Review by Tim Marcus with photos from Sam Conquest Photography
We’re back site by late morning on Saturday for the second full day of music, starting at midday, on what promises to be an interesting day as there are a number of bands and artists playing today who we’ve not seen or come across before along with several who are more familiar.
Kicking things off today are the first of the unfamiliar names, The Bluescasters, a four piece old time blues band. I have to do a double take as they enter the stage as to me their drummer is a doppelganger for former Police drummer, Stewart Copeland! I would describe their set as “classy” rather than “high energy” as they entertain us for the opening forty minutes with some great traditional blues.
Midway through their set we’re introduced to their special guest, “The Harpmeister”, Dave Raphael and it’s at that point I realise that I’ve seen one of the band members before, guitarist Nick Hyde who performs with Dave as The Sepia Swing Show Twins at amongst other places, The Cabin in Camberley where between them they also run the excellent monthly Midnight Special Blues Club. It’s been a nice gentle way to ease ourselves back into the day and prepare for what lays ahead with my favourite track from this opening set being their cover of “Hoochie Coochie Man”.
Next to entertain us are a band I recall seeing here a couple of years and appear to be regulars on the festival stage in this part of the country, Grizzly and The Grasshoppers, a five piece Roots Blues band. Fronted by “Grizzly” Rhys Morgan on vocals, guitar and lap steel, they kick things off with a track called “Broken Hands”. Accompanying Grizzly are his band comprising Neil Shervell (drums), Jamie Bowden (keys), Joe Rideout (bass) and Simon Clarke (Harmonica).
We then hear “Living The Dream”, a great little song, as the title might suggest, about being out on the road with a band rather than having an “ordinary” job which features some great “honky tonk” piano from Jamie. Next we hear “When the Cracks in Me Appear” and it’s at this point I notice that not only Grizzly, but also Joe and Jamie are playing barefoot!
Along with “Don’t Close Your Mind”, we also hear “Forbidden Fruit”, a song that Grizzly tells us is about relationships you shouldn’t be in. One of the stand outs from this set for me is that it’s noticeable that Grizzly has a great broad smile on his face throughout and it’s infectious: I look around me and see that everyone is smiling both on and off the stage. It’s a high energy set throughout and at one point Grizzly gets hold of a pair of sticks and is dueting on drums with Neil!
Next Grizzly turns to his lap steel for a great version of “Rambin’ Blues” ahead of a great cover of the Canned Heat classic “On the Road Again”. As this wonderful sixty minute set draws towards a close we also hear “Running to the Sea” before Grizzly and his band conclude with “Make a Name for Yourself”.
Next up are another band I’ve not seen or heard before however am aware of through reputation; Soulweaver. Soulweaver are a powerful three piece band who deliver their own brand of upbeat and catchy classic rock, heavy riffs backed up by a strong rhythm section and powerful yet melodic vocals. Fronted by Mark “Goodge” Goodjohn (guitar and lead vocals) and Emma “M” Goodjohn (bass and backing vocals) from Wales, they’re now joined by South East based drummer James Barber.
Their set today is just a forty minute one but still it’s plenty of time for them to get a crowd up at the front of the stage appreciating what they’re doing. Among the songs we hear from Soulweaver today are “A Little Bit Down”, “Comprehend”, and “At the End of the Day” (a song that Goodge tells us is the closest they come to a love song!). There’s also a great new song, “Red” which is scheduled for imminent release and this is quickly followed by “Moving On” the first song that Goodge and M ever wrote together.
Finally they conclude their short set with “Bye Bye You”, one of four or five tracks we’ve heard from them today that have been taken from their 2023 album, “Liberty”. It’s my first experience of Soulweaver today and after hearing them perform this afternoon I’m quite sure that it won’t be my last.
Following Soulweaver today are a duo that intrigue me as once again they’re a pairing that I’ve not come across before and have no idea what to expect. Vince Lee and Sophie Lord soon have me hooked though as they deliver their own brand of rockabilly old school blues – it’s a style that at times has me very much in mind of Mungo Jerry. With Vince on vocals and guitar and Sophie plucking away on the double bass we get a song called “Drop Down Mama” along with a couple of Tom Waites covers.
