Folk Festival Diary - Day 1 Thursday

My Schedule ~ Thursday 20th March 2025

1. Halle St Michael’s - Heather Ferrier Trio

2. Band on the Wall - Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne 

3. Night & Day - St Catherine’s Child 

4. Band on the Wall - Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings 

5. New Century Hall - Stornoway 

6. Night & Day - The Deep Blue

Northern Quarter, Manchester - Well, what an introduction into the world of folk that was. Manchester was dressed in sunshine when I arrived late in the afternoon, an unusual phenomenon if you know the place well enough, but it was gratefully received as I had seven artists to cover, across four venues to satisfy my initiation.

Heather Ferrier Trio - I began at Hallé at St. Michael’s, normally an artistic space for the Hallé Orchestra these days, but tonight it hosts an exclusive performance by the Heather Ferrier Trio. Stockport born accordionist, clog dancer and composer, Heather is accompanied as usual, by guitarist Alasdair Paul and drummer Adam Stapleford for a delightful six song set with some pleasant banter in between.

Heather has taken the accordion in a direction all of her own creation and created her own brand of alternative folk music. She's a pleasant and amenable girl who tells it the way it is, with some honest banter, in between the songs, not least when she reveals that her answer to some of the not so nice comments that she receives on social media for not singing and only playing the accordion, is justified as, according to her mum, her voice is like "a goose farting in the fog" (a line taken from a Billy Connolly skit apparently). Heathers repost is a song called ‘Challenge Not Accepted’.

There is some really nice acoustic guitar work by Paul and some really creative drumming by Stapleford which received a good deal of acknowledgement and respect from the full house. Other tunes included ‘Circles’, ‘She Became Fire’ written during lockdown in between making lava bread and binge-watching Harry Potter, and ‘Apple One’. Heather heads out on tour with eight dates in September and October, where you might get to see her clog dance too - or you might not. You’ll need to buy a ticket to find out.

Now, for a ten-minute stroll to a venue I know very well, Band on the Wall. One of the best venues in Manchester - even though there isn’t a pit for the photographers, and you have to get there early for a good position.

Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne - Cohen is exactly what I thought I was going to get when I agreed to cover a folk festival. He’s as folk as I imagined folk could be. He’s been described, however, as ‘captivating, bold and striking’, and at the forefront of his generation of English folk musicians as both a powerful and commanding singer and a masterful player of the Anglo concertina and melodeon. Now branching out on his own after a successful stint in the much-loved trio Granny’s Attic, with schoolmates George Sansome and Lewis Wood. The set is a mix of traditional ballads, songs and tunes, but with a smattering of baroque, renaissance, ragtime, and music hall thrown in for good measure. You can't say that he doesn't give value for money on that basis.

Cohen put in a really good performance and it was a really enjoyable experience that would have been a whole lot better in a snug Cornish pub with a roaring fire, a pastie and a pint or two of Doom Bar. Band on the Wall had filled up nicely in advance of the headliners, headed up by Jon Boden, and really appreciated his playing and the anecdotes behind each of the songs. Cohen heads out for a short tour in April and has a good few more dates listed in June.

St Catherine’s Child - Third artist and venue saw me head to Night and Day Café, for the first of two visits tonight – I will get my steps in today, that’s for certain. Ilana Zsigmond, if you know her personally, is one of the rising stars of the Indie Folk / Americana scene – these variations of ‘folk’ are coming at me thick and fast – and hales from New Haven in Connecticut, where she tells us that there’s nothing to see or do there, apparently. The joke, she tells us, is that the only thing you can do in Connecticut is to go to New York, where she had her heart broken as a teenager, but this inspired her to write the song 'Connecticut River' so at least some good came out of it all.

She’s also a very amenable lady, even though she introduced herself by telling us that "she’s going to hold us hostage for 45 minutes". She has a nine-song set and quite a dry humour, especially when she instructs us that we have to laugh at her jokes as she is “very funny” ! ! The crowd Night and Day would be the judge of that I fear, as it was getting quite full now, but Ilana was being very well received and is proving to be a good opener for The Deep Blue, tonight’s headliner, here. She tells us that she “can’t see anything because of the lights” but she “can hear us” and is pleased with the applause she’s getting - even though we’re not laughing loudly enough at her jokes. It's all good-natured banter though and Manchester has warmed to her nicely, after four songs though it’s time for me to head off again…

St. Catherine's Childs four-track EP 'Every Generation' is available now with two versions of each track included. Bargain !

