...and finally!

Just to say a big THANK YOU! to everyone who came to this year's event - the Festival isnt a Festival without you. We hope you enjoyed it.

Same time next year...?

They are nifty...and they don't half..er..Shoogle!

The Sunday (and final) night of the Festival drew to a close with a high energy set from the wonderful Shooglenifty. All of the band inexplicably had fish on their heads. We dont know why...we actually don't care as we were all too busy enjoying what was a great end to the whole event.

...and that, everyone, was the BBC Radio 2 Cambridge Folk Festival

Nanci Griffiths

The legend that is Nanci Griffiths played a fantastic set Sunday night to a rapturous welcome from the Festival audience.

Which just leaves...

A musical Tsunami with Toumani!

A slice of Malian music arrives at Cambridge with a tremendous performance from Toumani Diabate and Symmetric Orchestra who lives up to the description of the 'Jimi Hendrix of Kora'

(UpTown) Rankin...

This is Ken Rankin (on the left). Ken is the Production Manager of the Festival and his team work dilligently in the build up to the event, working on all aspects of the production of the Festival. In the week leading up to the event Ken and his team spend the majority of their time down at Cherry Hinton. If you see this man on site, shake his hand or buy him a beer. He's an absolute legend.

Check these out..(part 2)

Visit the BBC Radio 2 Festival website for photos, reviews and video, plus an exclusive look behind the scenes of the Festival with Radio 2 presenters Stuart Maconie and Mike Harding.

Our good friends at BBC Radio 2 online have been covering the Festival and uploading some fantastic footage. Here's just a few examples of some of the video footage on their site:

Kate Rusby, the first lady of the new folk scene, captures the hearts of the audience with Bitter Boy. Click here to see the video.


Folk-rock duo Show of Hands have sold out the Albert Hall three times over! Find out what all the fuss is about. Click here to see the video.



For all the very latest coverage :http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/cambridgefolkfestival/2007/

A slice of soul....

At 6.05pm James Hunter took to stage 1, and injected some good time white soul into proceedings. He looks like he comes from the era of the Kray Twins and has a sound to match. A one man R'n'B machine in the true sense of the term and highly regarded by his peers including Van Morrison. James has transformed the Media Liason caravan into a non-stop Soul Train. Highly regarded Press Officer at the festival, Christina McNally is showing us how its done with her, effortless, graceful boogie time grooves. You go girl!

Festival goes all opulent!

Now, you see...here at the Festival it's not all mud and roughing it in tents. Our friends from the BBC like to do things in style. Check out their backstage 'yurt' which they use for TV interviews and, we're sure, for a bit of hanging out.

Rumours that this is Festival Manager Eddie Barcan's own private boudoir could not be confirmed at this time.

Ricky Skaggs

One of the greatest bluesgrass ambassadors Ricky Skaggs with his band Kentucky Thunder took to the stage at 4.25pm to a rousing reception.

Lots of 'yee-hahs' were heard around the arena.

Wierd and wonderful

Once again...the wierd and wonderful turn out for the Festival!

It's Gator time!

Its a tradition at the Folk Festival each year to dress up our on-site vehicles, also known as 'gators'. This year surpassed all expectations with a competition between different crew members.
Kate Rusby got into the spirit of things by agreeing to judge the best one having to choose between a 'Kiss Me Kate', 'Flintstones', a 'Beach' and a full blown 'hedge on wheels'.

The winner this year was the beach - Bruce Harward from the technical team is seen collecting his trophy from Kate!

Question is...how will they top it next year!

Ruthie Foster plays set No.2

Following her amazing performance on the stage 1 yesterday Ruthie Foster plays another set on stage 2...its one of those sublime moments when you can pretty much sum everything up in one simple word - 'awesome'.
What a voice, what a presence...and she's playing again tonight in the club tent, I suspect that it might be pretty busy in there!

Rushing between the stages....

