By Lewis MacLean
The most relaxing day of the week was enhanced by the most relaxing festival in Southern England this weekend.
For those not in the know, Wickham festival is renowned for its chill vibes, and you will see people enjoying a wide variety of musical genres at their own pace. Sometimes perched in their own camping chairs, sometimes simply laying under the sky on the fresh grass.
As festivals go, it’s a highly agreeable way to spend a Sunday without the hassle of mindless noise and consumerism.
In previous years, the only flaw in this guaranteed recipe for calm, was the gradual accruement of crusty mud, but this is now a thing of the past – this year saw Wickham Festival locate to a new field just down the road. Add the particularly pleasant weather this weekend and you have all the ingredients of a nice summer day out.
It seems Wickham festival has entered a new era of bliss.
Looking up at the large, open, blue sky, I noticed that the view was lined with giant towering pine trees that seemed to meet the skyline head on, immersing us even deeper into nature. I was fully transported to a countryside setting despite only 10 minutes of travel from the train station.
The Wickham Festival has always been organised fairly well in my opinion, arranged in such a way that it’s an easy transition between each stage, but also utilising enough space on the field for roaming to and from the food stalls or other means of entertainment. There’s even a separate corner for arts and crafts, meditation, tarot, and even storytelling. The Morris dancers are always a welcome spectacle to watch from a distance, but thanks to the new location they often stole the show with momentary distraction when walking up to the Quay West and Acoustic stages.
There were musical acts I came to see, and as usual, musical acts that pleasantly surprised, and as I wandered around to check out the big stages, I found myself drawn to the charming ‘Twisted Tearoom’ outdoor café to join others enticed in by promise of a nice cup of tea and slice of cake.
There were many decent acts playing, but I remember the likes of Calum Lintott, and the Picton Readers Club shining enough to grab the attention of enough passers. It was easy enough to spend the whole day there, I had to force myself to get up and look around.
The big stages had their moments with acts like Honey and The Bear dishing out graceful folk ballads. Across the way on the Little Top the Fine Lines were playing – a slightly more boisterous outfit, but equally at home amongst the crowds. I stumbled across to the Big Top early afternoon in time to hear Nicky Horne talk about his years as a Radio DJ interviewing the likes of John Lennon and David Bowie. He played some interviews from the stage and, even with the appeal of live music happening all around us, I was captivated by the nostalgic appeal of hearing a recording of David Bowie’s voice at a festival.
I did not expect that, so touché Wickham.
However, the smaller Acoustic stage had more than its fair share of moments with solo singers like Tom James, Omam Dawn, and Amelie Langley. The latter two pouring out heartfelt compositions of their own that easily drifted across to reach the ears of those laying down under the sun outside. The delicate acoustic songs blended nicely with the atmosphere mid-air for all to see.
For me though the star of the show was the Quay West stage hosting interesting acts like Shanty Head and Courtiers, who kept the crowd warmed up before Electric Eden returned again, after playing last year. They brought the house down with a hoedown, foot stomping and swing dancing becoming mandatory, energising the crowd again and again. They are becoming more popular here at Wickham and everyone comes back for more.
When I popped my head in later on, a solo piano player called Jeanie White was left to fend for herself on stage, but the crowd never wavered and as I heard her sing and play I soon realised why.
Later in the evening, Jazz fans and R’n’B fans must have been in awe to see Curtis Stigers play some high quality grand showroom style music. There was the slight bleed over in volume from the Little Top as the enthusiastically loud Rura pedalled out what can only be described as musical Celtic fury, exactly as Curtis tried to lay down some smooth jazz grooves. Ever the professional he kept on and managed to get the crowd in giggles as he dropped his smooth Jazz persona and shouted over in a rough almost Chicago style voice: “Shut up, will ya?”
What I mainly notice amongst the Wickham Festival crowd is the appreciation of music in general. It becomes so obvious that most come for the experience of live music, rather than the specific act of labelling it.
Wickham is growing each year, and I look forward to the next time!
Early Bird tickets are on sale now: www.wickhamfestival.co.uk.
- In Common is not for profit. We rely on donations from readers to keep the site running. Could you help to support us for as little as 25p a week? Please help us to carry on offering independent grass roots media. Visit: https://www.patreon.com/incommonsoton