimate surroundings of OFC the week before and the Cornbury stage was better than the town hall gig which was marred by the sound - chalk and cheese, it was near perfect for Daniels/Grant Islands and they had a more demanding set up with all those instrumentalists, same rig and people on the desk too. It was a joy to see people having a real ball at the front of the hall to Kathryn Tickell, but the sound for that was bizarre too - a different guy fussing with the controls making the sound at times more like some drum and bass, but without the drum....

Well done to all the people who worked behind the scenes over the weekend, the months leading up to it and the inevitable sorting out afterwards.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 09:11 AM

to dig up a topic beloved of Mudcat, did anyone notice just how many younger people were there? This was especially evident during the Bellowhead gig, but it was generally true over the weekend. I mentioned it to another festival organiser, and she agreed.

I think we've discussed before that there are lots of reasons why different festivals and events attract different cohorts of folkies. Nice to see such a range represented at Oxford.

At the festival I also noticed flyers for a new folk club at the East Dulwich Tavern in London - their marketing reminded me of the Magpie's Nest, and they're clearly aiming for a younger, hipper audience.

The Goose is Out

Maybe we needn't toll the death knell just yet.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Pete_Standing
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 10:29 AM

Ruth

Maybe one of the reasons is that most of the Oxford colleges are on the doorstep of the festival. If you go to any, if not most, of the sessions in Oxford, you will see a lot of young and enthusiastic players - this is spreading out from the popular base of the Half Moon which is an easy starting point for college students, and who are hungry to do more music. There are signs that the folk club is beginning to get the nod from some younger people too.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 11:23 AM

yes, the Half Moon was effectively the festival bar all weekend. the colleges must certainly be good recruiting grounds - but the thing we noticed was that it wasn't just student-aged people, but substantial numbers that looked like they might be in their late 20s and 30s. Of course, there will be a range of ages included in Oxford's student population. But i wondered if it was just down to that, or maybe something more. Oxford FF's association with the Cornbury Festival, perhaps? Or maybe the Towersey Effect is being felt throughout the county...

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Pete_Standing
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:13 PM

Ruth

Speaking to some of the "younger" folkies that I come across, they don't seem to want to leave Oxford, ie they graduate and stay because of the buzz that definitely seems to be developing. There are sessions that I go to where once upon a time, you wouldn't see many people under my age - the last time I went, it was mobbed with them and the word is they are going back.

In contrast to the festivals like Towersey where the ceilidhs are buzzing with younguns, Oxfolk ceilidhs seem to be diminishing in popularity, but they are in the adjacent town of Kidlington, a fair bus ride away. I know from the college balls that my band has done at Christmas, the ceilidh brings more people, like just about everyone, on to the floor, something that the rock and pop bands have a problem doing. Hmmm, thinks there must be an opportunity here - after all Sheffield seems to do well.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:29 PM

Oxford is funny that way - I don't think it's limited to the folkies! People don't seem to want to leave, as it's a unique place with a unique mix of people. Funnily enough, friends of mine got married in college a few years ago - about 10 years after graduating - and had a ceilidh at the Randolph in the evening! Not folkies themselves, but I think they'd been to a few other ceilidhs locally and thought it was good fun.

Subject: RE: Oxford (England) folk festival 11-13 Apr
From: GUEST,The Goose
Date: 22 Apr 08 - 12:36 PM

Just wanted to say, thanks Ruth Archer for noticing our Goose flyers in Oxford!

Our opening night last month with Dave Swarbrick did seem to have a good mix of people of all ages, which was brilliant, so let's hope it continues.

Also, there's so many good young singers and musicians around, and it must be very odd for them if the whole of their audience is much older than their age group.

We had a great time in Oxford and will be back (though couldn't someone move the Half Moon a bit closer to the Town Hall?!)

We'd also appreciate someone expanding the space upstairs @ edt so that we can book Bellowhead and/or Three Daft Monkeys :) Oh yeh, and the Spooky Men's Chorale :)

If anyone wants to check out the Goose, you can find us at www.thegooseisout.com and our second night is with John Kirkpatrick, plus some other great singers, this Friday.