Ocassionally the photographers are thrown into a quandary, when two popular acts are playing on different stages, at roughly the same time and where the limitation of three songs only (no flash) are brought into question. Here at the Media Liason caravan we are, er, always prepared for all eventualities, so as the Ukuele Orchestra Of Great Britain take to stage 1, I'm practicising my star jumps and running on the spot for the quick dash from stage 1 to take the legions of photographers to Stage 2 to see Last Orders.

Stage 1 has been taken over by an arsenal of Ukuleles. Stage 1 You have been warned...

The orchestra are quite simply fantastic. Throwing in large dollops of humours amidst some cunningly sublime playing their set has included unique versions of such artists as David Bowie, Hawkwind, Wheatus, a hilarious version of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and even the Sex Pistols. Plus an amazing moment where they simultaneously sang three songs at the same time including Fly Me To The Moon, I Will Survive and Love Story. What would George Formby make of it all?!

Martin Simpson

Renowned singer/songwriter Martin Simpson took to Stage 1 just before 1pm. Performing a mixture of songs from his lengthy career interspersed with some witty anecdotes he remains a firm festival favourite.

Mr Boom lands in Cambridge

Sunday mornings at the Festival always sees a special concert for kids...this year Mr Boom landed his spaceship just behind Stage 2 travelling all the way from the moon.

The kids loved him...as did several of the older members of the Festival staff who frankly should know better :0)

Easy Like Sunday Morning...

Day 4. The final day of fantastic music at Cambridge. First up one of Denmarks finest exports (and its not Carlberg's lager) Haugaard & Hoirup take to Stage 1 and energise the sleepy crowd who have gathered with traditional numbers and songs from their homeland.

Carlsberg don't make fiddle and guitar duos, but if they did Haugaard and Hoirup would probably be the best in the world.

Next Neil is off to investige Childrens entertainer extrodinaire Mr Boom, who lands in Cherry Hinton in his imaginary spaceship.

Sunday kicks off...

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...

Sunday morning pics

Its muddy here!

Yyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww!

Toots gets the crowd dancing

Saturday night came to an energetic finish with a spell-binding set from reggae/ska kings Toots & The Maytals.

With the rain starting to come down the covered area in front of Stage 1 was busier than ever with just about every pair of feet dancing to the infectious sounds coming from the stage. A fitting end to the 3rd day of the Festival.

Morning!

Its the morning after the Saturday night before. People are slowly waking up in their tents after the torrential downpour of last night but thankfully the sun is now out and the ground is starting to dry up. As is the tradition with the Folk Festival, BBC Radio 4's The Archers is currently blasting out through the speakers on Stage 1, a nice chilled way to start the day.

We were too busy dancing to Toots and the Maytals last night to update the blog, so lets backdate a little with this pic of Joan Baez from her set last night, who wowed a captivated crowd. She also made an unexpected appearance earlier in the day when she got up on stage to dance alongside a bemused gypsy band Fanfare Ciocarlia - a real treat for the Festival crowd (although we are not sure that the band realised who she was!).

It's funny what you bump into just walking from one stage to another at the Festival!

John Tams gives his views on the Folk Festival

Click below...

Check these out...

Our good friends at BBC Radio 2 online have been covering the Festival and uploading some fantastic footage. Here's just a few examples of some of the video footage on their site:

Folk-rock singer-songwriter and Friday night headliner Steve Earle sings Copperhead Road.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/radio2/cambridgefolkfestival/2007/ram/steveearle?size=16x9&bgc=C0C0C0&nbram=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1

This spectacular performance from folk supergroup Under One Sky is not to be missed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/radio2/cambridgefolkfestival/2007/ram/underonesky?size=16x9&bgc=C0C0C0&nbram=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1

Still going strong after 20 years - The Waterboys return to Cherry Hinton with old favourite The Whole Of The Moon.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/radio2/cambridgefolkfestival/2007/ram/waterboys?size=16x9&bgc=C0C0C0&nbram=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1

Dont forget to visit their site for all the very latest coverage on the Festival:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/cambridgefolkfestival/2007/

Wa wa weee wa! Borat say, you like?

