Festival brings folk music to new generation

Local folk heroes Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman are among the highlights of this year’s annual celebration of traditional music in the Dartmoor town of Okehampton, the Baring-Gould Folk Weekend.

The husband-and-wife duo, who live within the Dartmoor National Park in West Devon, will be performing a selection of favourites plus some brand new songs from their forthcoming album when they headline the festival’s Saturday afternoon concert at Fairplace Church.

The line-up of a jam-packed weekend also includes Phil Beer from East Devon folk legends Show of Hands, award-winning Plymouth-based folk singer James Findlay, the Wren Band, comprising musicians from the event organisers Wren Music, and the kings of the ceilidh, Tickled Pink.

The festival on 24-26 October takes place at venues throughout the historic town and welcomes in the autumn season, with local produce playing a big role during the three days as well as a conker contest. There are also dances, communal sing-songs, and the chance for people to get up close to the performers.

This year’s programme aims to bring together all the generations, with new features for families including a family ceilidh and ‘Down in Granny’s Yard’, where grandparents and older visitors to the festival can share their childhood games and songs with their grandchildren.

For Kathryn and Sean, 2013 BBC Folk Award winners for best duo, it’s another chance to play at an event that’s close to their hearts: “We played the Baring-Gould Festival about 10 years ago and the community feeling really stuck in my mind,” recalls Kathryn.

“I think it was on the Sunday and we sang some songs in the village hall. It just took me right back, a real reminder of what folk festivals should be about. The Baring-Gould weekend is all about continuing a tradition and community involvement.”

The festival, now in its 16th year, takes its name from Lewtrenchard parson, Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), who cycled around the South West, collecting hundreds of folk songs from communities. Some of the local acts at the festival will be performing a selection of these songs, and there is a chance that Kathryn and Sean’s show will also feature a nod to the song collector.

“It’s the storytelling aspect of these traditional songs that caught my ear in the first place,” said Kathryn. “They are all self-contained little stories with a beginning, middle and end, and it’s something that we have in our own songs.”

Kathryn took several years out of the music business after having twin daughters, Poppy and Lily, who are now seven and have already caught the folk bug: “They absolutely love it!” said Kathryn. “Like me, it’s the story-telling that they enjoy so much. We went to the

Dartmoor Folk Festival and they took part in step dancing workshops and now they do broom dancing every morning!

“So we’ll be bringing the girls along to the festival and we’re looking forward to taking in as many of the events as possible.”

While Kathryn was born and brought up in Yorkshire (“although it’s the Devon folk music scene I’ve always been part of”), Sean has lived all but his very first days in the area. During the years that Kathryn was at home with the girls, Sean continued in music and was kept busy performing with and producing other singers – including his younger brother, Seth.

Sean is looking forward to playing some the new songs from their upcoming fourth album, Tomorrow Will Follow Today: “It will be out in a few months’ time,” said Sean. “The album is a coming to terms with what you do in life, what your purpose is. For us it’s an acceptance that we are committed to what we do for the long haul.

“There’s a bunch of new songs which are inspired by all sorts of places. We’re particularly proud in drawing inspiration from Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley and working that into our music and then taking it around the country and to other parts of the world.”
Kathryn and Sean have often performed songs from the Baring-Gould collection and Sean says it’s impossible to under-state the significance of his work: “His Songs of the West is one of the most pivotal works in the English Folk Song Collection, so his importance is enormous.”

Keeping traditional music alive for the next generation is one of the reasons behind the organisers introducing new family events on the Sunday of the festival.

Nick Wyke from Okehampton-based charity Wren Music says the weekend is also an opportunity for people to take in a variety of acts: “That’s one of the lovely things about the festival: by coming to see some of the better known acts, you also get to see some amazing local acts which make you think ‘wow, I hadn’t expected that’.”

Former BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards winner James Findlay is another highlight of the weekend, while the Saturday Night Ceilidh at Charter Hall features Tickled Pink, who celebrate their 25th anniversary this year. An hour with Phil Beer takes place at the White Hart on Sunday (4pm) and Down in Granny’s Yard is at Ockment Hall, also on Sunday (10am-12).

Contact Wren Music on 01837 53754 for information or visit the festival website for the full programme and prices including special weekend passes and family tickets as well as tickets for individual events. www.baring-gould.co.uk