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Frank Turner To Headline Cambridge Folk Festival

  • Published in News

Acclaimed English indie-folk singer songwriter, Frank Turner joins the bill to headline Saturday night with his band The Sleeping Souls. He made his Cambridge debut in 2008, with a completely new take on English folk, fuelled by the intense energy that marked him out as frontman of his post-punk band Million Dead. The creative force of his ever-evolving material has made Frank Turner a hugely popular name at Cambridge, as he makes a timely return following his last appearance in 2015 where he performed a solo set.

Jake Bugg and twin sisters, Ward Thomas were only 18 and 21 respectively when they first played Cambridge’s now famed emerging talent stage, The Den. Still only 23, both acts subsequently enjoyed meteoric career success as they return this summer to perform as Festival headliners on the Main Stage; two artists proving once again how Cambridge leads the way, divining new talent and ensuring the right exposure to audiences and industry figures needed to help artists stand out and make it.

As a development stage specifically for emerging artists under 30, Cambridge has now been investing in The Den for several years. Set within a beautiful Indian marquee and decorated to create a quirky, welcoming and intimate space, 15-minute slots are also set aside each day for younger artists attending the Festival to perform alongside those booked. To help cement further Cambridge’s reputation as a hot bed for new and developing talent the Festival has launched The 1965 Club which enables Festival attendees to actively contribute to artist development projects like The Den and directly help create the next generation of headliners.

Steve Bagnall, Managing Director of Cambridge Live comments: ‘Cambridge Folk Festival aims to lead the way with artist development, an ambition perfectly illustrated by Jake Bugg and Ward Thomas moving from The Den to the Main Stage within a couple of years. One of the most exciting parts of the Festival really is seeing who playing The Den this year will be a headliner of the future.’

Festival artist booker, Bev Burton shares her ‘one to watch’ playing The Den this year: ‘The Wandering Hearts, a fantastic Americana band hot on the heels of the pack, getting great reviews and I keep getting recommended to check them out, but I’m already a big fan!’

 

This year’s programme of exciting new talent for The Den is:

Wooden Arms - Sleepy Folk - Noble Jacks - Old Sea Brigade - Honey and the Bear - Lucy Farrel - The Lake Poets - Hattie Whitehead - Kerrie Devine -  Ailbhe Reddy - Phil King The Buffalo Skinners – Laucan - Ceilidh Liberation Front - Laura Oakes - Emma McGrath  Sam Gleaves - Nina Harries - Young Waters - Kizzi Crawford - Thom Ashworth - Danni Nicolls - The Wandering Hearts – Samana

Full main stage line-up below, including other new additions: Daphne’s Flight, recently reunited and returning to the Festival after forming in the Club Tent in 1995, double BBC Folk Award winner Daoiri Farrell, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Josie & Pablo, Charlie Grey & Joseph Peach, Darren Eedens & The Slim Pickin’s, Kate in the Kettle, Jon Cleary and Threepenny Bit.

(*new names)

Thursday

*BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH - *DAOIRI FARRELL - THE FURROW COLLECTIVE - TALISK - MAWKIN -*DARREN EEDENS & THE SLIM PICKIN’S - MIDNIGHT SKYRACER - RIVER MATTHEWS - NIKHIL D’SOUZA

Friday

INDIGO GIRLS - SHIRLEY COLLINS - LISA HANNIGAN - WARD THOMAS - BOKANTE - CARA DILLON - COVEN - WILDWOOD KIN - RACHEL NEWTON - THE RHEINGANS SISTERS - AMYTHYST KIAH - TALISK - WORRY DOLLS - ROBERT VINCENT - TANNARA - AMELIA COBURN - SHE SHANTIES - THE URBAN FOLK THEORY CEILIDH - *THREEPENNY BIT

Saturday

*FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS - JON BODEN & THE REMNANT KINGS - SHARON SHANNON - FANTASTIC NEGRITO - LAU - TAMIKREST - CC SMUGGLERS - MOXIE - JAMIE SMITH’S MABON - FARA - BEOGA -*DAPHNE’S FLIGHT - NITEWORKS - BELSHAZZARS FEAST - MAWKIN - ROXANNE DE BASTION - BRIAN McNEILL - JUANITA STEIN - MICHAEL BERNARD FITZGERALD - FEIS ROIS -*CHARLIE GREY & JOSEPH PEACH – ALLURI

