Ward Thomas - Saturday 21.30 - 22.45

Ward Thomas could tell that change was afoot from the moment they wrote 'Cartwheels', now the punch-to-the-stomach title track of their sensational second album.
Straight away the sisters knew the song was special.

What they didn’t know was that their second album Cartwheels would sail to Number One on the UK Album Chart on release making them the first ever UK country act to do so.

Whenever they performed it live, they felt an intense connection to the crowd. When they sang it at London’s O2 Arena, fans hearing it for the first time fell silent.

After a debut EP caught the ears of some of country music’s biggest stars, among them 20 times Grammy Award winner Vince Gill, From Where We Stand was completed and recorded in Nashville, but remained distinctively British.

Its Number One selling follow-up has roots in the country music capital, but only insofar as it was where Ward Thomas clicked with their current co-writers - Brit Jessica Sharman and Rebekah Powell, the Nashville-bred daughter of revered hitmaker Monty Powell. With Cartwheels written, Ward Thomas returned to Britain, where their songs were all over the radio.

English twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas made chart history when their second album, Cartwheels, became the first country record by a British act ever to top the U.K. album chart, beating the long-established Jamie T to the top spot. Born in 1994 and brought up on a farm in rural Hampshire, the girls attended a local convent school and were turned on to country music as teenagers when a friend played them the Dixie Chicks. Both talented singers and instrumentalists, they started writing together while in the sixth form, bringing a uniquely British perspective to the genre.

When one of their teachers, who had once been a backup singer in Nashville, forwarded their demos to some old contacts, the sisters were invited to record their debut album there. Released in 2014 and entitled From Where We Stand, it had a fairly traditional sound that showcased their beautiful close-harmony vocals. Relentlessly championed by easy listening tastemaker station BBC Radio 2, the album peaked at number 41 in the U.K. album chart, selling 25,000 copies. The sisters toured heavily in its support, steadily increasing their fan base by word of mouth.

In 2016 they signed to Sony for the release of their second album, Cartwheels. While parts of the album, particularly the gorgeous title track, stayed true to the traditionalist sound of their debut, it often strayed significantly from "pure" country; some tracks bore the stamp of Fleetwood Mac's country-rock-influenced Rumours, while others were just contemporary pop/rock. The girls' songwriting knack was undiminished, however, and the British public voted with their wallets, sending the album to number one and officially making Ward Thomas the most successful British country act ever. The duo's third album, Restless Minds, followed in 2019 and saw them move even farther away from traditional country toward the electro-pop-rock sound of artists like Taylor Swift.

Website: https://www.wardthomasmusic.co.uk/

Southampton Ukulele Jam - Saturday 12.00 - 12.45

Since forming in 2008, Southampton Ukulele Jam have been thrilling, confusing and occasionally frightening crowds along the South Coast playing songs by everyone from The Stones and The Ramones to Jessie J and Lady Gaga in their own inimitable, ramshackle style.

There are upwards of fifty players who get together regularly to play everything from folk to punk - literally. Tunes are suggested by the group and if they can work out the chords they will usually give it a go so expect to see our stage packed to the rafters and blasting out some well known tunes.

Look out for details of their popular workshop at The Woodland Fringe where everyone is invited to get up and have a go. Even those who have never played before can learn a chord or two. This is planned between 09.30 - 10.30 on Saturday morning.

Website: https://southamptonukulelejam.co.uk/

IOTA - Saturday 12.55 - 13.40

'Sally Barker, Anna Ryder & Marion Fleetwood perform as IOTA.   All three write, sing and sway in perfect harmony and each is a seasoned performer of the UK Folk/Rock scene.

The three got together in 2017 to form IOTA as it seemed to make perfect sense to combine their experience and talents to write and perform their new and inventive IOTA material.

Sally Barker (vocal, guitar & percussion) sang to millions as Tom Jones' finalist on The Voice UK but the singer-songwriter has entertained for years  as a member of revered fem-folk group The Poozies, of the re-formed Fotheringay and as a solo artist supporting Bob Dylan, Robert Plant and Richard Thompson. Sally Barker brings any song gloriously to life.  

Anna Ryder (vocal, keys, accordion, guitar, dumbek, banjo & french horn) is a musical dynamo; an original and inventive singer and songwriter with a musical style that, although based in folk, spans an array of genres. Though a long-time solo artist, Anna has also worked with, amongst many others, Fairport Convention, Eddi Reader, Julianne Regan (All About Eve) and Rabbit Bundrick (The Who).

