The Proclaimers are close to finishing their set, and we'll soon be thinking about 2010.
But before we do that, we hope you had a fantastic festival and we'd like your comments and thoughts on the last four days.
Highlights for me were Chris Wood, Lau, Darwin Song Project, the packed out tent for the beginner's session, and the new Sabrina Marquee.
Let us have your thoughts, good or bad, and we'll respond to them and consider them for next year......over to you...
76 comments:
Corrine West
Chris Smither
SOH
Karine Polwart
Eric Bibb
and to be honest the rest of the artists we saw were top notch.
10/10 on no deposit glasses
Great selection of beers....(2.80 is what I pay in my local)
Food pricey but festie grub usually is
Gripe......being parked up in the "stack" car park on Friday at 9.59am for 45 minutes whilst those arriving at 10.00am went straight in......it was a great idea but not fairly implemented.
SFF crew.....well done to you all. This is one of the best festivals we go to.
Iain
x
brilliant festival ... my first time at Shrewsbury but hopefully not my last!
Acts very good.
However need more sessions such as beginners one and also more showers pleez
Positives:
Decent line-up. Esepcially: Corrine West, Mark Erelli, Sean Lakeman and Katherine Roberts (the best gig of the week), Breabach, Spooky Men's Chorale, SOH.
Fantastic work by the Stewards and the organising comittee.
Good selection of beers and food.
Space in the auditorium.
Negatives:
Same as above with parking. I arrived at 9am in the 'stack', saw people arriving after me being let in first whilst waiting to be let in.
No rinsing taps at the Elsan Points.
Band's friends and family taking priority over paying punters for front row seats.
Promised Wifi on site, but only available near the main marquee.
Well done to everyone there - looking forward to next year!
Whoever it was responsible for persuading Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman to do a set at this year's festival should be frogmarched over to the beer tent immediately and have some Old Hooky poured down his throat. A masterstroke.....it was SO good to hear Kathryn's voice again!
(Kate who?)
Chris Wood
Lau
Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson with Ali Hutton
Krista Detor
Chris Smithers
The personal musical highlights of a very good overall experience.
Excellent sound generally apart from Seth Lakeman and the Village stage (not impressed to see one of the crew wandering around the stage with a beer can in his hand trying to check whether or not The QP were properly connected - have a drink once you've got it right and the stunning harmonica player can be heard but not until then).
Friendly, efficient marshals.
A good range of food which I thought was generally reasonable value for money.
Spaces between rows for the main tent was barely adequate.
Parking for me was good.
Good toilet facilities.
Many thanks.
Stephen.
Another fab festival. It just gets better and better and this year I honestly cannot think of anything to complain about - except perhaps that there is just too much good music going on at one time. Reading the back of someone else's t-shirt on monday afternoon I realised there was so much I hadn't managed to see, but what I did was wonderful. Lots of stuff new to me, some of my old favourites (Lau - fantastic!) and the Darwin Project on Saturday night was inspired. Love the beer festival, the stewards, the vibe. Well done to everyone - see you all next year!
The comments regarding the Car Park stacking for those who arrived before 10:00 am on Friday is the only way we can see to keep the traffic arriving to the festival from grid-locking Shrewsbury. All the pre-festival information clearly stated "do Not Arrive before 10:00am". The first arrivals got there before 7:30 am !!! What else can we do with them.
The gates were actually opened at 9:55 and the last car put in to holding car park was at 9:55.
The site wi-fi was fine as far as I was concerned - camped near The Boxfresh Marquee - I had no problems accessing the wifi on my ipod touch.
Had a really great time - first time I've been to SFF.
Highlights were Seth, Sean & Kathryn, Megson and also The Chair (who seemed to be playing every 20 mins on Saturday :) )
Gripe: The sound in the Boxfresh Marquee (especially during Lau) there was a crackly lead on one of the mics which kept feeding back.. noticed it a couple of times in other gigs but really annoying in Lau, which was a shame.. could easily have been fixed if mic had been muted when not in use.
What a great festival experience!
Highlights...Show of Hands, Seth Lakeman, Patrick Street, Lau,The Dust Poets, The Chair, Karine Polwart (minus the druming from outside that very nearly wrecked her set), and local man Bill Caddick, who was a revelation!...It would be great to see some more local artists take to the stage amongst all the well knowns.
Couple of gripes (nothing serious!)...Lighting of the walkways at night could be better - Loved the lights on the flagpoles going towards the dance tent, so maybe more of that sort of thing....The Music room and CD tents also need to be bigger
Looking forward to see who you can pull out of the hat for next year!
Keep doing what you do...!
Wonderful festival Thanks :)Most of my experiences were fabulous and we shall definitely be going back next year again.
My main comment would be that it was such a shame that the Darwin project wasn't on where more people could see it. I got in, but I know a lot of people didn't. It was so well publicised throughout the year and an awful lot of people were looking forward to seeing it. Such a shame also that it was not available on the streaming video as it wasn't in the main tent.
Workshops were numerous and enjoyable but I felt that a couple could have been better organised. (on the hoof a bit)Sam Sweeney and the Spooky Mens Chorale were excellent though :)
Small point, but I felt that the noise level for the Dhol foundation was excessive. I know it's a percussion based band and I really love them, but I was actually in pain and my ears still rang the next morning. We had to leave early, but the caravan was still shaking with the bass vibrations when we got back.
Really excellent festival, thanks to all concerned for the hard work. My first visit to SFF but will now be a regular event despite 200+ miles to travel from East Anglia, it's so much better than Cambridge! Highlight for me has to be the unique and exquisite Darwin Project, but also (in no particular order) Show of Hands, Megson, Chris Wood, Kathryn & Sean, Seth Lakeman (on the basis of the last part of the set after Darwin).
No real gripes although it's a bit irritating to have to keep showing the wrist band every time you go into one of the stages given that you have a secure perimeter, not something that I've experienced anywhere else but seems to result from different status for Craft Fair tickets?