There’s also a great cover of T-Bone Walker’s “Vacation Blues”. The next song we hear is described by Vince as Spaghetti Western surf music influenced by Spain and Turkey and is called “Spanish Turkey”! Concluding their sixty minutes on stage it’s a song called “Take it Upstairs” followed by some Trinidadian calypso in the shape of “Money is King”.
We’ve now reached the second half of the day and into late afternoon as Thomas Heppell and his band take to the stage, returning after a successful debut performance here last year. It’s the usual eclectic mix of songs on the set from Thomas today as he delivers some great original material along with some well worked covers. I’m convinced that having seen Thomas performing half a dozen or so times now over the past two years, his music is getting heavier and heavier – in a good way!.
He kicks things off with some heavy blues and then goes into a track which he regularly plays, “Victim of Circumstance”. There’s a high tempo new song we hear from Thomas before he then gives us a great BB King cover. As I mentioned in my review of day one of this great festival, the weekend has included several tributes, both direct and indirect, to Matt Long who along with other members of the Long family was a great supporter of Thomas in the early stages of his career before Matt sadly passed away far too early last year.
As Thomas demonstrates his virtuosity with the guitar during an extended solo, with the guitar reversed and behind his back, those at the front of the stage can clearly see the message written on the back; “ML Forever in our hearts”.
It’s been a high energy performance from Thomas as always and I don’t think I’ve seen a performer enjoy themselves on stage as much as Thomas appears to have done today as he’s spent the entire set laughing, smiling or grinning. He wraps up his fun filled performance for us with “I’m a Dog” and finally an Elmore James cover “Shake Your Money Maker”.
We’re now down to the final three acts of the day and next up is another that I’ve not come across before however I’m made aware that he comes with legendary status; As dusk settles over the Springbok Estate, from Dallas Texas, blues man Lightnin’ Willie and his band The Poor Boys, step onto the stage. The sounds he produces with his trademark Gibson ES 5 are rich and clear in tone and one of the first things I’m drawn to aside from the sound is that his guitar is carrying the signature of another legendary blues man, BB King, something which I’m sure Willie must treasure.
Throughout the performance from Willie there are no theatrics just pure traditional roots blues which are true to the essence of “No Black No White Just Blues”. The music is well crafted and carries both intensity and a laid back feeling in equal measure. Overall it’s a set that contains no showcasing, grandstanding or self indulgent solos: it’s simply first class musicianship, with a soulful and genuine bluesy feeling. Probably not my own personal preferred style of blues but nevertheless excellent and a sixty five minute set that has fitted seamlessly into the day’s proceedings with an authentic performance of timeless blues.
The penultimate act of the day is yet another that comes with reputation but yet is still someone I’ve not come across before; Mike Sanchez, a singer, songwriter pianist of British/Spanish heritage specialising in rhythm, blues and rock n roll! He’s perhaps best known for his band The Big Town Playboys and has mixed with the likes of Gary Brooker, Eric Clapton, Andy Fairweather-Low, Georgie Fame, Bill Wyman, Albert Lee, Eddie Floyd, Mick Fleetwood and Jeff Beck
Today he has an eighty minute set and he makes an immediate impact. To state that Mike Sanchez is charismatic would probably be the biggest understatement I’ve ever written! He’s playing today with a five piece band, including brass section of tenor and baritone sax, and takes front and centre stage himself playing blues, honky tonk and rock n roll piano. He kicks off with “Red Hot Mama” and dedicates his set today to a man he describes as his friend and mentor, Gary Brooker. “Highway 60” is next and Mike is in full flow. I described him earlier as being charismatic and specialising in rhythm, blues and rock n roll.
Think Jerry Lee Lewis meets Liberace and that is probably as close as I can get! Next we hear a great cover of Fats Domino’s “Ready Willing and Able” followed by “Make Me Feel Good”. Amongst others we hear are “Shirley”, “Blue Boy” and “How Many More Years” a song he’s performed in the past with Robert Plant. “She’s Gone Away But…..” follows before Mike wraps up this fantastic set with “Be My Guest” and “Tallahassee Lassie”.
Finally it’s time for tonight’s headliners and it’s a band who’ll be familiar to regulars here at Alfold as they’re making their third appearance here in as many years. That said, it’s a slightly different Brave Rival this time around. As fans of the band will be aware, at the turn of the year Chloe Josephine departed the band having decided that their increasingly demanding touring schedule was not compatible with the family life that she wanted to pursue.
