A Brief History of Moseley Folk Festival

Photo: British Sea Power with John Fell as the bear

The stunning Moseley Park in Birmingham will next month see the return of Moseley Folk Festival, an event that has lodged itself in the hearts of a myriad of festival-goers and music lovers from around the globe.

Its discerning line up of up and coming talent and well established stars maintains a massively high standard - this year alone stars the likes of The Monkees, Spiritualized, Idlewild, Anna Calvi and Gaz Coombes amongst a lot more. Check out the Moseley Folk line up here.

Ahead of its arrival between September 4th and 6th, we spoke to event manager and Goodnight Lenin member John Fell about his favourite memories from the festival, which this year also celebrates its tenth anniversary. Here are his most cherished recollections.

TINARIWEN

I joined Moseley Folk in 2011, and worked closely with the Tinariwen team in organising their trip over to the UK. At the time I liked world music but had limited knowledge in the area and this really was the start of a new avenue in a musical adventure! I have never looked back. It was a beautiful moment seeing all our work come into fruition at my festival first as an organiser.

JOHNNY MARR

As a huge huge fan of The Smiths, I never thought I would get to meet Johnny Marr growing up, never mind book him. When we booked for Moseley Folk in 2014, it really was THE booking for me. Tickets flew out, the excitement was on another level.

He played a host of songs by The Smiths - 'Panic', 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want', 'There is a Light That Never Goes Out' but the one that was truly special was 'How Soon Is Now?' (watch the video here) where he was joined by Billy Duffy of The Cult. Completely unexpected.

OCEAN COLOUR SCENE PERFORMING 'MOSELEY SHOALS'

Another moment that really got the people of Birmingham excited was the homecoming of Ocean Colour Scene. Having written their debut album Moseley Shoals around the corner this felt like a landmark show for the band, the festival and the city. Again, tickets sold out well in advance and OCS did not disappoint.

BRITISH SEA POWER

Since the release of their seminal 'The Decline of British Sea Power' in 2003, British Sea Power, like so many others, have remained a favourite band of mine. When I was 17 I used to walk around fields trying to find a site for a festival, not really knowing how much it would cost to put one on. British Sea Power were the headliner on all of those fantasy festival bills!

In 2013, it became a reality when they performed at Moseley Folk. I was even allowed the be the bear so got to go on stage and play tambourine… For those 10mins I claim I was in BSP! My most fanboy moment.

THURSTON MOORE PLAYING ACOUSTICALLY

This was another really special moment! Most people would cite a Sonic Youth album as one of their favourite Thurston Moore works but his 'Demolished Thoughts' really hit a chord with me.

It was beautiful to have the king of noise guitar come along to our folk festival and play his acoustic stuff. Speaking to him afterwards he said how much he enjoyed it as he doesn't play acoustically live very often. A very special performance!

Head here to grab Moseley Folk Festival tickets.

More like this? Try A Brief History of Bestival with Rob da Bank

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