Folklore hits all the right notes

Monday 13 June 2016

The Folklore Festival hit the high notes on Sunday despite “freak” weather conditions which caused chaos to the event’s running order.

Festival co-director Warren Le Sueur admitted the weather disrupted travel plans for three bands, including headliners The Charlatans.

Around 3,000 festival goers braved the elements - with numbers down on last year - but the poor early morning and lunchtime weather would have put off many music fans. 

Mr Le Sueur said: “The crowd figure is a bit disappointing because we had such a strong line-up, but the freak weather did not help us at all. I am certain everyone who attended had a brilliant time. Certainly the feedback I have had has been tremendous. As the evening wore on the weather improved considerably and it was a fantastic show. 

“We had terrible trouble with travel arrangements as Slamboree couldn’t get here as their flight from Gatwick was cancelled due to a hole in the runway at Gatwick which meant there was chaos at the airport. Ditto the Showhawk Duo were in the same position. 

“Two members of The Charlatans couldn’t get here on their flight, so we re-arranged for them to come on a new flight from London City which landed at 8.15pm in Jersey. That meant we had to ask the Levellers, who were our main headline act, to move their set forward and also to take off 15 minutes from their set. I’m eternally grateful to the Levellers because they understood the situation was beyond our control and they moved their time slot. 

“All in all, we only lost two bands, but we moved heaven and earth to make sure the Levellers and The Charlatans could make it. If they hadn’t I think we would have been talking about offering refunds, but thankfully, through the co-operation and efforts of all involved, the show managed to go on!”

Jersey’s own singer-songwriter Monty Taft replaced the Showhawk Duo on the main stage and the 17-year-old is now looking forward to two nights at the Glastonbury Festival, where he will be followed by legendary artist Art Garfunkel on Friday evening. 

Monty said: “I’m still pinching myself that this is happening. I’ve heard of a couple of Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon songs, but I’m told he has an incredible back catalogue. Just to be going to Glastonbury is way beyond anything I ever dreamt of. 

“Getting onto the main stage at the Folklore Festival was an amazing experience. I think all the artists were prepared to do anything they could to make sure everyone who attended had a good time and I loved being there and playing to so many people.”

Levellers violinist Jon Sevink said the weather conditions meant there had to be co-operation from all sides.    

“We were asked to change our set time and to be honest, we could all see the problems that the weather had caused so we were happy to go ahead. The important thing is fans had a great time and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was a cracking night.”

Picture Credit: James Solomon Photography