Already looking forward to next year - would love to see all or any of: Ruth Notman, The Shee, Peatbog Faeries, Steve Tilston.
Fabulous weekend! The best thing is seeing bands you've never heard of or never bothered seeing before, and find they are brill! Eric Bibb, Spooky Men, Corrine West, Mark Erelli, Katherine Roberts - all superb. Top marks to Show of Hands (who I've never seen before - really!) and the always wonderful Wilsons.
The sound was very much better than I recall from 2008, and the big Sabrina a great idea. SP Holdings stage was so much better - no distracting backgrounds, nice big side screens and a clear view of the stage from the front rows. Great stuff!
The problems? Just two, but one is a biggy - the seating in Marquee 1 and 2 was a bit too narrow (must pack wire cutters next year for those cable ties!) and MUCH too close to the next row. No knee room and no way to get out without the entire row decamping into the isle (or getting their feet trampled). The other thing was the slightly slack set up on the vilage stage - too many long waits while they tried to work out what was plugged in to where.
But, all round, another fabulously enjoyable festival. Well done all.
Good artists! T-shirts were good. Great range of food.
I think it would have been better if things were going on until later in the evenings. Ceilidhs finished quite early and then there was nothing to do for those who like to stay up for a bit!
Also would have been good if there was something going on on Monday night.
First time to Shrewsbury - generally great from start to finish. Stewards were brilliant and pleased to help with questions, directions etc. etc. - well done.
Best acts, in no particular order - 1) Lau - I've seen them many times before but they just get better & better!!
2) The Chair - never seen before and weren't they superb. Will look out for them in future, in fact get them back for next year!!
3) Belshazzar's Feast - another brilliant act, superb music with a liberal dash of humour - great.
4) Breabach - great gig, sadly let down on the Village Stage by the problems with setting up the sound system
Disappointing acts - 1) Proclaimers - never seen before but regularly enjoy playing their CDs at home. I was really looking forward to this particular gig and managed to get a seat near front on L/H side. The first song nearly caved my eardrums in as the volume was so loud - all I could hear was the overpowering beat of the Bass guitar. I inserted earplugs for next song but that only dulled the volume slightly - I stuck it out for 2 more songs then left marquee totally dissatisfied with what I'd heard. Why, why why do so called 'super stars' have to crank the volume up so high at there gigs
Hopefully see you next year.
A great festival.A big thanks to Alan and Sandra Surtees for organising the festival.Also thanks to all the stewards who helped.
Overall an excellent festival - favourite acts: The Chair, Breabach, Belshazzar's Feast, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson, Show of Hands.
Only real negative -Seth Lakeman's sound was far too loud and although I knew what he was singing it was difficult to make out the words. A real shame with such a good band.
More showers would be good but I was really impressed with the organisation, stewards and cleanliness, not to forget the wonderful selection of beers.
I didn't see anyone I didn't enjoy, fantastic musicians all of them.
Hopefully will be back next year. Perhaps you could get Kathryn Tickell and Mabon ?
Great festival as always.
Highlights for me:
* Faustus
* Dust Poets
* Chris Smither
* Karine Polwart
* Pieminister
* Spookymen workshop
* Good beer selection
Grumbles/Areas for improvement:
* Too many people... I know numbers are a good thing financially but the down sides are tangible. I'd rather live in a village than a city!
* Sound/Volume of acts on main stage was more 'Monsters of Rock' than Folk Festival.
* Caravans could do with having their own part of the site as when mixed with tents the utilisation of space is very inefficient.
* Possibly the most uncomfortable seats in the world in marquee 1 and 2... and as someone has already said, they're too close together.
*Teenagers shouting in any camping areas later than 1am (and particularly at 3am grrrr) should be placed in a capsule and blasted into a decaying orbit around the sun.
I saw many people queuing for showers so I guess there could be more... but if, like me and my girlfriend, we got our showers at around 6am then went back to bed, there was no queuing at all... and we got to watch the sunrise. Marvelous!
All in all a damn fine event worthy of much praise directed at all who organised, stuarded and took part.
Bravo!
Alex
Our first visit to SFF - and we had a fantastic time.
The layout, the line up and the logistics were all very good.
Agree the Darwin set would have been better on the main stage - but aside from that, I don't think many of the other gripes are really fair - volume is a preference - you can never please everyone.
From Chris Wood to Patrick Street, via Show of Hands to the Dohl Foundation, I thought the main tent sound was superb.
I also thought the layout of seats was fine - a good balance between numbers and comfort.
Anyone staying only for a couple of songs shouldn't sit themselves in the middle of a row !!
We took two families who had never been to anf folk ferstival before - and they loved it all. As a (now EX !! ) repeat visitor to Cambridge, I thought Shrewsbury outshone its more famous rival in almost every respect. Better sound, better layout, better facilities.
Thanks to all concerned.
Best Job in the world, I had a fantastic weekend, well done to everyone involved.
Highlight of the weekend had to be the Dhol Foundation, I have always liked Bangrah Rock but had never seen it live. Working as part of the backstage crew, I was lucky enough to be right against the stage, the whole performance just blew me away,I was totally exhausted, without a word of a lie, there was steam coming off me when I stepped outside, there was enough energy generated in Marquee 1 to supply electricity to the whole of Shropshire. My colleague operating the camera at the front of the stage was deaf by the time they finished.
Great festival thank you. Highlights for me were Corrine West, Show of Hands, Krista Detor.
Would echo comments on slightly cramped seating and need for more showers (washing facilities seemed to have made a slightly retrograde step since previous year).
Next year would be great to see return visits from Peatbog Faeries, Wailin Jennies, Crooked Still, but also looking forward to yet more new discoveries like this year.
