Looking ahead to Hebden Bridge Folk and Roots Festival ( 11th-13th May!) we are hoping it is going to be a sun-drenched affair with ice-cream, cool beer and the faint rustling of leaves on the breeze. If it’s not.. well, at least we will still have the music! Before it all kicks off we managed to catch up with some of the musicians at the festival and were delighted to hear what they had to say.
For further information on the festival, its line-up, programme and to book tickets visit www.hebdenfolkroots.org.
Tickets are available to collect from the Hope Baptist Chapel in Hebden Bridge at 2pm on the first day, Friday 11th May 2018.
Henry Priestman
First of all we spoke to Henry Priestman, a man who has been in the music business quite a while (over 38 years) who whilst in the band, The Yachts supported some impressive talent such as The Who and The Sex Pistols and contributed to the world in a huge number of other musical projects. We caught up with him to hear his thoughts.
I: Tell us more about yourself?
Henry: My name is Henry Priestman. I used to be songwriter/member of The Christians (big in the 80’s/90’s, ask your Mum about them!), and before that, new wave band Yachts (ask your Grandad about them!). I released my debut solo album The Chronicles of Modern Life in 2008, and have had an amazing time in the last ten years, at this new cottage industry level, on the folk/singer/songwriter circuit. Wembley Arena? Been there, done it, give me Hebden Bridge anyday!
I: Describe your music in five words?
Henry: Radio 2’s Johnnie Walker, he called it “Music for grumpy old men”!! Me, I’d go for “wry, poignant, warmth, protest, mayhem”
I: What’s your favourite song to perform and why?
Henry: Probably my song “We Used To Be You”, a song about kids leaving home to go to University (or a job away)…I love seeing how each verse resonates with certain members of the audience…I feel I can hear them saying “yes, that was us when young Billy left home”!
I: What are you looking for to most about performing at the festival?
Henry: Returning to Hebden Bridge for the first time in 4 years…love the place…also will be great to be back with my band The Men of a Certain Age.
I: Who else are you looking forward to seeing perform at the festival?
Henry: Especially looking forward to meeting up again with quite a few people I’ve performed with in the past…a while back I did a Hebden Bridge songwriter circle with Steve Tilston and Roger Davies, and Reg Meuross and I have also done a few joint gigs together, so will be great to see all them again. And Jon Palmer and band have done Beverley Festival and Folk on the Farm Festival a number of times on the same bill as me, and they’re always good value!
I: What’s next for you after the festival?
Henry: A house gig at Spurn Point the next day!…then a good lie-down, followed by more dates throughout the year
Henry Priestman will be performing at Hope Baptist Chapel at 9.15pm on the Saturday 12th May. For further information on Henry Priestman visit www.henrypriestman.com.
Mambo Jambo
Mambo Jambo describe themselves as an acoustic-roots duo. With an uplifting sound and vast, almost continent-spanning array of instruments they have many tools in their arsenal and look to be a fabulous addition to the festival.
I: Tell us more about yourselves?
Mambo Jambo: This is what our website says about us! “Acoustic Roots duo, Mambo Jambo, might just be the biggest acoustic duo you’ll ever see. A truly unique two-piece with their own rhythmic and joyful sound, they’ll take you on a musical journey with a mash-up of sounds from roots, world, folk and jazz, plus their own compositions. With Frankie on sax, vocals, clarinet, flute, guitar and spoons plus other percussion and Pete on guitar, vocal, ukulele, tres (traditional Cuban guitar), banjo, accordion and suitcase ! Pete and Frankie have been gathering admirers at shows and festivals the length and breadth of the country. A fabulous musical treat is in store wherever they roll up, their tour bus packed to the brim!”
I: Describe your music in five words?
Mambo Jambo: Multi-instrumental Whirlwind of joyful roots music.
I: What’s your favourite song to perform and why?
Mambo Jambo: We don’t really have a favourite song as such; we keep it fresh for the audiences and ourselves with variety, variety of styles,moods and instruments. People often describe our shows as a musical journey and we don’t want to pick out just one musical stop off along the way!!
I: What are you looking for to most about performing at the festival?
Mambo Jambo: We’re looking forward to bringing a whole range of diverse roots music ourselves to the festival. We’re thrilled to be part of this festival with it’s great line up, we love the fact that there’s loads of great stuff going on in in venues, in the community and on the streets – all sorts of stuff going on!
I: Who else are you looking forward to seeing perform at the festival?
Mambo Jambo: We’re really looking forward to seeing all the musicians who are playing the same day as us, some of whom we’ve seen at other festivals they and we have played at, including Tantz, Mestisa, Don’t Feed The Peacocks. Also Steve Tilston; Musicians of Bremen, 309s; G-Runs And Roses; and we’ll try and catch all the bands and musicians we haven’t seen before; so many great bands for us (and all the audiences) to discover! Not forgetting the storytelling sessions and workshops!
I: What’s next for you after the festival?
Mambo Jambo: We are constantly touring, which we love. So we’ve got a tour of the South West coming up, playing in venues in Bristol, Bath, and other venues in Somerset and Devon. Then a couple of festivals including The Big Malarkey Festival, Childrens Literature Festival where we’ve been commissioned to present some different workshops. Two other festivals we’ll be playing at are Beverley Puppet Festival, and a Cycle Festival in North Yorkshire. Later in the year we’ re playing some shows in Europe – lots of interesting playing for us this year! We’ve also got a fair few workshop sessions and school projects coming up, and are planning to do some recording in between all the touring!
Mambo Jambo will be performing at the Trade Club on Sunday 13th May at 3pm. For further information on Mambo Jambo visit http://mambojambo.co.uk.
Once again, further information on the festival, its line-up, programme and to book tickets visit www.hebdenfolkroots.org.
Tickets are available to collect from the Hope Baptist Chapel in Hebden Bridge at 2pm on the first day, Friday 11th May 2018.