Cambridge Folk Festival 2024 Review

Leyla and her band came to the Cambridge Folk Festival stage at 7.20 pm on the Saturday evening and performed an astonishing show largely made up of the new album played in album track list order. With a couple of exceptions and some rousing Haitian tones at the climax, this was all it took for Leyla McCalla to run away with my personal accolade of the entire festival highlight. Her secret was nothing more than being a performer whose moment has arrived, realising all the promise her solo records have teased us with for over a decade. Yes, she was charming with it, politically engaged, not overly seeking anyone’s approval (when asking the crowd if there were any Kendrick Lamar fans in, she dryly noted “about a third of you then”), but she confidently stood up and let the music do her talking. The band stood up too, the guitar shredding at the end of ‘Tree’ being especially noteworthy whilst Leyla herself switched between guitar, banjo and cello underpinning that gorgeous, pure voice of hers. Yes, this was indeed a moment; at one point, I even noticed the hairs on my arms stood on end, a set that was tingling with magic. And if you have not listened to ‘Sun Without The Heat’ yet, address that oversight immediately (see below).

Obviously, a four-day extravaganza as eclectic as the Cambridge Folk Festival cannot be defined by one fantastic set, but the range of music on offer did honour this festival’s tradition of acoustic roots-based bounty with a pleasing mix of the new and the legendary. If anything, this year Cambridge was a little light on obviously big-name attractions, Friday night headliner Robert Plant far-and-away being the name pulling the most casual punters in, but I would argue that this opens the festival up for exploration.

Alongside that main stage is a second arena, also a club-style tent with a bar at the rear and then tucked away among the camping and the geese, a small tent called The Den, which, with its mid-century living room stage décor and homely charm, offered a rolling drip-feed of exciting new talent. I spent a good amount of time in The Den this year, chancing my arm with a succession of names I did not know and mostly always leaving as a happy customer. I took this approach from the opening day on Thursday, having sampled a taste of the Smith + Brewer bands goodtime bonhomie on stage two, I caught a delightful full set by a three-piece from Sheffield called Auka. This trio played flute and recorder-led instrumental pieces, reminding me a little in both appearance and sound of the kind of group you would see on children’s TV around 1972. Still, even though finger puppets were notable by their absence, they did engage the room with their brand of breezy wind instrumentation plus double bass and guitar sorcery. True, the opening night hot ticket was undeniably Ralph McTell, whose stage two tent was nowhere near large enough to accommodate the surge as he struck up ‘Street Of London,’ but for me, Cambridge 2024 was already pointing in a more adventurous direction. 

Let me state categorically, however, that the Friday night main attraction, Robert Plant presents Saving Grace featuring Suzi Dian, did not disappoint. No, he was in remarkably fine voice as was accordion playing foil Suzi Dian, and the set was a well-pitched blend of Robert’s acid-folk passions (a real heavy slab of Bert Jansch respecting ‘It Don’t Bother Me’) and appropriate concessions to his Led Zeppelin past with folk based selections like ‘Gallow’s Pole’. The main stage had begun that day with Bess Atwell and a distinct indie-pop flavour of balladeering, but by the time the late afternoon boards are cleared for the arrival of Fantastic Negrito, the audience get treated to a performer eager to tear up the decking and shake some funk into the arena. I must say he was incredible, rather like Prince in the dynamism of his performance with added bluesy roots. Playing tracks like ‘Oh Betty’ from his ‘White Jesus Black Problems’ album, this was a set that loosened a few tent pegs in songs that tackle romance, racism and capitalism aboard a rollercoaster that surely shook some of those Cambridge main stage deck chairs to their feet (I had to get in amongst the throng for this one so I could not see the reaction further back).

Earlier, the Den stage had some diamonds in the rough waiting for discovery too. Best of all, for my money, was harp playing Anna McLuckie. This was lush indie-folk at its finest, with Anna backing her dexterous picking with some equally sublime vocals, every bit as good as anything you find on a main stage but instead humbly tucked away in a low-key situation accommodating no more than a hundred people, you’ve got to dig in to dig out. 

Saturday, and it’s back to the mainstage for a supergroup! Butler, Blake & Grant are respectively known for their previous bands (Suede & McCalmont & Butler for Bernard, Teenage Fanclub for Norman and Love & Money for James), but they have united initially as an outlet to play each other’s songs. That would be justification enough for they each have a strong DNA in a melodic Britfolk style of writing, referencing everything from the classic pop tones of XTC & Squeeze to the bittersweet DIY indie ethics of a Belle & Sebastian or Robyn Hitchcock, not to mention deep back catalogues each. Still, the even better news is that the union has prompted some fresh compositions which, on the evidence presented today, stand favourably alongside their more celebrated work. In the end, though, it is re-imaginings of Teenage Fanclub’s ‘The Concept,’ McCalmont & Butler’s ‘Yes’ and Neil Young’s ‘Cinnamon Girl’ that bring this delightful set to a rousing climax.