Tim x
Someone said: "Anyone staying only for a couple of songs shouldn't sit themselves in the middle of a row!". Yes, but anyone sitting squashed into a tight space for three hours might need to stretch their legs ... or go for a pee. In fact I thought the seating arrangements were bordering on dangerous. A quick exit would have been very difficult.
Still, no need to dwell on that - it was a great festival in every other way. Cheers!
Hi
Our fourth year at Shrewsbury and it just keep getting better - too many highlights to mention but I thought the Proclaimers were a revelation - so glad we stayed to the end! Also please can we have George Papavergis on one of the big stages which he so richly deserves.
As someone who has been involved in organising a comparatively tiny festival I have nothing but admiration and respect for the organising team who must have sleepless nights organising what most be one of the very best events in the country.
A specil mention must go to the people who had the unpleasantest job of the weekend - cleaning the toilets! The quality of this service this year was superb - if I ever need anthing unpleasant doing SP Holiding will be my first port of call!!
My only real grip is, like others,the proximity of the seating rows - luckily we had very frendly people sitting near us every time we had to get out for relief or a beer but there was much treading on toes - I would rather pay a little more for a bit more comfort!
All in all though a stunning weekend and mny, many thanks for everyone's efforts!!
Yet another awesome weekend. I've been to three now and this one tops the lot. For me, it was often the acts on the smaller stages - perhaps people that I'd never heard before like David Ferrard, Belshazzar's Feast, Fran & Mike - that were the revelation. Of course, the big names delivered the goods, but the joy of this Festival lies in the variety. I think that the biggest development this year was the promotion of the Sabrina stage to becoming a fully-fledged Stage Three. This meant that there was genuine choice on site at all times (let alone the pubs etc). I saw the Sabrina packed to overflowing on several occasions as people made choices and moved around the site to see various artists.
A big thank you should go to the Stewards who work so hard to enable the rest of us to enjoy ourselves.
And finally, huge thanks to Sandra & Alan and their whole team. It was truly splendid!
Had a great festival.
Highlights : Dohl Foundation, Show of Hands, Faustus, Seth L , Patrick Street, Chris Wood......and everything else I saw... !!!
I have 15 Glastonburys "under my belt", along with a fair few Cambridge's, and various other big one-off events and gigs, so I feel i have a perspective to measure Shrewsbury against a lot of other events - and it was SUPERB !!
Various comments on here about the number of people and space - seriously, this was a very well planned event with a perfect crowd/space balance - Shrewsbury was an oasis of well-organised calm compared to most other events I go to.
One person mentioned being uncomfy over a three hour period ?? I didn't see any band on stage for even half that time - so the opportunity to stretch legs/top up(or empty!) beer is betweeen acts, surely...?
The line up was great - loads of down the line stuff like Faustus, The Chair, Megson, etc and a few less trad acts like the Dohls - just the right mix, without "doing a Zuton" like Cambridge recently !!!!
The site layout was stunning, I thought.....facilities, campisites, bars and food etc, all really good
Suggestions for next year....
Three Daft Monkeys in the Dohl Foundation slot - a bit more trad, but just as lively.
Alabama 3 for the Eric Bibb slot - stunning band
A few more Late night sessions/acts just after 11 is a tiny bit early. And maybe a late bar on the Sat to match ...
More refugees from Cambridge making our first visit to Shrewsbury and hopefully not our last!
Marvellous weekend - lineup looked great in potential and didn't disappoint in actuality. Cracking mix of traditional folk and "pushing the boundaries" acts.
Dhol foundation undoubted highlight of weekend - please try to get them again next year and please DON'T turn the sound down if you do!
Small daughter had to be dragged away from the morris dancing displays.
Hopefully we'll be back next year - if you could procure Tunng either with or without Tinawarien for your line up my cup (of real ale!) will truly runneth over!
A great festival!!! Thank you to all the organisers, stewards and artists.
Highlights and compliments:
I particularly enjoyed Hoven Droven, The Dhol Foundation, Lau, Eric Bibb, The Dust Poets and Seth Lakeman.
Keep up the good mix of folk fusion bands and traditional artists.
It would be great if future line ups would (again) include:
Mark Saul Band, Kerfuffle, Peatbog Fearies, 4 square, Bellowhead,
Blazin Fiddles.
The fenced-off area at the front near the stage (main marquee) works well for the folks who can no longer sit still. Please allow more space for wheelchairs, people with disabilities near door 1.
The layout of the festival site was very good and the site map useful as well as fun to look at. I was also impressed about the continuous clean-up by the stewards as well as SP Holding. Showers and toilets were also always presentable.
Having the drink water taps was good as it enabled us to refill our water bottles throughout the day.
Well done on the beer tent – a great selection of local ales as well as soft drinks and some spirits. Belgium cherry beer would be a welcome addition in the future. The Cherry Bomb ale on offer wasn’t really a cherry beer after the liking of the ladies.
My heart leaped with joy at the sight of the bottle of Jaegermeister at the bar!!!
All food was good and the choice wide enough. Some a little pricey perhaps but most were reasonable as far as festival food prices are concerned.
It’s also been wonderful to be able to buy proper filter coffee etc. throughout.
A MASSIVE Well Done on the Boxfresh shop!!!! What a marvellous idea!!!!
Fresh rolls, fresh milk, some sneaky cake and a paper in the morning! Would love to see this shop on site every year.
Lovely flags and lights on the way to the dance marquee!!!
Grumbles and suggestions:
Improve signage on drinking taps and taps for washing up etc. Apparently some people tried to empty their chemical toilet at a drinking tap point.
Paper towels run out very quickly. Perhaps blow driers are the answer?
More showers are needed in order to shorten those queues. I got up at 6.30 am one morning and didn’t have to queue at all. The situation had changed 45 mins later and people were still waiting in queues of 10 ore more after 10am.