With a voice which has been described as 'mesmerising' and 'siren-esque', the blazingly  dynamic, Marion Fleetwood (vocal, fiddle, cello, guitar & percussion) is a highly respected multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. Best known as a member of TRADarrr and as a former member of Colvin Quarmby and The Jigantics.  

IOTA evoke the spirit and musical energy of the Roches whilst channelling the Supremes, Destiny's Child and Charlie's Angels.

The release of their classy debut studio album O YEH YEH! - 11 tracks of original wonderfulness - cements this terrific trio's place in the arena of acoustic artistes.

"Three brilliant musicians, singers and writers exuding an infectious joy of music.

A force to be reckoned with." JULIE MATTHEWS

“I’m so excited that three of my favourite singer/songwriters and performers have formed this great new trio. They are fab!! And I love all of em” Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention

Website: https://www.iotaband.co.uk/

Liam Vincent & The Odd Foxes - Saturday 13.50 - 14.50

Liam was raised by his Irish grandmother, surrounded by traditional music at home, and when the family came to visit so did musical instruments of various shapes and sizes.  After leaving school, he spent 20 years playing punk, indie and rock in a number of gigging bands, before setting up the UK’s hardest working function band.

Two thousand gigs later, and after the shock of losing his grandmother in 2015, Liam came back home to a simpler way of doing things, and he started focusing on writing songs. At one point during lockdown he wrote, recorded and produced videos for 7 new songs in 7 days as an experiment, and many of those songs are now in The Odd Foxes playlist, alongside all the others.

Rebecca is a classically-trained violinist, pianist and singer, who has played in orchestras and sung in choirs for years. More recently she has turned to folk and writing her own material.

Rebecca and Liam went to the same Warwickshire school back in the day, but it was a chance meeting on JoinMyBand.com that helped to make the link

Gregg joins the Odd Foxes as a folk rock veteran and member of TRADarrr. Since forming his first band CAVE at 18, Gregg has been performing in concerts and at festivals in the UK and mainland Europe. In recent years Gregg has collaborated with musicians and storytellers and has received commissions from the Arts Council and National Trust.

Matt is a multi-instrumentalist. He studied Music at University twice(!) and plays bass in the Odd Foxes.

In his other life as a music producer and composer, Matt can turn his hand to writing film music, arranging songs and producing albums.

Diz learned to play drums on an old kit he found in his Uncle’s loft, although he says it was more like discovering that he already knew how to play. He could hear things, and then play them with just a little practice. He played drums professionally in touring bands for 15 years after leaving school and was the drummer in Oxford britpop band Thurman who released the album Lux in 1995.
 

Website: https://www.theoddfoxes.com/

Jigantics - Saturday 15.00 - 16.00

The Jigantics are an exciting four piece band from the UK. The Daily Telegraph described them as “A highlight act…. a magical musical mix. A fabulous fusion of genre defying music”Musically, there’s foot tapping feel good and totally convincing tear jerkers.


“I guess our aim is to play songs we enjoy whether they are originals or covers and have a good time, says Mark Cole the bands singer, frontman and multi instrumentalist. “That mood translates to the audience too and its designed to be a show that sends everyone home happy” he added

Other band members are Sarah Kelly, on vocals, bass and ukuleles, master guitarist and vocalist Keith Thompson and Martin Fitzgibbon on drums, vocals and percussion.

Promoter and venue host Derry Jones said “The Jigantics were fantastic. It’s no wonder the place was packed out. An absolutely brilliant masterclass in entertainment”  

It’s hard to categorise a band that play a potent mix of Americana, Blues, Folk and perhaps a few other genres too, but it’s true to say that their playlist ticks all the boxes. Fine musicianship, great songs and solid arrangements from a band that really enjoys what they do. With a string of successful albums behind them and another in the pipeline this band are going from strength to strength. On record they are impressive but it’s their live show that truly sets them apart.

