Fantastic Foyle Folk Festival! 5/8/12

Image compliments of Foyle Folk Festival Facebook Page

Saturday saw yet another highly successful and buzzing Foyle Folk Festival take place in Cafe Soul and its’ adjoining court yard. Eighteen different folk acts, some of the best in the country, took stage to provide the people of Derry with some top quality entertainment. The day kicked off at 1pm with acoustic acts in Cafe Soul free for all to enjoy.

Conor McAteer and Shane McCaul,  local singer/songwriters, played in the cafe early in the day and got the chance to enjoy the rest on the artists. “It gets people into the cafe and entices them out to the main stage. I’m here as a fan too, I’m performing but sticking around as a fan. A big bonus for me was having my set moved forward so I got to see Teknopeasant on the main stage.  I’m surprised they don’t get some sort of funding for it considering it’s now in its fifth year”, said Conor.

Teknopeasant who is well known amongst the music scene in Derry for his welly-boot wearing, spoken word and songs such as Bin Hoker Girl was thrilled to be involved. “I love it! A full day of music I love, people I love and their kids. There are people from their 20’s to their 70’s. I’m really looking forward to Andy Irvine and the Farriers. You wouldn’t think you were in the middle of Derry.

Wally who organised the event with Marty Doherty said: “It’s the only folk festival in the town, more about having a day out with acoustic based music. You have some of the best bands in the country coming to this. It’s an intimate environment and affordably at £15 when people can bring their own food and drink.  I’d like to see it running in twenty years time, it’s slowly getting bigger even though there’s no funding, myself and big Marty Doherty have done all this ourselves. If we did get funding maybe we could do more. 

It would appear men are the ruling gender at the moment on the folk scene with only a handful of female artists playing at this year’s Foyle Folk Festival.  Tara Gi who has recently returned to the city has seen a rise in the amount of women taking part. “I’ve played international women’s events and have been playing in New York for 6 years before I came back last year. Compared to before I left there’s a lot more women involved, before I left Derry I felt quite intimidated as a female artist. It’s great now to see things like this raising the profiles of local artists.”

Of course the highlight of the night for many was the appearance of folk legend Andy Irvine .He played a lively set and paid homage to other folk legends such as Luke Kelly along the way. The crowd sang, danced and clapped along. “Derry people are very sparky people, the vibes are good and I really enjoyed it. And of course I will be back. Derry is a city all of its own.”, said Andy.

The festival is going from strength to strength and with hopes that it will get bigger and better, Derry could be welcoming even more folk acts next year.