Finding a space to pitch the tent proved tricky as I arrived on Friday afternoon. The utilisation of space could perhaps be improved by having designated areas for tents and camper vans. How about leaving the cars in a separate field across the road and just have the tents and camper vans on site? Allowances to be made with regards to disabled access etc.
More dance and drumming workshops for adults please!
The noise in the main marquee in the evening was excruciatingly painful and certainly above the recommended db level! This partially ruins the atmosphere and could be a potential health risk.
A burglar alarm was sounding on one of the sheds near the dance marquee (West Mids staff shed)Sunday night after the end of the last gig at 11.30am. I reported this to a steward on a bike at gate 4 who reassured me that the alarm would turn itself off. At 2.15 am the alarm was still going when finally someone "turned" it off. Everyone in this area cheered.
To sum up, it’s been a great festival with bands new to my ears. The general atmosphere on site was happy, relaxed and peaceful. It’s also good to know that everyone can return to their tents after the last concert at 11.30 pm and be reasonably quiet. There were no “trouble makers” at the festival (to my knowledge) and it felt safe to be there. No need to extend gig times, it’s perfect.
Thank you very much for a great weekend.
My first time here and I enjoyed every minute of it! Session-wise, I particularly enjoyed the Improvers' session on the Sunday morning. Would be so nice to have more sessions like this one available to us lesser musicians!!! Very impressed with the whole organisation, the fantastic concerts and I look forward to the next one!
My highlights: Getting everyone onto th site on Friday morning, and getting them off again monday afternoon. Sessions in the Berwick Pavilion Bar, the beginners music session (thanks Izzy) Duncan McFalrane Band, Spookies, Spookies Workshop, The wilsons, Hanging Johnny, Kimbers Men. The quality of the bar stock and knowledge and friendliness of the bar staff. The quality and smiley faces of the stewards, particularly the litter team. The village Stage at various times throughout the weekend.
Well Done Alan, Sandra, Neil, all your committee members, the stewards and site staff for making it all work
Our first visit to Shrewsbury and overall it was a great success. We are already thinking about the possibility of coming next year. Musical Highlights were, Show of Hands, John Jones and Reluctant Ramblers, Megson and Chris Wood but many other good acts. Other highlights were good camping and not being packed in like sardines, proper toilets, reasonable priced beer and liked the choice of seating or standing in venue 1 although as someone else said those chairs were packed tight in venue 1, not so bad in 2. I could say more showers but then after the morning i never saw a queue. I would have liked them to be nearer to where i was camping though.
Thanks to everyone involved.
Krista Detor, SoH, Spooky Men, George Papavgeris - agree with the comment that he deserves more exposure (The Flowers and the Guns has to be the best song new to me of the festival),The Chair, David Ferrard who was also new to me.
Agree that sound while generally excellent was far too loud for the Proclaimers. We were in the mosh pit for the first few numbers until pain drove us back and I was worried about the large numbers of children and young people right at the front whose hearing may have been damaged. I was glad when some of them followed us out.
We were stewarding in the Sabrina and had a great time. It's lovely when people give positive feedback - thanks to those who were so complimentary about the Spooky workshop and especially to the two stewards who came from elsewhere and helped when we were deluged with folk. For next year it would be nice to have a big name sign on the Sabrina (with pic of the goddess?) to help all those folk who think it's the Boxfresh on Friday evening! And we need a clear process for shutting up the tent at the end of each night to save the sound man's anguish when he finds security have pulled out the plugs and wrecked his setup for the next day!
Anyway grest festival - can't wait till next year!
Chris and Mac
Thanks for a great festival.
Thought the line-up was fantastic. Almost every act seems to have been a 'highlight' for me, but just to mention:
megson
lau
faustus
seth lakeman
the chair
breabach
jez lowe
sean lakeman and kathryn roberts
belshazzar's feast
bill caddick
... plus no doubt others I've temporarily forgotten.
We came last year but thought this year's line-up was better. Liked the larger Sabrina marquee and enjoyed its late-night vibe a few times. Better food choice, especially for my veggie partner. Overall a really good festival.
Constructive (I hope) suggestions:
Echo some of the comments about occasional sound problems, especially when cranked up for Seth Lakeman and The Proclaimers. (I recommend acoustic earplugs btw.) Also for Lau in MQ2.
Maybe a larger Marquee 2? it was packed to bursting for several acts, and the officious (though I appreciate necessary) stewarding that resulted rather spoilt our enjoyment. Agree that the seats were in places a tad too tightly spaced.
Also, a better eye on the camping space. We nearly panicked when we finally arrived about 4.30pm and realised there was almost nowhere left to camp. There didn't seem to be anyone helping late arrivers find space.
Would really have liked more going on in the 'dead' patch early evening - 5-7.30 pm. It felt like there was suddenly nothing to do after running about between stages for 3 hours. Maybe put some sessions or workshops in that slot?
Well done to all the organisers and helpers....the whole event was a great success!
Nice balance and diversity in the music on offer. Well done for organising so much participatory stuff too. I didn't get to many workshops but would have liked to do so had time allowed.
I particularly enjoyed Chris Smither, Show of Hands, Karine Polwart, Lau (twice!), Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman, The Proclaimers, Dust Poets, Ollabelle, Megson, Mark Erelli and Krista Detor but the most memorable experience was undoubtedly the Darwin Project concert (which surely merited being on the main stage!).
Elsewhere I thoroughly enjoyed joining the 'improvers' session on Sunday morning and the convivial atmosphere and sessions throughout in the Berwick bar.
No complaints really...there were some sound issues at the Village Stage for both Ollabelle and The Dust Poets. With many people standing I don't think the artists and the folks on the sound desk were actually able to see each other....which may not have helped! Perhaps something needs to be raised a bit for next year!
The beer was fabulous but with so much choice (and some relatively obscure brews) a 'menu' might have been useful (perhaps printed in the main programme with a brief description of each?). I know a thing or two about bitter but it gets tiresome when you're constantly peering at the barrels to try to work out the strengths and characteristics of the various brews. We're not ALL Camra buffs y'know!