Sunday

 

JAKE BUGG (acoustic) - LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III - OYSTERBAND - MARTIN SIMPSON - HAYSEED DIXIE -*JON CLEARY - FAY HIELD AND THE HURRICANE PARTY - ADMIRAL FALLOW - SKERRYVORE - BLUE ROSE CODE - JAKE ISAAC - WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR - *KATE IN THE KETTLE - ORPHAN COLOURS - LEWIS & LEIGH - THE ESKIES - SHE DREW THE GUN - THE FURROW COLLECTIVE - HO-RO - ROSIE HOOD - *JOSIE & PABLO - CHRIS T-T SINGS A.A. MILNE 

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Frank Turner, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

  • Published in Live

Photo: Julia Stryj

There is a good crowd in for the early start to the gig from folk/rock singer-songwriter, Esme Patterson. Patterson has a fresh, high-pitched voice and some simple but emotional messages in her songs. She is tight with her band and clearly enjoying playing a big venue like the Usher Hall. Unfortunately, the sound mix seems set to the rockier end of the spectrum and her vocals are often lost in the guitars. The highlights of her set tonight are ‘The Waves’ and ‘No River’. During these songs, her voice floats on top of the rhythms. It was then that the ambiguity of her vocal fragility and the band’s growling rock guitar power works best. The crowd give her a strong vote of thanks and prepare for the second act.

The programme is set to crank the audience up for the main act and so the energy level rises when Felix Hagan And The Family take the stage. This is glam rock fun. Felix Hagan and the Family look a little like they have stepped out of a performance of the Rocky Horror Show. They bounce around with the same joyous energy too. The tunes are catchy and the band are out to have a good time with their theatrical rock. A few bars in to the first tune and the audience catch the mood and are dancing along. Felix has a strong stage presence engaging with the audience and keeping the energy high. His performance and the infectious guitar driven rock put smiles on the faces in the hall. This is a band that deserves to be cried back for an encore except that the main act still holds on to the crowd’s expectations.

The main act of the evening is Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls who get a loud welcome from the audience. Frank tells them that this is his 1,990th gig and his hard work has clearly paid off in the loyalty of his fans.  Frank opens with ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’ and as the band join him on stage, the audience are already joining in the choruses. The second song ‘The Next Storm’ was the highlight of the set and won over this skeptic to Turner’s brand of singalong rock. Here the lyrics about overcoming adversity and moving on to face the world are perfectly matched by a fine melody and an uplifting beat. 

Frank has an easy stage presence and he chats away to the audience as if he were bantering with his mates in the pub. The most quotable of his comments was his random realisation that it may be no coincidence that the year of Taylor Swift’s birth (1989) was one without the release of a new Iron Maiden album. This stage familiarity can make the show a little Butlins-esque as Frank splits the audience into two gangs (left side v right side) and promises a prize of a signed drum-skin to encourage audience effort in participation. However, these antics clearly work as the crowd are devoted to him. His strong stage presence and clear lyrical style provide the justification for comparisons with Bruce Springsteen.

Frank plays most of the set with an acoustic guitar but does shift to ‘his new friend’ an electric one for a few numbers. He introduces this instrument with a short blast of ‘Ace of Spades’ laughing as he forgets some of the words. His playing though is good throughout and he receives able support from his band, the Sleeping Souls.

Turner is sometimes described as having a punk background although tonight even his old tunes like ‘Try This At Home’ are more bar-room rock. The only carp about this gig is the lack of a change of pace. There is not sufficient variation from the anthemic, singalong numbers. The song where this is most evident comes around the middle of gig. Frank is joined by Esme Patterson for the sad ‘Silent Key’. This song has an excellent contrasts between a rocking first half and then a keening break before a rousing finale. Sadly, in this performance, the tone did not vary enough during the break and its effect was lost.

However, this does not spoil a good night out. Frank takes a few songs alone on stage and his version of ‘Glorious You’ and an old song from his days with Million Dead which show him back on full form.

The band rejoin him and the finale is cheered to the rafters. A communal effort as he intends. 

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