The 2005 Festival was held on

Saturday 17 September

(Survivors' Session on Sunday am)

Visit our new page of pictures from 2005


2005 Artistes:

The Tabbush Sisters

(see home page for headliners)
 		John Kirkpatrick &
Chris Parkinson

Late-breaking news - Wednesday 14 Sept

Gallimaufry are prevented from coming by the uncertain state of travel this weekend and by the seeming unavailability of fuel in Southport, Cheshire where they live. They also have a paid booking 'up North' on Sunday and need to be sure of being there! (we pay our non-pro Artistes expenses only).

Brian Hooper and Jeff Henry will preview part of their 'Southampton in Song' programme for us as the opener for the free Tea-Time Concert at 6pm and will then interview the The Sultans of Squeeze in place of Trampers Lane.

Trampers Lane will take over Gallimaufry's spot opening the Afternoon Concert at 2pm.
SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
Survivors' Singaround and Anything Goes 10am-1pm - Free with collection

Claire Coxwell Claire Coxwell

Seen and heard at several previous Festivals as a duo with Dave Hunter (The Wrong Sort of Biscuit), Claire is an accomplished band player (Spike Island Band) as well as a soloist and will have lots of useful tips and techniques to impart, not just to accordionists - players of any instrument are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Playing in a Band Workshop


"Southampton in Song" with
Brian Hooper & Jeff Henry

Brian Hooper & Jeff Henry An ongoing project with songs new and old, some written by Jeff and Brian and some by friends, some made-over from traditional sources, some you will know and some you won't, to celebrate Southampton in song with a Concert programme, an Entertainment and a CD. Brian & Jeff will be previewing a few items from this programme for us at 6pm as part of the free Tea-Time Concert.

Brian writes: "The Southampton in Song concert on

Tuesday 4 October,

St Michael's Church, Bugle Street.
Details tel 02380 340749

will be a fund raising event in aid of SCRATCH - Southampton City and Region Action to Combat Hardship. Tuesday 4th October is the anniversary of the Sack of Southampton in 1338 and appropriately, it is happening at St Michael's Church in the old part of Southampton. St Michael's is the oldest church in Southampton, and is over 250 years older than the town walls you see today. It was also the focal point of the Sack of Southampton, and so was the obvious choice for our concert. We will feature most, if not all the songs from the CD, and we hope to raise a goodly amount for SCRATCH. We are pleased to tell you that the Mayor of Southampton has kindly agreed to attend, and we have also invited other local dignatories to join this celebration of our city. There will also be 'dramatic interludes' - come along and see for yourself! Tickets £5 are now available from either Brian or myself and see the website."



set and MCs  for Meet the Artiste with Sultans of Squeeze

Gallimaufry Gallimaufry

Based in Southport and working all over the North West, Gallimaufry are friends and neighbours of Chris & Siobhan Nelson who suggested they might like to join us this year (they are not available themselves).

Gallimaufry was formed in 2001 by Sarah Marks on violin and Roger Gardiner on bass in order to play to play high class traditional and contemporary dance, cajun and jazz music.

They have been joined by Pete Rimmer on Guitar and vocals.

We play all types and styles from British Folk and Dance Music to jazz songs and instrumentals.

We can also play classical and western swing, in fact just about anything you want, if it's not Disco.We Play for weddings, folk venues and concerts.

Not now able to appear

Southern Lights   Southern Lights Traditional Dancers


Familiar faces on the local scene, Southern Lights have been gracing Southern display dance for a number of years. You might spot both a member of 'Three's Company' and a Festival Organiser!

With a stunning combination of tradition and originality and some equally talented musicians, they always give a lift to the show.

They are also on the lookout for more musicians - anyone interested?

Various

Rob Mills CD Rob Mills

Rob Mills at Wickham May Day Rob Mills has been immersed in traditional songs as far back as he can recall. His father, Bob Mills (Forest Tracks FTC6025), was a well known singer of the old country songs. Having picked up many of his father's songs Rob started singing at social gatherings after his leisure time spent rock-climbing and caving as a young man. With this experience he began to sing in local folk clubs. Since those early days Rob has been in much demand for his fine solo singing and he now includes several of his own songs in his repertoire. He was a member of the Woodfidley dance display team for many years and is currently dancing with Wickham Morris where he is usually called on for a song after the performance. Photo right: at Wickham May Day 2005.