Stage 1 has turned is in the grip of gypsy jamboree with the arrival of Fanfare Ciocarlia. As featured in the hit Borat movie the guys are the perfect way to start the evening at the Festival with their crazy sound making it virtually impossible not to get up and dance. Its like being at a Romanian wedding. Only with 10,000 friends.

Kate Rusby, Stage 1, 6.30pm

Kate Rusby took to stage 1 at 6.30pm, having spent two successful hours this afternoon in the Mojo tent as the crowds snaked around the arena for a glimpse of one of the most popular artists on this years bill.

Playing songs spanning her rich back catalogue alongside new material from her forthcoming Akward Annie, Kate was greeted with a rapturous reception. Always popular at Cambridge, Kates appearance is like catching up with an old friend. The Romanian gypsy brass band Fanfaire Ciocarlia have just taken the stage, ready to inject some funk into Saturday night on stage 1, a world away from playing weddings and funerals in northwest Romania. Hopefully we shall also here their fantastic cover of .Born To Wild that was featured in the Borat movie. You cant be a bit of parping.

...and, arguably, the best song title of the weekend: Frogs Legs and Dragons Teeth. Are Bellowhead gonna take that particular award?

Lisa Knapp wows the club tent

The Festival club tent features some of the rising stars from the folk world. Lisa Knapp was in such demand from the press that a photocall was arranged to avoid the usual jostling for position by photographers in what is quite a small space. Lisa kindly agreed to do a photoshoot for the press instead...

Legendary star..meets former Blur man

Its funny who you bump into at Festivals. One minute former Blur man Graham Coxon is onstage as part of the Under One Sky project, the next his career highlight is complete when he bumps into the Festival's marketing officer Matt :0)

Walkabout characters

Just a few of the crazy walkabout characters that made an appearance at the Festival.

Bellowhead

4pm saw the arrival of Festival favourites Bellowhead - vying for the award of 'the most people simultaneously on the main stage' - with the line up clocking in at a whopping 250 people. OK, that's a lie. But there was a lot of them...and the noise they made was just fabulous.

...and the longest signing queue goes to...

Once again Kate Rusby proved popular at the MOJO signing tent, scribbling on CDs and other various bits of merchandise for a cool 2 hours!

Some more random Festival pics...

Saturday Morning..

The attendees are up early on Saturday morning heading for supplies at the station or making their way into the hive of activity in the arena. Cambridge has always been infamous for its love of bicycles, the preferred mode of transport by many, and walking in on Saturday its seems as though the festival has become a magnet for all the bikes in the city, strewn across fences, locked and abandoned by their owners who are readying themselves for a day of fantastic music. Normal Saturday activities, such as reading the papers, are transfered to the festival as the fans, a mix of families, loyal attenders and the plain curious, decked out in their summer gear and multicoloured crocs take in the mornings soothing tones of Rachel Unthank and The Winterset. Chairs and blankets are out in force again this year as people get settled in for the days array of music.

More later

How many times on stage...?

Yes, the legend that is Steve Earle clearly enjoyed his time in Cambridge making at least 4 appearances on stage on Day 2. Not content with playing a rousing solo set he also joined wife Allison Moorer for a duet, Sharon Shannon earlier in the day and then turned up with The Waterboys for their closing set on Friday night.

Night 2 draws to a close...

The Waterboys brought the 2nd day of the Festival to a close in rousing style where they joined onstage by Steve Earle, Sharon Shannon and John McCusker for an all star jam through classics old and new.

Day 3 has now started...

Under One Sky

John McCusker, Graham Coxon, Roddy Woomble, John Tams, Jim Causley, Andy Cutting, Julie Fowlis, Ian Carr, Emma Reid, James Mackintosh, Ewen Vernal and Iain MacDonald...

...now that's what you call a line-up :0)

Random Festival shots