The Jigantics are:
Keith Thompson, vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Keith brings a fantastic voice, virtuoso guitar and wealth of touring experience to the band having toured the length and breadth of the UK and Europe as a solo artist and with his own band. Over the years he has also released a lot of incidental music for television programs and soundtrack projects and he has sold over 100,000 albums.                                                                                                                                                                                          
Sarah Kelly, vocals, ukulele, bass guitar Sarah has performed at all the major mainland UK Ukulele festivals and abroad. A covert singer-songwriter, overt ukulele obsessive and eclectic song collector, Sarah loves to perform original songs, old songs, contemporary

songs but always TRUE songs: Winner of the Musician’s Union instrumentalist trophy 2017.

Mark Cole, vocals, squeezebox, harmonica, mandolin, guitar. Mark is an irrepressible front man who seemingly is able to pick up almost any instrument and get an exciting noise out of it. A top vocalist, prolific collaborator and in demand international session player. Mark's performance, vocal or instrumental, is always very much from the heart.

Martin Fitzgibbon, percussion, drums, vocals Marty has performed with and in front of, some of the biggest names in the world of popular music, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Lou Reed et al but says the Jigantics are the most exciting project he's ever been involved with.

Website: https://thejigantics.com/

Reg Meuross - Saturday 17.30 - 18.30

The breadth and depth of Reg Meuross’s material is unparalleled in contemporary folk: songs about forgotten heroes, famous names, folk legends, the climate emergency, tales from the kitchen sink and news from the world stage; if something needs to be sung about then Reg Meuross has a song for it. 

Along with old favourites and a couple of brand new songs, Reg brings his latest album ‘RAW', a collection that completes the RAW trilogy of solo recordings comprising of 2016’s December and 2017’s Faraway People. Meuross has the gift of being able to touch people through his songs and performance, painting pictures that remain with the listener long after the song has been sung.

Masterfully accompanying himself on his  ‘44 Martin six-string guitar, harmonica, tenor guitar, banjo and dulcimer and captivating audiences with his beautiful tenor voice, witnessing a Reg Meuross performance is to experience a journey into the heart, soul and songs of one of England’s finest writers.

“...assured a place in the pantheon of great folk songwriters.” David Kidman, The Living Tradition

“Classic, with echoes of early Dylan, Tom Paxton and Leonard Cohen” Guardian Music

“The remarkable singer-songwriter that is Reg Meuross” Sean Rafferty, BBC RADIO 3

“A mighty songwriter and an equally fine singer.” Martin Carthy

Reg will once again be doing his very popular songwriting workshop at the “Woodland Fringe”.

Website: http://www.regmeuross.com/

Gary Fletcher - Saturday 18.50 - 19.50

Growing up in South London it all started when Gary started to play around with his sister’s humble Spanish guitar. Though left handed and unaware that guitars were ‘handed’ he didn’t let the fact that the instrument was a right handed one stand in his way, and to this day plays a guitar strung for normal right hand use – left handed, ie upside down. Few others play this way although the late, great, blues player Albert King was similarly afflicted.

On the basis of knowing no more than the riff to Willie Dixon’s Spoonful, Gary got the job in his first band, The Breath Of Life. Together with a bunch of local Streatham musicians, his next band, Garfield Row, was formed …. a semi-acoustic folk rock band who played regularly in a local pub owned by the father of the late ex-Jethro Tull bassist, Glenn Cornick. Glenn gave the band much encouragement, lending them some top class amps & guitars. They eventually went their separate ways when Glenn pinched the band’s vocalist/guitar player Jon Blackmore and Gary went on to sustain work as a musician in a variety of bands from Blues/Rock to Folk/Rock to Soul, to playing in a Country band at Wembley Arena, to writing/performing in Rock band Panama Scandal.  He then joined long running Blues/Rock band, Sam Apple Pie, later known as The Vipers. Alongside this, Gary and his old mate and songwriting partner, Steve Gurl, landed a separate recording contract and together with the third partner in the songwriting team, Hilary – Gary’s late ex-wife, a publishing contract.

Gary met Dave Kelly when they both played in a band put together by Wilgar Campbell, the ex Rory Gallagher drummer, called The Wildcats.  He then played bass on a track on Dave’s Willing album and was suggested by Dave for the bass job when, together with Paul Jones & Tom McGuinesss (ex of Manfred Mann), plus ex John Mayall/Eric Clapton drummer Hughie Flint, The Blues Band first got together.  The success of The Blues Band was almost instantaneous and they were soon playing to packed houses, releasing their first album, appearing on TV and radio regularly, including the celebrated Euro-wide Rockpalast, and headlining at Glastonbury. Twenty plus albums & countless tours later the demand continues to grow for their special & personal interpretation of the blues, thousands of excellent reviews have appeared in a variety of publications and early editions of their first album are now collector’s items. Still going strong, new chapters are still to be added to their story in the 21st century.

