First up was Small Nations a fabulous little gathering run by two really dear friends of mine....I go down a facilitate drum circles for whoever shows up...this year we were in a big barn cos of the mud and had a good 100 folks show upo for each session....mud everywhere but lots of happy bunnies...made some great new friends this year too...I love that about festivals...you can just connect with total strangers....on the band front Kanda Bongo Man was awesome and I danced my arse off.
Next it was back to Yorkshire for a local fessie happening for the fist time.World On Your Doorstep Here I was playing with Maghribibeat This band is a bunch of mates who have been playing together for a long while now...getting a gig at the Fessie was great and our set was well appreciated...everyone in the band then went off in different directions for the rest of the summer and we will be rehearsing again and funds permitting recording in early September. All of a sudden there is a bit of a buzz about .Gnawa Musicso who knows...we may get some more work in the future. I also performed with a West African Djembe Troupe at the same fessie...still waiting on pictures for both. The next stop on tour was Womad....this year it was renamed WOMUD...seriously sticky hard to walk around in kinda mud....made the whole fessie more tiring but it was still fantastic.
Again ran a couple of workshops which were well attended despite the mud..here is me doing ma thing and pullin a drummer face
Actually made it up on stage this year with a bunch of west african drummers in the Siam tent....no photographic proof thank God as they were all dressed beautifully in traditional garb and I looked like a sheep farmer(See above)
Too many mind blowing artists at Womad to list but my faves over the 3 days were Gnawa Diffusion, Baaba Maal, Massoukos, N'Faly Kouyat, Marzoug, Steel Pulse, Sheila Chandra, Taj Mahal..........lots of folk have moaned since about this years Womad (Go read the Womad forum for funny moaning) and the mud but for me festivals are what they are....I mean Mud for fucks sake...not such a big deal.Bring On Womad 2008 and lets hope its at the new venue Charlton Park again...amazing place.
So tired but happy the plan was for myself and mock and sens my senegalese compadres to jump in the van and head for Scotland and the African Drum Village...my wife and her mate headed the same way but in a girlie convoy......they planned to stop in yorkshire and we were gonna meet them there, get a nights kip and travel on together next day.......they left Womad early doors and we hung around waiting for a tractor cos the van was stuck in the mud
Well one tractor later we was on our way...both my companians were teaching at the ADV and it transpired had to be there at 0900 next day...bummer Stopped in yorkshire...showered (wonderful after fessie mud) ate some scran and carried on...arrived inScotland 0500 after a trhough the night drive...I slept a few hours and was woken by the sound of ....well Drums....lots of them...this festival was just an amazing week....first hand right up close magic...saw the Zawose Family up close and it was the single most uplifting musoical experience of my life to date...and thats goin some. Totally out of this fuckin world....everyone in the room was blown away....people crying with joy man...it was unreal.Everything about this gathering is brilliant...cool people....mountains...everything...just amazing....here are some piccies
So then it was back to yorkshire and some well deserved chill out time....next up is our own little yorkshire fessierhythm and grooves Sold Out once more and a luvvly ikkle vibe awaits us happy few
Later peeps]