Ramsbottom Festival 2012 review

The line up for the three day festival is refreshingly original and takes advantage of its home county’s musical prowess with many Mancunians included in the line-up. Some of the most notable local acts were I am Kloot, Jenny McCormick, The Janice Graham Band and 80s pyschadelic rockers Inspiral Carpets.

It is the latter two acts that kicked of the festival on Friday evening to a riotous start alongside Danny Mahon, Point Blank and Louis Barabbas and the Bedlam Six.

The not-for-profit festival is hosted by arts charity and performance venue The Bury Met, and promotes a family friendly atmosphere. Situated in an ideal location amongst the rolling West Pennine Moors, you can even travel to the quaint little festival by steam train; surely a hit with all young children. The mixture of acoustic guitars, indie, folk, ska, violins, ukuleles, fiddles and flutes accompanied by the festival’s laid-back ambience gives the feeling of a lazy Sunday afternoon. Throw in some warm sunshine, a real ale tent, food stalls, comedy, a silent disco and fairground rides for the kids - all at an affordable price - and you have the perfect weekend.

Saturday

Feeling a little apprehensive about the weather on Saturday, many people turned up in wellies expecting the worst. But even after days of pouring rain the cricket club where the festival is held still maintained a perfectly pristine lawn. What’s more, it took little more than a minute to walk from one stage to the other, and you can do a circuit of the entire festival site in less than 10 minutes. Certainly a refreshing change for anyone who is used to larger festivals, and evidence in itself that whilst Ramsbottom festival brings you all the quirky perks of a small festival, it also takes away the trials and tribulations of a larger one.

Jenny McCormick took to the Ladybird Stage early Saturday afternoon. Her gentle voice accompanied by a double bass and 2 guitars was one of the highlights of the festival. Introducing each song in a way that was both awkward but charming, the English singer/songwriter's folk and acoustic sound seemed to fit beautifully with the laid-back bohemian ambience of Ramsbottom.

Darktown Jubilee were next to play at the Ladybird Stage, infusing a touch of indie rock into an otherwise very folk and strings Saturday line-up. Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls (of the 80s band the Wonderstuff) kept the crowd at the Main Stage chuckling into their pints of real ale with a light-hearted set as Miles cracked jokes and told funny anecdotes between each song. They played the classics such as ‘The Size of a Cow’ and even managed to drop in a new song that went down well with the crowd.

Playing at the A&L Stage seemed to be for those that had drawn the short straw. Pocket Hercules looked a little disgruntled at having to sing and strum above the general humdrum of noise coming from people chatting in the toilet queue that stretched along one wall of the room.

The Leisure Society took to the main stage as the sun started to go down. They wowed an enthusiastic audience with their unique blend of indie folk rock, managing to encompass a keyboard, guitars, drums, ukulele, glockenspiel, violin and flute into their performance.

The evening was rounded off very satisfactorily with performances from Admiral Fallow, Molly Bloom and I am Kloot.

Sunday

If you thought the sunshine on Saturday was too good to be true then you were proved right on Sunday. The heavens opened later in the afternoon after a cool, grey start. Like true North-West punters the show went on, and hardy souls braved the main stage in their anoraks to watch The Tristan McKay Band. Thea Gilmore, Seth Lakeman and Roddy Frame (founder of the 80s indie band Aztec Camera) all attracted a large crowd later on in the evening.

The only criticism I could find with the festival was that there is no allocated parking and no camping this year, making it difficult to attend the whole weekend unless you live very locally, don’t plan on drinking or have booked accommodation nearby (which would make the weekend pretty pricey). Even coming from South Manchester it took over 2 hours, 2 buses and a tram to get there (and back!) This meant that quite a few people, especially families, headed home earlier than they would have liked.

You may not get any big headline acts but you can rest assured that you won’t be disappointed by the line-up. No doubt, it is partly down to the low-key line-up that the festival has such a good crowd and relaxed atmosphere - here’s to hoping that it never changes! Ramsbottom festival has proved once again that it is small but perfectly formed.

Words: Helen Geraghty

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