Anyone who's complaining about the queues for showers should perhaps consider using them during the 22 hours a day that they're not in demand! Just throw a bit of water over your face and come back later on. For one thing you don't feel obliged to get in and out in less than 5 minutes! I had one lovely long shower sometime after 2 in the morning followed by a good night's sleep. It's not as if the campsite is far from the action!
One small thing which may need a bit of thought before next year...I think some of the folks complaining about the volume in the main tent may be referring to the reverberation from the two huge bass speaker stacks set back a little on either side of the stage. If you're withing 20 feet of these the bass frequencies without doubt ARE overpowering. In the middle it's fine and nicely balanced (I had no volume problem watching the Proclaimers from there)...there may not be a simple solution to this one of course!
Gerry
I did receive the same complaint several times, and I feel obliged to write on behalf of them.
Selfish campers and caravaners reserving whole areas for their friends and families 'Who were coming down later.' I saw bunting and traffic cones being used to reserve spaces at the same time as frustrated campers were driving round trying to find a pitch.
Imagine 1 car, 1 caravan with an awning a gazebo and windbreaks as well, that takes up a lot of space.
I forsee extra charges being made for all the extras unless the practice is stopped or controlled. Perhaps a secure carparking area could be created out of the way of the camping area.
RE Purple wig's comment about saving spaces - to be fair it does actually say on the website that this can be done. the camping situation was one we commented on and was probably the only thing that compared unfavourably with Cambridge.
At the common campsite last year there were stewards directing you all the way in to your designated camping place and you also book the size of your plot when booking your tickets (and this is rigidly policed). When we arrived at Shrewsbury about 2 o clock on the Friday we were waved off arily in the vague direction of the dance tent and told vaguely to keep following the road round. Must admit I also had a bit of a mild panic when we were seeing no space whatsoever and people camped up grass verges and next to toilets.
I suspect the organisers were caught slightly on the hop due to the festival selling out this year
I have read all the comments and agree with the most common complaints----The Volume of Seth Lakeman made hime sound awful,same for the Dhol foundation and the Proclaimers volume was dreadful and I was sat at the back. Apart from those comments it was a wonderfully organised festival and congratulations all round to the organisers and friendly stewards I was impressed with the quality of most of the acts and will try to get to Shrewsbury earlier on the friday as camping slots were rare at 1400hrs.Thought the price of food was high except the Thai outlet. £5.50 for a meat pie needs looking at. Well done boys and girls it was great.
Along with so many other people I found the volume of the music for the Proclaimers & Seth Lakeman so loud that it was impossible to hear the singing. Both have excellent lyrics and to not be able to hear the words is frustrating. I am also aware that the festival is held in a residential area and so consideration for the residents needs to be factored in. As the evening goes on sound literally gets louder for them (as other sounds disappear) and having late night noise for 3 successive nights is a lot to ask of them - not fun if someone is ill or has to work first thing etc. If loud music is wanted then the festival may need to consider moving somewhere more suited for this - Weston Park?
I can see that a fair number here found the levels for a couple of acts in the main tent too loud - but to be fair, this is a preference, not a fact. One comment even mentioned a worry for the heraring of the youngsters at the front for the proclaimers. Don't be concerned - the db level will have been within licensing (and therefore safe)levels.
As a seasoned concert goer ( for both folk AND more "aggresive" stuff) I would re-assure those who have mentioned pain and so on that whilst it was loud, it didn't aproach the kind of sound pressure levels heard (or felt!) weekly in the many Academy's, Apollo's or indeed at other festivals all round the country.
The fact that some full on bands followed some quieter, solo acts will have had some effect here - Chris Smither tapping his foot and fingerpicking is never going to be on a par with the Proclaimers with a full drum kit, bass, telecaster, keyboards and second guitar - so the differential was always going to be huge.
Also - if you mainly go to arts centres and folk clubs to see te likes of Chris Wood, Megson etc, and don't habitually go to rock/dance gigs, then the Dohl Foundation were probably a bit of a surprise.... :-)
Personally, I thought it was all stunning - Seth wasn't too loud, but the mix was a bit off initially. Show of Hands and the Dohl Foundation were a real tour de force in how to do it right.
All in all, a superb festival - my new favourite place (after Glastonbury ...)
L & I Wirral
This is our 7th festival and it just gets better!... Great set up, bands, atmosphere, etc. Faves - Dhols (it took an hour outside to cool down after!), Spookies-esp workshop, Hoven Droven, Eric Bibb, Lau, Megson, S of H,Chris Smithers (new to us). Great ideas - banner flags to dance tent (couldnt find it last year!) and on site shop. Constructive criticism -directed more to parents of young children-mosh pit should be for over 12s only - saw lots of dangerous situations with a sudden 'surge' and young kids sitting on the ground. Excellent organisation as usual and a big thank you to all the team for another memorable SFF.
I really enjoyed the festival, especially Lau, Breabach, The Chair and Belshazzar's Feast.
Everything was well organised and the stewards did a great job keeping the site clean and tidy.
The only downside, for me, was the sound problem during Seth Lakeman and a falling roof girder narrowly missing me in the dance tent!
Congratulations on a brilliant festival. Hope to be back next year.
Diane
Best year yet.
Excellent line-up. I enjoyed Chris Wood, Faustus and Megson a lot. Please continue with the inspired choice of N.American artists; I loved Corinne West and Ollabelle and Eilen Jewell was fabulous last year.
Terrific beer and good food. Excellent stewarding.
Main gripe is with the choice of headliners. I am all for variety but the headliners should ideally be more representative of the core essence of the festival. Also, am I alone in finding The Proclaimers embarrassing? They are very poor indeed.
