PARTY SEASON
The Ultimate
RED ROOSTER 2-4 JUNE
With a Grammy award- winner, Cedric Burnside, on the roster, and Seasick Steve, Nick Waterhouse and Sugaray Rayford in tow, head here for a taste of cajun, soul and rock ‘n’ roll.
FROM FOLK SHINDIGS TO POP PARTIES, THERE’S SURE TO BE AN EVENT FOR EVERYONE THIS SUMMER
28-31 JULY
ST NEOTS FOLK FESTIVAL 10-12 JUNE
Showcasing the best of St Neots’ local artists and venues, Spiers & Boden and Gaelforce headline at this fiddle-fuelled event that will leave you reeling. Saturday also hosts a Day of Dance, with traditional Morris troupes.
Cambridge Folk Festival This behemoth of the international folk scene goes from strength to strength, bringing an ever-more impressive line-up of talent to its picturesque setting of Cherry Hinton Hall. This year’s bill is typically diverse, featuring names like Suzanne Vega, Gypsy Kings and Billy Bragg, as well as a host of local acts. This is the Kit – with an irresistible, folk-infused sound and captivating lyricism – promise to be a highlight. As frontwoman Kate Stables explains, part of their music’s appeal lies in how open it is to interpretation. “The way I write is quite collage-y – very rarely does it happen that I write a song about one thing,” she explains. “Words are this offering with a loose shape. It’s the listener or the reader who gets the final say. If everyone had the same experience with every
that out – because otherwise I’d be a hermit, not getting the musical benefits from people I love.” This also influences Kate’s choice of instrumentals: “There are a few horn players that I love so much, I want them to be on the album. Whatever they were playing, I would want them in the room.” Kate’s inspirations are as much literary as musical. Ursula K Le Guin has recently been a key muse. “I’ve got a big sack of words that I tip out over the floor and I have to find what’s linked to what,” she explains. “I search about on instruments to find musical bits that go with the words, or vice versa.” She adds: “You could say that this album has been in the making since the beginning of my brain.” Crossing genres, This is the Kit have paid a visit to Cambridge Folk Festival twice previously. “For me, the word folk just means people – folk music is just people music,” Kate says. “That’s its essence: the acknowledgement of each other.” On returning to live performance, she says: “It feels like when you’ve got to stop eating something to work out what impact it’s having. When you start again, you notice the effects. For me, and a lot of people, doing gigs is our primary nutrition.”
8-10 JULY
ELY FOLK FESTIVAL
song, then I think I’d be doing something wrong.” Their latest album – and perhaps best yet – deals with themes of illness, sadness and the human (and female) condition. “I had been thinking about human patterns, the stopping and starting of life and behaviour,” Kate says. She and her bandmates retreated to Wales to polish their arrangements for Off Off On before recording. “I’m a bit of a lone wolf. I like writing for me and can only do it properly on my own, so it’s important to balance
Morris dancing, real ale and roots music meet at this knees-up, with rising folk talent gracing the stage across three days. There will also be kids activities, ceilidhs and workshops for those wanting hands-on fun.
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK MAY 2022 29
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