{"id":38812,"date":"2018-07-29T12:46:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-29T11:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=38812"},"modified":"2018-07-29T13:24:21","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T12:24:21","slug":"cornbury-festival-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/07\/cornbury-festival-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Cornbury Festival 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

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To review a festival like Cornbury is almost impossible. Back by popular demand after calling it a day last year, organiser Hugh Phillimore had enlisted headliners UB40, Alanis Morissette and the superb Squeeze. Like any festival it\u2019s always going to be the tale of music that I saw, the tale of my personal journey from stage to stage, the tale of what made the weekend special for me.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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I\u2019ve decided not to go into much detail about the headline acts as to add to the endless information and review of these established names seemed fruitless and I\u2019d rather try to entreat you to check out the headline acts of the future (oh, and an Italian rock god and a US legend). And so I decided that for such a blockbuster I\u2019d treat it in a cinematic way and start with a glimpse of the end before I told the story of how I got there.<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s not often that I feel a tear in my eye when I\u2019m watching music but this year at the Cornbury Festival was one such occasion. It was the closing stages of the last day and I was standing watching Marc Cohn close his set with the classic song \u2018Walking in Memphis\u2018. Now this alone would be a die happy moment for me; the song and album are firmly embedded in my love of music, but it was the way it was delivered that made the experience feel almost spiritual. To the opening notes on the piano Marc explained that the song told the story of how his music started and also of how the song is for him a reflection on the regenerative power of music. He thanked the assembled congregation of music lovers, for that\u2019s what it felt like, for their support of him, their support of all the artists that had played, indeed their support of live music in general. And, as I stood at the altar of live music, listening to a song I\u2019d loved forever, I blinked away a tear. It was an incredible shared moment that will stay with me and I\u2019m sure everyone there for always.<\/div>\n
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What brought me to that moment was three days of musical experiences and discoveries that will live long in the memory and longer in my musical collection. I\u2019ll try my best to recount these for you and hope that they encourage you to seek out the artists and maybe visit this festival, or indeed any live music event whenever you can.<\/div>\n
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My weekend started with Lukas Nelson on the Friday. I\u2019d first seen Lukas play at the Country2Country festival in March at the O2 and had been blown away by a virtuoso performance in front of the country faithful who hold his father in high esteem but had loved Lucas\u2019s sometime rockier delivery. Seeing Lukas play a full set with his band Promise of the Real was an opportunity not to be missed.<\/div>\n
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His hour-long set showcased his incredible range and also his fine guitar skills, wether playing by hand or teeth, and together with a very tight band, started the weekend at such a high standard that the pilgrimage to Cornbury already felt like a huge success. I have to say his rendition of \u2018Forget about Georgia \u2018 more than lived up to its 8 minute album version and was met with huge enthusiasm from the packed audience. Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real are a band to follow!<\/div>\n
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For me one of the highlights of the whole weekend, possibly this year, was getting the chance to see the incomparable Zucchero perform in England again. The Italian superstar came at the end of a huge world tour and performed an outstanding set of songs old and new. The only possible criticism of his set was that it was too short; indeed at the end of his set there was a mini opera off stage as the stage manager tried everything to tell the rock legend his time was up, from written notes to arm waving, only to watch Zucchero continue to bang out his music. Il Maestro had the crowd in the palm of his hand and wasn\u2019t going to cut short his set for anyone, he looked like he could have played all night. The highlight for me was \u2018Baila Morena\u2019 which is one of my favourite Zucchero songs and the line \u201cthe night is on fire\u201d summed up his performance.<\/div>\n
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Returning to a Country theme, the first band I saw on Saturday was a completely new discovery for me. The Adelaides are a really exciting live act mixing self written originals with some great covers. They came to Cornbury with plenty of live experience and it really shone through. The trio are Paris Georgia, Alicia Alba and Abi Phillips and it\u2019s evident that they are vastly talented as individuals so it\u2019s no surprise that they make such a formidable team. I can\u2019t believe we won\u2019t be seeing lots more of the girls in the near future as they help to light up the super healthy UK Country music scene. Their live act is not only polished but hugely enjoyable!<\/div>\n
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The Kolars are another new act for me but one that I can\u2019t recommend highly enough. They were simply mesmerising. Rob Kolar and his wife Lauren Brown play a heady mix of glam rock, Country and hillbilly styles to create something they call Glamabilly.<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s great to find new bands to listen to but rare to find what could almost be a new music genre. Singer Rob, grandson of famous actor Robert Shaw but resembling Steve Strange, sings and plays guitar while his hypnotic wife is on percussion. To create her very individual rhythm, Lauren uses her feet as a replacement for the hi-hat, while simultaneously playing the snare drum, tom drum and bass drum with her arms. Physically there are shades of a young Kate Bush and it\u2019s almost impossible not to stare. Away from the visual, their music is excellent and I\u2019d recommend checking them out.<\/div>\n
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Next it was off to the main stage to see Grainne Duffy. I\u2019d not listened to this artist before checking her out on Spotify before coming to the festival. Her music is a combination of blues, soul and I guess Country which when combined with her outstanding song writing skills made her a must see for me. Listening to Grainne\u2019s powerful, soulful husky voice on record in no way prepared me for the tour de force of her live performance. With an excellent and talented band, Grainne played guitar and sang to give a spine tingling hour which sent me scurrying to the merch tent to buy as much of her music as possible. I really would implore you to listen to her music, but if you get a chance to see her live grab it with both hands: you\u2019ll not be disappointed.<\/div>\n
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I\u2019ve followed Nina Nesbitt ever since seeing her play Barn On The Farm festival a few years ago. So it came as a huge bonus that before her full performance she was going to play a couple of songs at Jack FM\u2019s intimate stage acoustically. The stage is very small and offers fans the chance to see artists in a stripped back way at very close quarters. Nina played \u2018Somebody Special\u2019 and, \u2018The Best You Had\u2019, two new songs which perfectly show case her perfect blend of lyricism and tempo. It was a highlight to see Nina play acoustic versions of two songs she would sing later on one of the main stages.<\/div>\n
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Following on from Nina, on this ladies day at Cornbury, was Megan McKenna who continues to forge a new career in the UK country music scene. Singing a mix of covers and original songs including her hit \u2018High Heeled Shoes\u2019, she was watched by boyfriend Mike Thalassitis who could be seen filming her joyous performance. If she continues to wow audiences like this, she will very soon lose the constant tag of “ex-Towie star” and just be called Country music star.<\/div>\n
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