St Catherine’s Child Set List

1. I Know Nothing

2. Burden      

3. Connecticut River             

4. Holy            

5. Every Generation 

6. I Understand         

7. Leave A Light On 

8. Negative Space   

9. Not Ready Yet

Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings - There might only be ten minutes or so between the venues, but once you’ve queued and been searched – photographers tend to carry big bags that raise the suspicions of the security boys and girls – you don’t have much time to take a breath before you’re squeezing your way through the crowd, edging towards the front of the stage, and hitting the shutter button again. So, back at Band on the Wall, it’s time for one of the Festivals headliners, Jon Boden, he of Bellowhead fame, is here with his Remnant Kings and our venue is properly packed out. The atmosphere is buzzing, and Manchester is primed and ready to go for this one.

Featuring Bellowhead’s Sam Sweeney, Leveret’s Rob Harbron, the Seth Lakeman Band’s Ben Nicholls, Sally Hawkins and M. G. Boulter, the six-piece have gone on to establish themselves as a band blending song writing and trad English folk music to gripping effect. This genre-busting mix sees folk, Bach, pop and jazz rubbing shoulders with Boden’s award-winning songs. It's a subtle start from the band with Boden seated at the keyboard sideways on displaying a wonderful interaction with drummer, Sam Sweeney, who's sat behind his drum kit, but playing a fiddle - such talent beggars belief - for 'Merry Mountain Child' and 'April Morning', which warms the crowd up to a suitable level in time for Boden to get to his feet for the much faster paced 'Bonny Bunch of Roses' and a huge dose of audience participation to demonstrate where the show was heading - not for me though, much to my sadness, as I was really getting into this. For me it was time to head over to New Century Hall.

Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings Set List

1. Merry Mountain Child

2. April Morning

3. Bonny Bunch of Roses

4. Clock o Clay

5. Rose In June

6. Oggie Man

7. Prentice Boy

8. Penny for the Preacher

9. Dancing in the Ruin

10. Hounds of Love

11. Old Brown's Daughter

12. All Hang Down

Encore

13.  Rose of Allendale

Stornoway – Up to now, things had gone quite smoothly. All the advanced planning I'd done had paid off, but that was about to end abruptly. Gigs had been given staggered starts up until now, meaning I could get from one venue to the other easily enough. The ‘headliners’ though all started within fifteen minutes of each other, so at the time I’m leaving Band on the Wall, Stornoway were taking the stage and for those that don’t know, ‘togs only get to shoot the first three songs and the New Century Hall really stick to the rules which meant I only got in place for the last half of the third song – and then I was unceremoniously turfed out of the pit ! My ‘official’ status counted for nothing, as Security had been given their orders, and they weren't for moving. By the time I’d finished explaining my plight, the alarm went off on my phone to say ‘time to go’. I’d reached my limit and it was time to head back to the Night and Day Café. What went on ? ? No idea, which was sad as my research had these guys down as one of the bands I should really keep an eye on. Oh well, another day perhaps.

There are no tour dates listed on the bands website , just a huge plug for their new limited-edition album ‘Best of Unplucked’, featuring hand-picked versions of their beloved acoustic recordings, and showcasing the nature-inspired band's enduring charm and creativity. For me, well, I’ll just have to bide my time and wait to see where they play next. I think it will be something worth waiting for though.

The Deep Blue – Now these girls masterfully fuse rebellious lyrics with hypnotic harmonies and finespun melodies. They perform everything from deeply personal vignettes to anthemic calls to arms, since they burst onto the scene back in May 2021 with their debut EP, prompting key indie press like DORK to clamour for the inside scoop on Manchester’s hottest new band. In 2024, they celebrated countless sold-out shows, performed at Glastonbury Festival and were honoured with the Cambridge Folk Festival’s Christian Raphael Prize.

But to find out what went on tonight, as they were so, so good, they’ve got a full gig review, so you’ll need to click here…

The Festival Wristbands have now sold out, but you can find out more information if you want to, by clicking here...

…you can download the festival brochure by clicking here…

…and for general information about tickets to the headline shows, by clicking here…

Let the Fun Continue !

Written in association with

Manchester Folk Festival