FESTIVAL DIARY - SUNDAY
A volley of fluorescent objects are wobbling through the Sunday morning sunshine as we enter the arena - it must the Phoenix Project's juggling workshop! And to kick off the main stage there's some equally colourful music. All the way from Mexico via the streets of Dublin Town, Rodrigo Y Gabriela open proceedings with their wonderfully percussive Spanish guitar dueling, and hundreds flock to see the sparks fly.
They're followed by slightly more leisurely Sunday AM fare from John Tams and Barry Coope, who open with the sweet and steady 'Lay Me Low'. The marvellous English pairing weave lovely moments into every song and their between-song banter lends a club feel to the big event. Closing song 'Steelos' - from Radio 2's 2006 Radio Ballads, for which John was Musical Director - is another highlight.
We've seen some remarkable sights all weekend, but a dancing man in a navy blue business suit with a musical briefcase and a pot of sunflowers for a head claims the record number of double takes! He's plainly enjoying Gaelic superstars Capercaillie, who after opening with a beautiful vocal performance from Karen Matheson on 'Skye Song', deliver an amazing and diverse set. Mike McGoldrick (flute) and Charlie McKerron (fiddle) are a wonder on the solos of 'Port Na Caillich'.
The brilliance of Capercaillie is no surprise, but America-born Australia-based John Butler comes out of the blue for many in the Cambridge crowd. Instrumental 'Ocean' breaks the acoustic blues-funk mould of the rest of his set - an epic solo on 12-string acoustic guitar played with a masterful touch and tremendous use of effects. It's a remarkable piece of music and draws a seemingly endless bout of cheers and applause.
If we're going to catch Tim Van Eyken's new self-named group we're going to have to run - but we make it in time to see the extraordinary line up of Nancy Kerr (fiddle), Oliver Knight (electric guitar), Colin Fletcher (bass) and Bellowhead's Pete Flood (percussion) perform some exemplary modern English trad from Tim's new solo album. It's lovely to watch the talented chap enjoy every note as much as his doting audience.
As usual, there's a wide choice of global cuisines to sample on site, so we grab a plate of delicious Mexican food and settle down outside the Club Tent to hear hotly-tipped duo Rosie Doonan and Ben Murray. The stunning harmonies on their originals and arrangements of English traditional songs - in the key of blue - are perfect in the golden afternoon sun.
From bouzoukis to gadulkas, gaidas to kavals, Andy Irvine's international string quintet Mozaik - former Planxty bandmate Donal Lunny, American fiddler Bruce Molsky, Bulgarian Nikola Parov and Dutchman Rens van der Zalm - are taking the main stage audience on a journey through Europe, Ireland and the Americas in search of the perfect blend of roots music. It sounds like they've found it…
Then, as soul sensation Bettye Lavette gets ready to follow them, we hear of something a little bit special going on back in the Club Tent - mother and daughter Chris and Kellie While are putting their fantastic and complimentary voices together for a choice selection of songs, and Scottish star Eddi Reader jumps up to join them for Kate McGarrigle's beautiful 'Talk To Me Of Mendocino'.
The legendary Emmylou Harris has long been a target of the Cambridge act bookers, and today she's finally here. Her silver hair shimmers under the turquoise stage lights as she steps out to start with the wholly appropriate 'Here I Am'. Like the rest of her set, which includes a cappella versions of trad tunes and a version of Neil Young's 'After The Gold Rush', it's as beautiful and stately as everyone expects from the country queen.
It's hard to believe that the weekend is drawing to a close, but for close it must, at least for another year! Livewire Scottish dance act Croft No. 5 do the honours with their Celtic techno fusion - a frenetic feast that leaves the crowd baying for more. But that's our lot, and what a lot it's been!
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