“Music is a healer, for those who listen.” Funke & The Two Tone Baby
This was my first weekend in Nottingham and first time attending Foolhardy Folk Festival. My wife and two year old joined me as we went to check out this great festival, now in its 5th year. Originally started as a way to have live music during the pandemic and organised by the team behind many of Nottingham’s legendary live music venues, Beans on Toast has taken on the role of curator, bringing together a wonderful mix of acts. Many people will have a preconception of a folk festival and its music, but they may well be very surprised by the variety (and boundary pushing) of the artists here.
We arrived as Beans on Toast opened with his first of two sets. Unfortunately, with a two-year-old, arriving on time isn’t always possible but taking our daughter to live music events is special. If you haven’t heard Beans on Toast, or any of the other acts, then there are several playlists on Spotify featuring all the acts, or you’ll be able to find them elsewhere. Thought provoking, witty and political Beans on Toast is a great entertainer and has written many songs that are regularly streamed through my Spotify.
Next up Emily Alice, a young singer-songwriter and local to the area. At only 22, she has some very well crafted songs that give me a late 90s/early 00s feel. Singing and playing guitar she was accompanied by a keyboardist/pianist to round out the sound. With a few songs on Spotify already I look forward to hearing more from this rising talent.
Although originally listed as Leo Baby, now under the name Leo Nathan, our next act of the day brought some great summery vibes. With upbeat vocals, finger picking and a few jazzy chords in many tracks the variety in styles was there from early on in the day.
Next up The Young’uns started their set with an ode to England, a very poignant song in this current climate, showing that you can be proud of this country and celebrate it, without hostility to others. With a mix of covers and originals the folk trio could be mistaken for a much larger choir with their incredible harmonies and massive vocal presence. There wasn’t a set I didn’t enjoy, but this was a particular highlight of the day! They alternated between acapella sea shanty styles tracks and folk tracks with instrumentation. With or without instruments this was a captivating performance and I look to seeing them again for a longer set.
Ann Liu Cannon was next up, incredible, classically delivered vocals accompanying delicate guitar playing. This was an elegant set of beautiful tracks. With her debut album released earlier this year and more releases prior to that, check out this charming songwriter.
The location of this festival, just a few minutes walk from the city centre is certainly worth some praise. Set in Nottingham Arboretum Foolhardy Folk Festival makes use of the fantastic band stand to host its acts with short breaks between each act. Lots of benches and hay bales are laid out for festival goers to use. We took our own camping chairs with us just in case and set ourselves up under a big old red oak tree. Speakers are dotted at intervals from the stage to the back of the site, so sound quality wherever you sit yourself down is great. Between and during some acts we took ourselves to the kids area so our little one could play and do a little artwork. It’s a great event for families and kids and a nice safety touch was the bands given out for kids with parents numbers written on, just in case of a little wander! It really is a lovely spot for a festival and I’d like to explore more of the Arboretum another time.
Next up was a set full of humour and great storytelling. Nick Parker was another great choice in this brilliant line up with his incredibly catchy tunes and a great sense of familiarity. Check out ‘The Half of the Moon’ a track full of 80’s nostalgia and funnily enough a nod to The Waterboys classic, ‘The While of The Moon’ Fans of Frank Turner should check out Nick of they haven’t already.
I’ve seen the next artist perform several times before, performing in one of my favourite bands, Holy Moly & The Crackers. This was my first time seeing Ruth Lyon as part of her solo enterprise. With her excellent vocals and beautiful violin playing plus backing vocals and guitar provided by her partner Conrad this was another great set. Showcasing some dreamy tracks from her debut album, ‘Poems & Non Fiction’ plus a Holy Moly Classic, this was another set that left the crowd wanting more.
I’d seen the following act late last year and was struck not only by his upbeat and entertaining songs but also his incredible persona and engagement between songs. Even before his set I’d spotted Ben Brown bouncing between the merch area and a nice little spot, where his girlfriend spent the day painting on a large canvas. Later this would be given as a prize in a raffle put on to raise money for a local homeless charity. With his distinctive use of falsetto and cheery guitar playing I’m looking forward to more releases from Ben Brown. With an EP and some singles on Spotify you can dip your toes but we’ll have to wait a little longer for an album!
As I came to take this photo Ben spotted my daughter (who likes to remove her ear defenders) covering her ears due to a little distortion. He then performed a little quieter just for her. Honestly it was the distortion not the playing!
An act I’ve wanted to see for a long time was up next. In Beans on Toasts’ own words, filling the ‘Skinny Lister’ set Funke & The Two Tone Baby brought his truly unique setup. I said earlier the boundaries of folk are often pushed at this festival and in general and at no point in the day was that more true than now. Gone were gentle vocals swapped for forcefulness, with alt-blues guitar playing, looping and sampling this is a modern take on the ‘one man band’ setup. But the genre bending didn’t end there, to go along with sharp blasts on the harmonica and synthesiser came 90’s esque dance beats. Alt-blues, hip hop, punk, electronica? Folk!? Whether the traditionalists would accept this as a folk act doesn’t matter, it was full of energy and the everyone loved it.
“There’s not enough Bonobo mate, too much Chimpanzee!”
Championed by the likes of Billy Bragg, the penultimate act, brought us back towards the more classical realm of folk music and particularly its protest element. Grace Petrie is an incredible songwriter, with great story telling, often personal but also political, her set was electric. Joined on stage by an accordionist/violinist we were treated to songs that celebrated growth and acceptance of herself and her sexuality, with encouragement for embracement of ourselves. Grace’s personal journey alongside this country’s politics of the past and the present interweave in the set. With songs lamenting failures of consecutive governments of the left and right you’d be forgiven for thinking this may have been a depressing set, far from it, her positivity for change and activism gave lift, as the sun began to set over Nottingham Arboretum
Once again, curator and host of this wonderful event, Beans on Toast took to the stage, this time not to introduce another act but to close the festival himself. It was clear throughout the day how much this event means to him and the closeness he has with the acts is a reminder of how great the live music scene can be. Alas it was getting late and our two year old was far past her bed time, we packed up slowly and took a leisurely stroll out of the park as the crowd was treated to Beans on Toast’ second set of the day.
As well as a well curated line up of excellent artists, there was a great variety of food and drinks offerings. These were priced pretty well for a festival, with pints not much more than most pubs these days! My only bugbear was the cashless only setup for the bars and food vendors, but it certainly wouldn’t put me off returning to this fantastic event in beautiful surroundings! If only we could camp there and make a weekend of it!
With tickets coming in at less than £50 for an adult and free entry for under 11s, it’s a no brainer to attend next year’s event!