Oh and I think you need to crack down on selfish "seat savers" some of whom sit at the front hogging several chairs that are then saved for a performance later on in the afternoon so they are often unused through a set or two while other people who really like the artist have to sit further back.
Someone said: "the db level will have been within licensing (and therefore safe)levels."
I don't think that's right; there's no legal requirement for audiences to receive sound at safe levels, I don't think? Someone else above said their ears were ringing the next morning. That's an indication that their ears had been permanently damaged. It is perfectly possible to damage hearing over time without attending heavy rock concerts. My tinnitus is testament to that. The thing about hearing damage is you don't know it's there until it's too late.
I live in Shrewsbury but could never counter going to a festival without camping and Shrewsbury is probably the best camping I have ever encountered.
So much excellent music and something for everyone.Highlightd too numerous to mention, so I'll just give a few, The Dohl Foundation were an absolute coup. Seth Lakeman as always, The Chair, Lau and Karine Polwart who I had heard of but never seen.
I agreee that the seating is uncomfortable, but this is outweighed by the fact that even sitting down you can see. I love the idea of the mosh pit and that you can stand and have a dance at the side and the back as well.
Shrewsbury has certainly put itself firmly up there with the best and as far as I am concerned is better than Cambridge in every way.
I really don't have any complaints.
Well done Sandra and crew - you are the best.
Thank you to everyone for the feedback so far. Just two things I would like to pick up on. Space between rows has always been one meter. The stewards lost their measuring stick this year and seats were put in at one yard (we didn't know this at the time). The one metre rule will be applied again next year. Camping tickets/units/space was carefully calculated and we knew everyone would fit in. We also arranged a large fenced off overflow camping area on the car park field which incidentally only ever had about thirty units on it all weekend. Off for a rest now! lol Sandra
HI, we were family of 4, 2 kids aged 11 and 8.....8 yr old spent all the daytimes in the circus tent.great..my 11 yr old was in that gap of too old for kids stuff and too young for refolkus so she was with us..no probs there....Thought food areas and beer tents were very very good quality and ok value for money considering festival...fave acts were Show of Hands, Spooky Men, seth, Krista Detor........
My only gripes and they are few. I felt there was too much of an American flavour acts....(maybe thats all I picked upon as I far enjoy British folk music but thats just me......)
To be honest my biggest gripe was the spacing between the rows in all marquees. Wherever I sat, inevitably someone on the middle wanted to leave, and you couldnt squirm around, it was a total clearance of the row and then everyone retake their seats, right in the middle of someones set! Thats another story, I Hate people coming in and going out during songs. Can they be made to wait?....anyway thats my only comments....the pros absolutely outweigh the cons....but those cons are soooooo annoying.!
I loved every minute this year at Shrewsbury. It's always special, but I think 2009 was the best yet.
APART FROM THE SEATING. You lived in fear of a mid row person wanting out!
A small gripe, but it was uncomfortable.
Thought the sound at Seth Lakeman was amazing. We were half way back and it was one of the best we had seen him do.
See you all next year.
Thank you for a wonderful festival. The organisation is amazing ,and I`m so full of admiration that you get it so right! The site is superb, camping,(which I usually hate with a vengeance) is actually easy and enjoyable, and its great being able to have the car next to the tent. The line up was inspired, providing several dilemmas over the weekend, but never a moment`s boredom!! Earlier comments bemoaned a "dead" period 5-7.30, but I`m sure there were sessions or village stage performances during that time, and also the period following the last concert....some of the sessions in the food tent were brilliant and went on into the early hours! The stewards did a magnificent job and were most polite and approachable.As for the showers! I wouldn`t know!! It`s a festival...who cares if you don`t shower for 3 days!! you can do a great job with soap and a drop of water, and a packet of wipes! The bath, very late on Monday night, was heavenly! A wonderful festival that I recommend to all our friends. THANK YOU and WELL DONE to all concerned.
This was our third year at Shrewsbury and it keeps getting better!
Highlights were Dhol Foundation, Krista de Tor, the fabulous Darwin Project (should have been on the main stage), SoH (love them!), Chris Wood and the Chair - wish we'd seen Lau, but so much else at the same time...!
Only thing that bugged me was when queuing for the Spookies, followed by SoH - we were in the queue at 6.30, ready for a 7.30 start (!) with not too many people ahead of us. But virtually everyone in front then let in all their friends and family to the queue ages later - a bit unfair to those of us who had made the effort to get there earlier. The scramble to get in was something I'd never seen before - on your marks, and go!
The space between rows is something that's been well documented here and I agree - but all in all, it's just the best festival around. The stewards are marvellous, hats off to them.
See you next year!
suggestion for next years acts and this first one is a biggy, what about inviting Christy Moore? Also, agree with lots of other suggestions as the peatbogs, as well as Kate Rusby who never fails to deliver, Martin Simpon, and Richard Thompson.
Fantastic time for all the family. Highlights for us were the Spooky Men (including workshop); Sean Lakeman & Kathryn Roberts, The Chair, Dohl Foundation, Seth Lakeman, SOH & more!!
Gripes: please get rid of the climbing wall or at the very least its beep! My children didn't want to use it because the beep was annoying then so much they didn't want to disturb people by using it.
Pleae don't make the festival any bigger. It feel like it has reached full capacity.
Many thanks to all involved in making it such a fantastic event, we are big fans & will be back again next year.
The Rush family
x
I would agree that the festival has probably reached its capacity....it was touch and go at being overbearing and losing the personal touch....yes the free for all sprint at the start of the night concerts was something akin to a banger race! Agree about the bleeping bleeep on the climbing wall. For next year......would Runrig come?
Here are a few photos Sarah (my better half) took over the weekend:
http://tinyurl.com/kr457s
Some crackers in there! Enjoy!