Gary’s music straddles folk, Americana and blues and he’s released several albums featuring both electric, acoustic lineups as well as the acclaimed ‘In Solitary’ solo offering, which along with the electric ‘Giant From the Blue’ album, secured 4 star reviews from Maverick and R2 magazines. Bob Harris has featured Gary live in the studio on his BBC R2 show several times and had him to play sessions for his YouTube channel ‘Under the Apple Tree’.  

A founder member of The Blues Band with Paul Jones he has appeared with and/or recorded with Peter Green, Maggie Bell, Van Morrison, John Mayall, Long John Baldry, Guy Barker, Bernie Marsden, Micky Moody, Kim Simmonds, Henry McCullough, Zoot Money, Nat Adderley, Guy Barker, the Memphis Horns, Christine Collister etc.

The Blues Band finally ‘parked the tour bus’ in Sept ’22 so now Gary can focus on his own music along with the very fine musicians who make up the Gary Fletcher Band.

They are Alan Glen (Yardbirds, Nine Below Zero etc) harmonica, Tom Leary (Lindisfarne, Joe Brown, etc) violin, Andy Billups (The Hamsters) bass, Nick Ritchie (Canto, Mud) guitar and Sam Kelly (Tom Robinson, Circulus, The Blues Band) drums.

No stranger to our festival the Gary Fletcher Band will be playing songs from The Blues Band’s repertoire alongside material from his own albums including the recent and critically acclaimed ‘River Keeps Flowing’ album - “Believe me if you’re going to buy one album this year you won’t better this one.” Pete Clack for Amazon. “One of this year’s finest albums, without a doubt.” Roy Bainton for Blues In Britain.

Website: http://www.garyfletchermusic.net/

Gigspanner Big Band - Saturday 20.10 - 21.10

A collaboration of several of the biggest names on the folk-roots scene, Peter Knight (Steeleye Span) John Spiers (Bellowhead), combines a deep knowledge of tradition with a boundary pushing approach.

"What a fabulous team they make, together producing a startlingly new musical form with few, if any, antecedents. The flights of musical fancy are staggering in their natural invention"
Fatea Magazine

"With the Gigspanner Big Band, Peter Knight has assembled a group of musicians intent on making some of the most important and exhilarating art ever to sit under the banner of folk music" FRUK

The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique force in British folk music...

Their high-energy, virtuosic performances appeal equally to traditionalists and to those looking for something more experimental, and they have garnered praise from publications as varied as fRoots, The Telegraph and The Wire, where they were described as ‘melodically folk-rooted yet open and innovative beyond the constraints of genre’

Beginning life as a trio - with legendary Steeleye Span fiddle player Peter Knight being joined by percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack - the line-up has been expanded to form the Gigspanner Big Band, with acclaimed multi-instrumental duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin - BBC Folk Awards 'Best Duo') and Bellowhead co-founder and melodeon player extraordinaire, John Spiers, joining the fray.

While Peter Knight, as part of Steeleye Span’s classic 1970s line-up, helped invent a brand of folk rock that is still influential today, John Spiers, has had an equally profound impact on the landscape of traditional music over the last two decades.

Characterised by riotous inventiveness, technically gifted individual playing and subtle collaborative interaction, this coming together of several of the biggest names on the folk-roots scene, combines a deep knowledge of roots traditions with a ceaselessly boundary pushing approach.

Taking self-penned material along with music rooted in the British Isles and beyond, with the flick of a bow, a finely chosen chord or slip of a beat, they produce richly atmospheric arrangements layered within a wealth of subliminal musical influences “with notes seemingly plucked from the stars and rhythms from the equator” Spiral Earth

Unsurprisingly, the superlatives have come thick and fast...

"Natural Invention is a stunning achievement - perhaps one of the most sophisticated and enchanting folk albums ever released" From the Margins

"They don't play together often, but when they do it's spectacular” 5***** R2 Magazine

“Utterly thrilling” Northern Soul

"Totally blown away by the spellbinding Gigspanner Big Band. Lost for words..." Folking. Com

Website: https://www.gigspanner.com/