Back over at The Den, it is clear that the bountiful discoveries of the opening days can still be relied upon. I end up spending more time than planned here thanks to the soulful vocal stylings of incredible London singer Konyikeh (backed with her guitarist’s juicy African referencing tremolo heavy chops) and the personable cello-slashing Aussie charm of Monique Claire. She chatted as much as she played to the extent that when asking the large crowd, “have I talked to much?” one of the harsher critics in the audience shouted, “yes.” Nevertheless, when she did play, it was with real conviction and worth the wait.

As mentioned at the top, Leyla McCalla stole my Saturday night, but honourable mention should go to the band who followed her, Turin Brakes. Like today’s supergroup, they are veterans of the UK Indie-Folk scene who twenty years ago released Mercury nominated album ‘The Optimist’ and are now able to toast a festival crowd in the knowledge that their music has stood the test of time rather well. They even warmed this Cambridge crowd by weaving in a section of local heroes Pink Floyd’s ‘Breathe’ earlier in the set.

A Saturday night does need to end with a bit of a punch, however, and I found it over on stage two where Rioghnach Connolly & Honeyfeet were stonking playful fun with a perverse cocktail of demons & wizards Proggy weirdness and bold-as-brass, in-your-face raucousness. This was the first time I had seen Rioghnach live, but wow, what an attention-grabbing lead singer she is. No band is going to come across as half-arsed with this lady at the helm. 

I thought I would start my Sunday with a different tempo, settling in for some classical piano eloquence from Sarah Hagen, and she was indeed a player with considerable grace and dexterity, presenting buried treasures such as pieces derived from 17th-century folk tunes. My only issue is that I sometimes find it hard to enjoy these types of delicate recitals when there are louder sounds drifting in from other stages. Still, I guess that is just the way of festivals; there are not too many where this kind of issue does not occur a little.

Over on the main stage, Katherine Priddy felt the temperature of the room (very warm indeed, as it happens) and played a set of appropriately tranquil and genteel acoustic singer-songwriter fare largely pulled from her well-received ‘The Pendulum Swing’ album from earlier this year.

Katherine made way for the festival’s ‘legends spot’, and I have to say, the performance delivered by Peggy Seeger wholly justified the lofty title. Maybe it seems apt to put a veteran of Peggy’s vintage on in the afternoon, but there was nothing in this set, backed by a collective of her sons and other relatives, which would not have worked positioned as a late-night headliner. Playing classics from the protest era, such as ‘I’m Gonna Be An Engineer’, to newer, equally rousing and on-the-money material like ‘The Invisible Woman’, it really was a privilege to be in the company of such folk royalty. When sat at the piano re-working Ewan MacColl’s classic written for her, ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,’ the vulnerable cracks in the voice, which infuse even more longing and loss, can surely be felt right out onto the streets of Cherry Hinton. It was moving, powerful and truly unforgettable.

The other legends of the day came soon after; the Oysterband are on their farewell tour, and even though they mitigate with a “you never know for sure” type statement from the stage, the triumphalism in revisiting highlights from their lengthy back catalogue does suggest this year may be their final bow, as a touring act at least.

Over on stage two, Lizzie No was justifying comparisons made to Allison Russell and Adia Victoria, all fair and accurate, but as soon as she straps on a harp, where the guitar would seem the far more comfortable option, it is clear Lizzie is very much an artist with her own grain.

Finally, for the day, though, special mention must once more be made for The Den, where a duo called Lucy & Hazel played their own brand of storytelling folk with a loveable dose of irony, compassion and a delightful feel for comic timing and the absurd. Once again, these little unexpected moments of delight were every bit as valuable as when the bigger names deliver the goods. This is a festival that has had its critics, some valid; personally, I have never seen the appeal in pitching up at the mainstage with a deck chair and picnic blanket without exploring the delights on offer around the entire site. I guess if everyone did that, The Den would get overcrowded, so I should just be happy the way things are. All the same, as has happened to me so many times over the years, when you dive into this cultural feast, there is always something exciting waiting to be found, as 2024 has definitively proved once again: long may you run Cambridge Folk Festival. 

Some candid moments – all by Aaron Parsons:

Website: https://www.cambridgelive.org.uk/folk-festival