Perhaps as a mark of respect to Chloe’s contribution to their incredible success over the past few years, after careful thought, the remaining members of Brave Rival chose not to replace Chloe but to continue instead as a four piece with the firebrand Lindsey Bonnick taking on sole responsibility for the lead vocals. Today will possibly be the third or fourth time I’ve seen this version of the band and I have to confess that my initial fears (about them dispensing with what made them unique amongst their rivals – no pun intended!) have proved unfounded.
It’s fair to say that it probably took them a few live performances to feel comfortable and fit into the adjustment however they’ve made that adaptation very well. When you hear some of the songs from their two albums now, “Life’s Machine” and “Fight or Flight”, you wouldn’t know that they had been written specifically for two lead vocalists.
Much to my sick amusement, they kick things off tonight with the high energy “Heart Attack” (is this a nod perhaps to Festival Director Dave Rees?!), the opening track from “Life’s Machine” before going into the first brand new song we’re going to hear tonight, “Wild Child”. “Bad Choices” follows before we get our second new song of the night. There’s then a brief unplanned interlude as Lindsey holts proceedings so that she can grab her phone to take a quick video of the steam she’s noticed, much to her amusement, that’s rising furiously from Billy’s head! With Steaming Billy duly recorded it’s back to business with the beautiful rock ballad, “Stars Upon My Scars”, a song that Lindsey declares is the closest they get to the blues.
An interesting point here is that in every show I’ve seen them play this year, and I therefore assume the shows I’ve not seen too, Lindsey has made a point of telling the audience, whilst at the same time acknowledging the support they’ve had from the Blues Community, “we’re not a blues band, we’re a rock band”. I have to confess that I find this a rather odd thing to do for a number of reasons. Firstly, in this day and age people tend to avoid pigeon holing a band into one particular genre, especially the bands themselves. Secondly, Brave Rival have acquired their ever growing number of fans, largely from supporters of the blues, in all its formats, having first discovered them as they’ve undertaken support slots with established blues rock artists such as Stevie Nimmo and Catfish, or seen them appearing at many of the blues festivals that have taken place up and down the country over the past few years, something that has also seen them receive multiple nominations and awards.
Personally I’m a rocker at heart who’s gradually grown into the blues with age however I’m not sure that I understand why they’ve gone down this route: it seems almost as if they’re now trying to distance themselves from that particular genre which I have to confess feels a little strange and to my mind they run the risk of alienating themselves from some of those who have been so supportive of them over the past few years. Whether they think that that approach will open more doors for them or that the “Blues” tag is precluding them from some of the avenues they want to take I don’t know but I’m not convinced. Personally pigeon holing bands into a particular category is not something I like to do and certainly not with Brave Rival.
I loved the music they were producing when I first heard them some six or seven years ago and whilst over the past 18 months or so it has taken a slightly heavier direction I love it equally as much, not because I see it as either rock or blues but because it is just wonderful music produced by a group of wonderfully talented musicians and performers. Rant over and back to what’s happening on stage I would add that this song, “Stars Upon My Scars” also includes the first of two magnificent guitar solos we hear today from Ed “The Shred” Clarke.
Following on from this it’s time to slow things down just a little as the band give us a wonderful cover song that they’ve slipped into their set list recently as Lindsey fronts up with a beautiful delivery of Heart’s “Alone”, during which she is accompanied acoustically by the band.
We then come to the emotional high point of the set as in common with some of the other artists this weekend, Brave Rival pay their own personal tribute to Matt Long with a beautiful version of the Catfish song “Up In Smoke”. “Run and Hide” is next and is then followed by one of my favourite of their more recent tracks, “Heavy” a song that concludes with another sublime extended guitar solo from Ed during which he reveals his own personal tribute to Matt Long
with the note “For Matt Long” stuck to the back of his guitar, a note incidentally which Ed, who went to performing arts college with Matt, has had with him at every show he’s played since Matt’s passing.
And yes, Brave Rival are the headliners so of course we get an encore and this comes in the shape of the delightful “Fairytale”, a great way to wrap up another magnificent Brave Rival performance on what has been another fantastic full on day here at Alfold.
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