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he can see the route he’s taken through his career and his own progress.” Nick picks up the mantle from last year’s guest curator Rhiannon Giddens, and has taken to his role with gusto, assembling a motley collection of artists which reflect his love of world music. Among them are Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player, Seckou Keita, who’ll delve into their respective musical heritages for an utterly unique collaboration, plus Fofoulah, a group that fuses West African sabra drumming with hip-hop, pop and dubby baselines. One addition to this year’s festival that Rebecca is particularly looking forward to unveiling is The Sisters of Elva Hill , an original ballet commissioned especially for the event. Based on Kate Crackernuts , an old folk tale, it blends dance with a beautiful score woven from traditional British songs. “It has classical ballet in it, but a contemporary feel, and there’s an amazing interplay between the live musicians on the stage and the dancers. I went to a sharing performance they did recently and it was just amazing,” she beams. “I’m so excited for everyone to see it!” The organisers have been running a connected outreach project with Netherhall School, where students are “It’s not just about what happens on the main stage”
creating their own piece based on an element of the ballet. The pupils have been invited along to the festival to watch The Sisters of Elva Hill on the stage, before showing their own performance in the flower garden later in the day. Other performances to look out for, says Rebecca, are the unique pair-ups and collaborations that the festival is known for orchestrating. “There are a couple of really nice one-offs that you’ll only see at our festival. Nancy Kerr and James Fagan are doing a Saturday afternoon slot with friends – so there’ll be a few surprises and special guests joining them, and Daoirí Farrell is doing a similar thing on Sunday, with some amazing Irish and Scottish musicians coming down to join him – that’s going to be really good.” It might be perceived as a pretty traditional affair, but there are ways in which CFF pushes boundaries and innovates in its space, leading the way for other festivals. As well as being award-winningly eco-friendly (the event
picked up a Greener Festival Award for its planet-positive practices), it’s also committed to maintaining a 50:50 gender split on its line-ups. “It’s something we’ve been doing for a number of years, and it’s really important,” says Rebecca. “You know, in most people’s minds we’re a bit of an old fuddy-duddy folk festival, but we’re actually quite pioneering and ahead of the other festivals. In 2017, the main stage was all female-fronted artists; in fact, we ended up having a day of only female artists on the two stages – and it was just a great day of music.” The 2018 bill continued in this vein, pushing beyond a 50:50 balance to a split that was 60% female, in a move that was applauded by many, including The Guardian , which praised its “verve and energy in a female-focused weekend”. “Interestingly, though, we had a number of complaints about it…” smiles Rebecca, wryly adding that she found responding to those particular emails to be “quite a cathartic thing”. “It was an interesting experience for us, and it’s something we’d be looking to do again in the future, for sure. You’ve got to keep pointing these things out, keep highlighting them. It’s important.” As the big weekend draws closer, Rebecca is most looking forward to those moments of calm when she and her team can relax and soak up the atmosphere. “There’s this feeling that usually hits you around Friday afternoon: suddenly there’s a lull in what people are asking, and you realise that it’s all working, and it’s all fine… For me, it’s the little things. It’s when I’m wandering around at midnight, and there’s people just having a lovely time, and just seeing people’s enjoyment – that’s when you know that you’ve done a good job.” l Cambridge Folk Festival runs 1 to 4 August, weekend tickets available at £179. cambridgelive.org.uk
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