Top left: the cover of Rob's CD 'Walk On My Boys' : Forest Tracks FTCD 203

MC and Afternoon Concert

Wickham Morris Logo   Wickham Morris Wickham Morris at Wimborne 2003

Another well-known local display side with a great track record in entertainment and general feel-good. Rob Mills often plays their fool and dances with them, so he'll be busy today! The picture shows them at Wimborne Folk Festival in 2003 - have a look at our past pictures to see some more.

Various

Segalula

Songs to amuse     

Sings to inspire


  • We are a group of women who love to share our joyful harmony singing with an audience. Our songs are from all sorts of sources - we choose them for their fun value or their uplifting message.
  • We perform in the Southampton/Winchester area and are available for fundraisers, celebrations and other events.
People often ask us what Segalula means:  
It is a South African Township word meaning "It's easy" (which has been adopted to mean mobile phone).  We think this name fits our belief that singing is for everyone.

 Segalula singing

Afternoon Concert

Kevin Barlow Kevin Barlow

Well-loved at several local Folk Clubs and once an organiser himself. Having absorbed folk songs and musical ideas in his lifetime of travel and performance throughout Britain, Kevin's  fluid  folk style reflects his own, friendly, Lancashire humour using an unintrusive guitar accompaniment. His adapted and self-penned songs combine interesting stories and familiar enjoyable tunes to create an environment of warmth, relaxation and entertainment.

Afternoon Concert

Trampers Lane

Trampers Lane

A group of musical friends who got together about 18 months ago at Forest Folk in nearby North Boarhunt in the old Forest of Bere area, they have quickly gelled into a first-rate performing unit using a variety of instruments and with some delightful voices.

Trampers Lane -1 at Winchester Right: the four who will be with us at this Festival, seen at Winchester Folk Festival 2005.

The original band members, Mike Brackstone, Glenda Moore and Tony Kenwood met as members of Wickham Morris some 10 years ago. Having a desire to play more diverse folk music than morris tunes, they started to play together and attend Forest Folk Club in North Boarhunt.

The line up has changed over the years due to members moving on or away.

Their lead singer, Janet Brown joined last year together with Richard Clegg-Smith.

The band mix and match with vocals and instruments (guitar, mandolin, bazouki, accordion and whistle) which they feel adds interest to their sound as well as being more fun.

The name was chosen on the spur of the moment from the lane where Forest Folk is situated.

Afternoon Concert

Paul
Paul

Mist on the Bog

4 Musicians from the Portsmouth area playing Irish music, from sensitive to rip-roaring and traditional to contemporary with the odd Breton and Scottish tune thrown in. Paul (fiddle), Tim (flutes/whistles), Mick from Dun Laoghaire (guitar, vocals and sense of humour), Simon (bouzouki, vocals) also plays banjo and guitar.

Mist on the Bog were a great success opening the Afternoon Concert last year, so we have invited them back for the Evening this time.
 Tim
Tim
Simon
Simon
 Mick  Mick

Evening Concert

Gene Burton Gene Burton

Gene burst on the scene quite recently and is already sought after for support spots and other engagements in the wider locality. With his strong, animated voice he is amazingly versatile in his choice of material and performance style - sometimes he will sing his own folk-style songs or folk standards with highly accomplished guitar accompaniment, other times he might sing out straight to the room with no accompaniment (his favourite blues style). He has been at previous Festivals and always brought praise - this year sees him move to the prestigious Evening Concert.

In his mid-twenties, he has been performing at folk clubs and festivals for 3 years, firstly in the West Midlands and subseqently in and around the South. He covers a wide range of styles, mixing his own self-penned material with traditional folk songs, contemporary covers and a dash of Gospel. Gene's voice has variously been described as "affecting", "distinctive", and "beautiful" (debatable whether the first two were meant as compliments...); and his current CD, "Let Me Hide Myself" is certainly well worth a listen.

Evening Concert

Heather Bradford Heather & Julian Heather Bradford & Julian Longden

A new combination to be heard for the first time at Winchester Folk Festival in the Spring, we know from the great talent of the two protagonists that they will form a duo to be anticipated.

Heather's lovely voice will be remembered, whether from her work with Hen Party (where she gave many of their songs their distinctive high melody line as well as contributing to the near-perfect ensemble), with Stephie Cox (the duo SHIMMENNEE who appeared last year) or as a soloist. She may be heard at her best in passages such as the opening lines of  John Warner's 'Railway Widow's Blues' (Hen Party: 'The Heart Gallery', Wild Goose WGS 311 CD) or as the lead vocalist in Rick Kemp's 'Somewhere Along the Road' (on the same disk).

