Despite the Sunday morning mud our fiddler is still smiling :0)Its nearly 12 and Danes Haugaard & Hoirup are just about to take to the main stage...
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About Me
- The Co-operative Cambridge Folk Festival
- The Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the premier music events in Europe and one of the longest running and most famous folk festivals in the world. It has become hugely popular and a regular sell out attracting ten thousand people, many of whom return year after year. The Festival is renowned for its eclectic mix of music and a wide definition of what might be considered folk. The best traditional folk artists from the UK and Ireland rub shoulders with more contemporary acts, the finest American country, blues and roots artists, acclaimed singer songwriters and even the odd pop star. Bluegrass, gospel, cajun, zydeco, jazz, world, klezmer and a ceilidh are also regular features. The line up has reflected the many changes in the music scene from the 60s to the present and is always a hotbed mix of the old and the new. The list of performers who have appeared reads like a who’s who and the Festival has been a launching pad for many now well known artists.
6 comments:
The fiddler may be smiling but unfortunately it seems a number festival attendees are not. However, I can only speak for myself and my own disappointment at the dictatorship that I feel is becoming more evident at this once friendly and relaxing festival. I have no desire to sit in a chair within a marquee and I appreciate that rule, however I disapprove of being told I shouldn't really use a blanket and that I shouldn't read. We all appreciate our music differently. I sometimes like to stand and watch, sometimes I like to be up at the front jumping around, sometimes I like to sit and have the music wash over me whilst I read my book, sometimes I just don't enjoy the artist. So suddenly I should leave? When I want to see the next band? I'm sorry, but no. Telling me how to sit, where to sit, how to listen, how to appreciate is just unacceptable. I paid, just the same as everyone else there and we all have the right to enjoy it anyway we choose, whether it's up at the front, whether it's laid on a blanket with your eyes closed just listening to lyrics (just because I'm not standing and watching doesn't mean I'm not paying attention!) I get up early, to get into the marquee, specifically so I can really listen to the music, so I'm not outside where the chatter and gossip interferes so much more greatly. And this is my right.
There are so many people who now want to go to Cambridge that the loss of my attendence means nothing, but I still feel that I no longer wish to attend something so regimented and for this I am truly sorry.
I think it's about time the festival organisers clammped down on chairs and blankets in the marquee. They are a safety hazard. And I for one am fed up with people tutting at me, because I have stepped on a corner of their 1/2 acre blanket, which they feel is acceptable to spread out about 20 feet from the stage.
Perhaps a compromise would be to allow seats/blankets in the rear quarter of the marquee only.
I sincerely appreciate that full height chairs are a problem, but the lower ones, or even the small foam folding ones are a necessity for a lot of us. Just speaking for myself, I've a damaged coccyx and back problems following injuries and surgery and I need to be able to sit on a chair. I cannot stand for long periods of time. So this means that I have to sit at the back? How is that fair? And, I also see your point as regards blankets, but sitting on the wet, cold ground this year? For hours? Not really an option. Two adults and a small child in a 4 foot square space isn't unreasonable I don't believe. I also want to be able to stand and watch the bands I enjoy, and I don't want to have to fight my way through the crowd each time, so I choose to sit.
I think we all enjoy the festival in different ways and there does have to be a compromise and understanding between everyone. The relaxing feel of the festival is dissipating which is terribly sad...
I understand what you are saying, but in light of your back problem, you could have used the disabled access area. That's what it's there for.
Thankfully, I do not need to be within the disabled area. I am NOT disabled and very much blessed to be essentially able-bodied. Because I'm unable to sit without back support for some hours doesn't make me disabled. There are many of us that suffer with back injuries out there and I'm obviously not the only one that needs the support - or there wouldn't be so many 'chairs' out there!
I think it's really sad that we can't co-exist. I deliberately get there early to make sure I'm at the side or in a corner, out of the way with my 'chair' although how two pieces of foam constitute a chair I'm not entirely sure, but still it's frowned upon!
It's about being responsible with regard to the amount of space we take up and respecting how we all choose to enjoy the festival in different ways isn't it?
There were just too many people there, especially on Friday. Moving around was a nightmare and, I believe, there could have been a real panic if there had been a fire. We had a great time but 2 or 3000 less people would have made it even better.
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