Alfold Rock and Blues Festival 4 – 7 July 2024 – Thursday evening prelude

Review by Tim Marcus with photos from Sam Conquest Photography

We’re back at the Springbok Park Estate on the Surrey/Sussex borders for the fourth consecutive year to cover this great little (but ever growing) festival once again. We’re here this evening to take in the prelude event taking place for a few hours in the area around the site’s main bar, that in a slight rearrangement of the site layout this year, we find has been moved from the back of the main arena to the side. There are four acts lined up to entertain us this evening and I’m delighted to say that one of them is the British Bluescasting Corporation who sadly had to withdraw at the last minute when due to appear at last year’s prelude.

First up tonight though, playing in the gazebo alongside the bar wjere all the bands will play tonight are The Green River Band who we saw playing here on the main stage a couple of years ago. Essentially a covers band, these guys are a great way to open proceedings and set everyone up for the weekend ahead and amongst the songs they play for us this evening are ZZ Top’s “Tush”, “Cherry Red”, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”, and Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee breaks”

Following on from the Green River Band is Stevie Simpson, who actually appeared here last year, once on the Thursday evening as Stevie-one bloke, one mandolin, and then entertained us the following day up on the main stage. Tonight though Stevie is not alone as Stevie Simpson and the Damn Fine Folk also consist of (five string) double bass player and a drummer.

Stevie is perhaps known best for his mandolin playing however also plays banjo and guitar and is retrospectively cursing himself as he realizes that the setlist he has compiled for this evening requires an instrument change for virtually every song. It’s an eclectic set we hear from Stevie tonight. Among the songs we hear from him and his band this evening are one (sorry I didn’t catch the title) about singing Country music when you’re not American, a song called “The Catch” and concludes with a tip of his cap in the direction of Johnny Cash with “Too Poor For Trailer Trash”

Next to take to the gazebo are a band I’ve been looking forward to hearing for a while, the British Bluescasting Corporation, a four piece band playing, as it says on their website, toe-tapping, feelgood, rhythm and blues, and that’s what they do, playing a mix of covers and their own compositions. Included in tonight’s set amongst others are “Ain’t No Love in The Heart of the City”, a cover of an old Elmore James song “It Hurts Me Too”, and the title track of their album, “High Horse”. A very enjoyable set from a band I definitely want to see again.

The final band of this evening are a rock covers band featuring amongst others, David Strange on lead guitar (complete with Peter Frampton style Talk Box), and someone who’s become a regular feature at Alfold now helping out with the running of the Thursday night as well as appearing in one or two bands; Mark “Bomber” Randon.

The band n question is FMOB and again it’s another great set of classic rock covers. Amongst the songs we hear from them are, “ 20^th Century Boy”, Joe Walsh’s great song, “Rocky Mountain High”, “Schools Out”, “Simple Man” (for the second time this evening!), “Jailbreak”, “Alright Now” and “Keep on Rocking in the Free World”.

Once again, it’s been a great little gathering to set people up and into the festival spirit for the three full days ahead which are going to be full on, packed as they are with some of the very best names in young, home grown, blues and blues rock talent.