There could hardly have been a wider range of musical styles to round off the second day of the Wickham Festival.
If anything emphasised the diversity at this boutique event in the picturesque setting near Fareham it was having the ear-splitting but electrifying Dhol Foundation on one stage followed by sea shanties from Fisherman’s Friends on the other.
In between there was more traditional flute-driven folk from Flook and high-octane fiddle playing from Talisk to bring down the curtain on a hugely successful Friday.
The new grassed site recovered well from the thunderstorms with lightning threatening to call a halt 24 hours earlier for safety reasons.
The new grassed site recovered well from the torrential downpours with not a hint of mud in the arena. The ground was comfortably soft but dry enabling the sell-out crowd to relax and enjoy the music,
However former X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan did take a gamble singing Light Up the Sky with Lightning! Just as well she was not booked for the Thursday!
But her set was a stunning success, a true highlight of the day as she connected with the crowd through a string of poignant, sometimes painful but perfect personal songs sung with the brightest of smiles.
She was followed by Newton Faulkner, also making his Wickham debut and also going down well with the crowd with a vibrant set before giving way to the Dhol Foundation, one of the best live acts around.
The Dhol drums were deafening but it was impossible to stay still to the pounding beat backed by fiddle and sitar and bhangra dancers all under the superb showmanship of festival patron Johnny Kalsi who held the crowd in the palm of his hand.
He even brought out festival favourite Steve Knightley for a triumphant guest appearance which shouldn’t have worked but somehow did!
The legendary folk singer had hot-footed it from the other stage where he played a magical mix of traditional favourites and exciting new material.
He was followed on the main stage by Flook who proved the perfect warm-up for the ever-popular Fisherman’s Friends to round off the evening with their new take on traditional sea shanties.
Fittingly they rounded off their excellent 90-minute set with Bound for South Australia where they are heading in the New Year for their first ever tour Down Under as their fairytale success shows no signs of slowing.
Although all weekend tickets are sold out, day tickets are still available at the box office for the remaining two days.
Saturday sees folk legend Richard Thompson headlining in the Big Top preceded by Leo Sayer and Tom Robinson while the Little Top features Alabama 3 and Merry Hell.
Oysterband close the festival with one of their last ever UK gigs following on from Kate Rusby and Reg Meuross with the Peatbog Faeries and Ian Prowse and Amsterdam on the other stage.
With a wide range of craft and food stalls and a huge range of free activities for children, it is little wonder there are so few tickets remaining – especially now the weather has improved!
