Festival Concerts from Thursday to Monday
Here now are the photos of the festival from Thursday to Monday at the Volunteers Party. they were taken at the Festival site and for Zenobia at the Hagges.
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Birds of Chicago (USA/CAN) +++ Breabach (SCO) +++ Folkeklubben (DK) +++ Hudson Taylor (IRL) +++ John Prine Tribute +++ Zenobia (DK, at the Hagges) +++ Joel Savoy, Jesse Lége & Kelli Jones (USA) +++ Les Poules à Colin (CAN) +++ The Tweed Project (ENG, SCO) +++ Vishtèn (CAN) +++ Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar (UK)+++ William Crighton (AUS) +++ James Keelaghan (CAN) +++ Shaun Ferguson (CAN) +++ Ryan McMahon (CAN) +++ Impressions of the Volunteers Party
Women´s Circle 2019
One of the Highlights of the festival was the Women´s Circle featuring Caitlin Canty (USA), Signe Svendsen (DK), Heidi Talbot (IRL), Irish Mythen (IRL), Jenn Grant (CAN) and Leslie Stevens (USA).
There were not only six phantastic singers who sang their songs, there was a team on stage which cooperation was visible over nearby two hours. I was not only interested in the performances of these women but also in the small sceneries in between. How they looked at their colleagues, not only watching, but taking part, how they performed Amazing Grace at the end. And how spontaneous help would come when two strings are ruined.
Folk Spot
As in the years before the Folk Spot was one of my highlights of the festival. Every time Folk Spot provides a great variety of folk variants, fine music and nice people, so it did this year as well. Every group played fine tunes with a range from string duos and a trio, as Vesselil, Odde og Nilssen and Rannok, over dance performences with Phønix og Embla to the punk variant with Trio Svin.
Two Groups were my very personal favourites this year. Fromseier Hockings as always brilliant and again showing that they more than a duo. And a new experience, Viik with the wonderful Elisabath Viik as vocalist. She sings beautiful tunes, but suddenly creates sounds with her voice that let me think about the wood, about trolls and witches. Last year I wrote something similar – about Vassvig, also from Norway.
Fromseier Hockings (DK) +++ Víík (NO, SE, DK) +++ Phønix og Embla (DK) +++ Trio Svin (DK) +++ Vesselil (DK) +++ Odde og Nilssen (NO) +++ Rannok (DK)
Folk Music as an Artwork
Dreamer´s Circus
Dreamer Circus is since some years one of my favourite bands, they represent, one could say, the chamber music variant of folk. A Trio consisting of three extraordinary musicians, Nikolaj Busk, (Piano & Accordion), Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin) and Ale Carr (Mandolin/Cittern).
What they create on stage is a harmony of two music styles, folk and classical music. The pieces are perfectly arranged, the two music styles brought together, as if the belong to each other naturally. The artwork of Dreamers Circus ist to present a complex package of music, but the contact to the audience never get lost. Everything is light and the complexity comes along somehow hidden. And on stage we see three fine guys just having fun with their music.
Plantec
Plantec play traditional tunes from the Bretagne, normally performed at the Fest-noz in the Bretagne. And traditional are two instruments of that band. The Bombarde, played by Odran Plantec like a Oboe and the guitar played by Yannick Plantec. The third „instrument“ are a small keyboard and a MacBook, and the wonderful and crazy guy behind is DjBril (Gabriel N'Dombi)
The tunes sound familiar and the beats and samples of DJBril support them slightly. And then the reels become more intensive, all instruments and the beats swell up slowly and then a shout comes from DJBril´s mouth, the beats get harder while Guitar and Bombarde explode. Suddenly a tidal wave comes down from the stage and it hits you right into your stomach. Folk and Electro seem to be two antipodes of music, but in this special case are melted into one harmonic sound.
Irish Mythen
For the two bands described beside it is quite clear what a perfect arrangement is, but what does that mean for a single singer?
I had the great pleasure to talk meanwhile some hours with Irish Mythen by different occasions. I do not have a complete idea of here character, but I know how serious she can be talking about women´s rights; how empathic talking about the Irish history; how sensitive talking about emotions and I have an idea of her great and specific kind of humour. And everything I know of her, I can see, when she performs on stage.
The perfect arrangement she presents to her audience is the harmony between her personality and her art. She sings what she is and she is what she sings. And by the way she is a great entertainer and the audience loves her for that as much as for her authenticy.