Julian also appeared previously and has had praises heaped on him since his reurn to folk; this is from a review by Ted Comben in Folk On Tap:

Heather Bradford "Two or three floor singers later and Julian was introduced to us. To say that we were "treated" to a superb set of Carthy/Jansch/Renbournesque songs, by way of an introduction to Julian's interpretation of traditional songs, would be an understatement. We fair wallowed in it. Julian does not regurgitate cliché-ridden songs that we have all heard a hundred times. He uses the style of those he admires the most to put his own interpretations on songs that we would want to hear again.

From the moment the Martin grafted itself effortlessly to the extremities of his arms and the two of them started to sing (Julian and his Martin that is), we all knew that the evening would be great. Julian's Martin spends most of its life tuned in DADGAD, but with clever finger work and a strategically placed capo every now and then, one is lulled into the thought that he re-tunes his guitar as often as the maestro himself. It must be said that Julian does not simply rely on fast finger work, his concentration, he tells me, is on the overall English sound."
Heather & Julian at The Fo'c'sle

Evening Concert

Bob & Sarah Whitley

Bob Whitley Sarah Whitley Singer/songwriter Bob Whitley from Poole playing guitar, mandolin, mandola, tenor banjo and harmonicas, now as a duo with his daughter Sarah and her wonderful voice. Bob has written poetry from a young age and took up playing the mandolin to accompany his words, making the transition to a songwriter and developing his own style of fingerpicking the mandolin. He then progressed to the mandola, guitar and more recently the tenor banjo. Bob adds harmonicas to some songs playing a single note melodious accompaniment. He writes serious and humorous songs on a wide range of contemporary and historical themes with traditional folk music influences particularly in songs on the mandolins using modal chords. Bob used to run the Blue Boar Roots Music Club in Poole and still guests there, as well as being heard around the area with his laid-back and enviably skilful instrumental style and singing voice. Bob recently increased his repertoire of traditional material (after it was pointed out to him that he was rather good at that too) and daughter Sarah can sometimes be persuaded to join him, as tonight. Heard at Solent Folk Festival in 2003, he made quite a hit and we're sure he Sarah will provide an enjoyable and satisfying set.
 
(1.4 Mb demo mp3s of Bob solo - sound quality is a bit rough!)

Evening Concert

John Barden Lives Here ... John Barden

John has a rich, powerful, but also subtle voice, which he ably complements with guitar or bodhran. He sings a mixture of traditional, not-so-traditional and self-penned songs.

Leading Singaround/ Anything Goes in Classrooms

Arnie Cottrell Arnie Cottrell & Friends

Well-known in the area for his vigorous interpretations of blues and roots music (and as the former leader of the 'Midnight Flyers' which included Chris Nelson), Arnie Cottrell's creative juices began flowing when his parents bought him a Tom Lehrer album for his 8th birthday. Since then he has acquired "a lifelong obsession with music of absolutely any kind as long as it stopped the voices" and is walking talking proof of that old Jack-of-all-trades adage (he plays acoustic guitar, resonator or slide guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, lap steel .... anything handy really). When he and Tim and Colm begin to play - aaah, then they begin to weave a spell of pure musical magic and people playing with them get absorbed into it all.

Leading Blues and Roots Session in Main Marquee

Gwilym  & Carol Davies with Paul Meager

Gwilym Davies Paul Marsh, Gwilym & Carol Davies and Ron Coe ('Rough 'n' Ready') have a project to bring playing and singing back to pubs, old peoples homes, care homes and indeed any old where they can get a foot in the door!

Solent Folk Festival cannot muster the normal group, but Gwilym (left) & Carol are bringing along brilliant young Bristol fiddler Paul Meager and following the same track: expect an emphasis on 'old favourites' with a few surprises thrown in. With these excellent performers you might just want to sit and listen.
Gwilym & Carol Davies
Gwilym & Carol

Leading the Music/ Anything Goes Session

The Autumummers

The Autumummers The Campions, the Lees (ie Three's Company with the addition of Ali's husband) and Ian and Julie Nichols from Wickham Morris are putting on a traditional-style Mummers Play as light relief during the Evening Concert. Expect some fresh ideas and a few corny jokes to match the season of cornsel (old word for the cereal harvest).

L-R Julie ('Jacki Frost'), Peter ('Doctor' and narrator), Ian ('The Green Man'), Ali ('Nurse Ali Campaign'), Mary, Martin (Farmer Giles and wife).


Evening Concert


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