Alex
Like Gerry says, the Base resonance spoilt a great deal of the effect for me. I have been a sound man for over fourty years and staight away noticed a very prominant peak in the low base. This was also instantly spotted by the Spooky Man's Chorale. The sound level for the Proclaimers was too loud, having mixed sound at many pop concerts such as monsters of rock at Milton Keynes I can now say from experience that high volume levels such as the Proclaimers are the reason I now wear hearing aids! I did not need them monday evening.
The sound crew on the vilage stage were students I think, and probably coped well when things ran smoothly but did not have the experience to deal with the unexpected faults, I think they did do very well if they were students!
Apart from that I have to say what a great week end my wife and I had, we arrived late Friday (about seven thirty) and a gent on the gate said to find a space where we could so I parked between the stable blocks. Loads of room lovely and quiet,Great
Well done the whole organising team.
Nigel
The Village stage team were indeed students - on the first day they were a bit uncoordinated and a bit slow as expected and by the end they were working quickly and as an experienced team would. They were volunteers and worked their socks off, also helping out in the recording studio (which was booked solid and also manned by volunteers). I guess we're trying to pass some skills on to the next generation?
Hi Meg here, I don't know if you remember but I left a blog last year, when there was some talk of banning dogs from the festival. Thank goodness you didn't, Brid and I had a lovely time. This year we brought our new friend Rosie with us. My human friends enjoyed the festival as well and are already looking forward to next year.
Love
Meg x
We had a brilliant time this year & will definitely be back again next year!!
Our faves were - Megson, Sean and Kathryn, Seth & Show of Hands.
Only complaint was the lack of stewarding of the 'pit' at the front of the stage which meant that even though we were sat on the front row we missed half of Seth's set due to the incredibly annoying girl sat on someone's shoulders :( Just a minor downside - but something that could easily be prevented if people were requested not to do it.
Just read through the comments (after commenting before - love the festival!) and would thoroughly agree about the climbing wall. I found it very distracting when in the smaller marquees and it got in the way of the music.
I'm also curious on feedback about the noise levels for Dhol Foundation as I really did find it painful even though they were one of the acts I was most looking forward to.
Hi, My first SFF after going to the Big Session earlier in the year. SFF is much bigger and has less of that close-knit family feel. I think this is because of a lack of focus around one area. I know the marquees need to be spread out but taking 5 mins between venues doesn't make it easy to pick and choose between the stages. I think the four bars also prevented a focus point.
Positives:
Loved the festival as a whole.
The ability to stand and dance in Marquee 1, possibly even bigger area required.. or another section at the back advertised.
Musical highlights - The Chair! SoH, Megson, Ollabelle, Spooky Men, Breabach, Seth (good sound with earplugs as I knew he was loud), Sean and Kathryn, Lau, John Jones and Chopper's Malmabygens Spellmann (so glad they had a good audience!).
Good toilet blocks (but no hot water in gents while ladies over the road had..).
Big Screens for those sat further back in Marquee 1
The afternoon slot on the village stage showcasing great acts as a good alternative to the main stages.
Stewarding on the whole.
Scheduling bands on both stages to give people plenty of opportunity to see them, although possibly make sure they are at diff times on the two days rather than the same one..
Negatives:
Big problem with the program. The schedule is difficult to read and understand what is on what stage. Much better would be a chart with a line for each stage in the day and boxes of 'time' for each artist for the four main stages and possibly a second one for the workshops and dance tent. Day Time and ONe letter code for the venue against the artists would also make life much easier.
It felt like the FF headliners were on in the penultimate evening slot. I feel that people like Dhol foundation and Eric Bibb might have been better suited to opening the evening or last in the afternoon..
Nowhere to dance and lack of capacity on Stage 2. An area at the front or back for standees needed on this stage.
Village Stage sound problems already highlighted by others.
Noise of Dhol foundation. I could make it all out in my tent down by the river!
Darwin project on Stage 2.
Distance between seats, particularly Stage 1. People sat on the ends of rows for that very reason leaving gaps in the middle. Would shorter rows with more but narrower aisles help?
Suggestions for next year:
Peatbog Faeries, Runrig would be fabulous, SoH (or Steve and Phil and Miranda doing solo sets), Bellowhead, Rachel Unthank, Baskery from Sweden for a rocking set :)), Richard Thompson, Steve Tilson, Eliza Carthy, Colvin Quarmby, The Chair or at least Saltfishforty
Thanks for organising it all and doing such a great job. The blog in particular just helped to build my excitement over the last few weeks!
Martin
The Dhol Foundation had to be loud, you cannot have quiet drums.
I was closer to the stage than anyone else and yes, it was very loud. I could have moved away from the stage but chose not to.
If you want them to play quietly, my guess is we will never see them in Shrewsbury again.
If you would prefer a quiet concert, try The Quarry Concerts in Mid Summer, they were spoiled this year because people complained about noise levels.
Great Festival, probably the best so far. Best artists for me Dust Poets, Chris Smither, I would rebook for next year. Big Nige
Emphasis for next year should be on artists who have never apperaed before at SFF.Suggestions-Altan,Cherish the Ladies or Dervish to fill the Irish spot.Ruth Notman,Martin Carthy,Dick Gaughan,Eliza Carthy.Americans-Diana Jones.
It just gets better and better! The organising team and all the volunteers do a fantastic job and the ambience and entertainment was once again first class.
Highlights for us included Lau, Mark Erelli, Chris Wood, Karine Polwart, Megson, The Chair. And of course the Darwin Project which was pure magic and left you with the feeling that you had witnessed something really special.
Sessions were also great, as well as beer and food.
In terms of improvements maybe the great new screens should also be in marquee 2 which itself could probably do with being bigger since there are so many terrific artists on at the same time. I'm sure there were some disappointed to see the 'show full' signs when Lau and Darwin were on.
And can I also echo Meg's earlier comments. I fully support the idea of not letting dogs into the venues, but being able to take your dog into the showground makes it much easier to spend more time at the event and enjoy the whole weekend.
The closing act does seem to have been a bit of an issue at SFF. I wasn't at all convinced by Paul Brady's set a couple of years ago and frankly took one look at The Proclaimers' kit and decided it wasn't for me. On the other hand Bellowhead were fantastic closers last year ...
Hope all the SFF team are enjoying a well-earned rest and can't wait for the next one.
Sean Lakeman and Katherine Roberts were fantastic. Our first time at Shrewsbury but coming again next year. Great organaistaion.
Thanks
http://www.musicfestivalphotos.co.uk/
shrewsburyfolkfestival2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fenpeper/sets/72157622101238389/
http://www.gigmemories.com
Superb weekend! Been coming for years, and will continue.
High points for me - good site layout, safe and friendly for whole family, plenty of variety, Professor Panic being nicer to the children than in previous years (!), the Chair, Show of hands, the Darwin Porject, Eric Bibb, Krista Detour, spooky men, selection of workshops, good to see Boxfresh organics there, helpful stewards, small enough to stay personal (please don't let it get any bigger now!)
Low points - drums from Village stage blocking out Karine Polwart (who I was trying to listen to in the main tent), agree with earlier comments re layout of programme being tricky to follow (but I do think it must be really hard to design!) Also volume - the natural sound levels of drums, instruments etc is fine, but sometimes it felt overamplified in the main tent. (During Seth Lakeman I had to move my family away from the front as the vibrations from the bass were actually painful to all of us). In general, I thought the sound quality was excellent.
Suggestions for next year - Colvin Quarby, Mundy-Turner, Elbow Jane, Odin Dragonfly, Abbie Lathe,
Thanks for a geat weekend!
Great festival - possibly the best ever. Loved Show of Hands, Spookies, Karine Polwart, Faustus, Balchazzar's Feast and Duncan Mc Farlane. and a load of the less well-known names in the Sabrina marquee.
Great to have such friendly and obliging bar staff, no-deposit glasses and wide variety of local ales and ciders.
Next year? Kerfuffle, Kristina Olsen, Bellowhead, Peatbog Faeries, Show of Hands (again).
Gripes:
Camping: People reserving spaces for their friends. One chap (said he was a festival director) had tried to reserve about 8 pitches for his extended family. We accidentally put our rig in the middle of his 'street' which caused something of an atmosphere. Ban this pernicious habit, say I. (Reserving seats in the marquees isn't fair either.)
The campsite was very crowded - dangerously so, with tents just a few centimetres apart - surely there is a health and safety issue here?
What about using the big car park opposite for caravans and motorhomes, both of which have their own sanitation, and leave the main site for campers only?
Endorse the comments about cramped seating and too much amplification.
But nothing can detract from the overall magnificence of the event. Well done Alan, Sandra (The First Lady of Folk - saw you in a magazine!) and all the others involved in this superb festival.
had a really great time. Enjoyed all the acts especially Show of Hands, Seth, The Chair(my find of the festival). Disappointed that the Darwin Project overlapped with Seth. I thought they could, and should, have been on on the main stage.
More loos (especially near the beer tent!!) and showers would be really good.
Still had a brilliant time and loved the beginners' session in beer tent and the dance workshops in the mornings-set us up for the day. See you next year.
sandra x
Hi
Thanks for a smashing festival.
Oyster Band next year ?
Jean
Loved this year's festival.Discovered a load of acts who were new to me.
How about Bandersnatch for next year?
No complaints. This is my favourite festival every year. Liked the raised stage and side screens. Think the soundman on the Village Stage should have been raised as he could not see what was going on though.
My favourites:- Breabach; Faustus; The Chair; John Jones and the Reluctant Ramblers; Lau; David Ferrard.
For next year how about the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.Watch their DVD. Excellent musicians, three sets of bagpipes and funny and entertaining. Also Wheeler Street and Demon Barbers.
A word of praise for the Morris Sides too. Always so full of energy.
Having spoken to all our group we can say - a brilliant weekend. No gripes apart from having to decide what to see or do and what to miss. I enjoyed the singing and (Duncan McFarland) guitar workshops and was veey lucky to be in the 'tent' whan Show of Hands and the Spooky men were rehearsing for the evenings performance - memorable!
Already looking forward to next year - well done to all involved.
Thanks very much for a wonderful festival already looking forward to next year. There are lots of people I would like to see but here is a shortened list
Oyster Band
SOH
Peatbog Faeries
Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Colvin Quarmby
Bellowhead
See you in 2010
Joyce
Appreciation to all the organisers for a great show. Cambridge had better look out as it has (under the relentless Westward pressure of Smooth Ops) become less and less of a Folk festival, and more of an American Singer and Country Festival with an occasional folk band to preserve its credentials - SFF moves effortlessly to No1 IMHO.
Apart from the volume being set to 11 for Dhol Foundation, All Was Good.
BUT - Why are there so few festival-goer's photos on the "virtual Shropshire" website? There must have been more than 10 taken!!
Congratulations again to everybody involved. We had a fantastic time again this year. Just one or two "constructive" comments: 1) we learnt from last year and went for our showers after the final concert/session each night, have to say it felt good getting into the sleeping bag feeling clean, 2) the Dance Tent ran out of BEER on Sunday evening (how could you let that happen ?); 3) the Ceilidh callers were all using the same dance formulas this year, please ask them to co-ordinate their programmes so that wedon't end up doing the same dances three sessions in a row, 4) the sound in stage 2, Sabrina and the Dance Tent was perfect but we found a couple of sets on main stage JUST TOO LOUD (e.g. Seth Lakeman and the bass for the Proclaimers), others were perfect - SoH were just great and the sound was perfect, 5)thanks so much for listening to user feedback from last year, this year the Food Tent was still running on Tuesday morning for coffee and bacon sarnies.
Will definitely be going again next year.
Can't wait to see next year's line-up. Another suggestion- Genticorum from Quebec. Excellent.
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