Frome FM at The Village Pump Folk Festival

FROME FM will be sending some of its presenters to the Village Pump Folk Festival again this year as well as featuring some of the artists appearing at the festival in its playlists.  

The festival is in its fourth year in Westbury and takes place in the White Horse Country Park on the weekend of 24th – 26th July.

Festival spokesperson Clive Woodland said,  “Frome has so much to offer with its entertainment, its own town festival and independent markets, so Westbury isn’t a place Frome people normally visit, but The Pump is actually the closest weekend music festival to Frome.

“When we moved to Westbury a few years ago, I got in touch with Frome FM and have been pleased to appear on a couple of their shows talking about the festival.  Their presenters have been really helpful in spreading the Pump message to Frome.  We are also very pleased that the Cheese and Grain have got on board the festival train this year and are our local ticket outlet.

“We think we have the best small festival in the south-west with a friendly atmosphere and a fantastic line-up of folk stars as well as up and coming performers from all over the country and the local area.  With four music stages – all under cover – a  sessions tent, Morris dancers and street entertainers, a family tent with shows and activities for the children,  craft and trade and food stalls and free camping there’s something for all tastes.”

As they did last year, Frome FM’s presenters will be on hand to capture the spirit of the festival, interviewing as many of the acts and festival-goers as they can. Presenter Tim Addams said, “There is a fantastic line-up which includes the Strawbs, Oysterband and Barbara Dickson.

“We’d like to be able to broadcast live from the festival site but don’t have the technical facilities for that. I’ve already interviewed Stu Hanna from the award-winning duo Megson who will be playing their special show for children as well as their regular act on one of the main stages at the Pump Festival.  This will go out on one of my shows between now and the festival.”

Clive Woodland continued, “For me, it’s important to see old favourites but also discover new ones. Here are some of my ‘must see’ choices. The Spooky Men’s Chorale – an extraordinary male voice choir who mix comedy with wonderful harmonies.

False Lights – Jim Moray – a fine traditional singer – has always been daringly experimental in his musical interpretations.  He’s now formed a band to play loud folk music with a touch of Radiohead!  Have a listen to their track ‘The Skewball’ on the festival Facebook page.

“Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick – leading lights from the 50s /60s folk revival.  Compare their version of ‘the Skewball’ with that of False Lights to see how varied folk music can be.  The festival caters for all tastes!

“The Carrivick Sisters – sounds of the Appalachian Mountains from twin sisters originally from Devon but now locally-based.  They will also be appearing with their band Cardboard Fox.

“Treacherous Orchestra are an  11-piece Scottish band who combine traditional Highland instruments with guitar, bass and keyboards to create music for a wild dancing party.

“Show of Hands are one of the best-known acts on the Roots and Acoustic music scene.  They are also patrons of the Village Pump Folk Festival.  Known for their rousing chorus songs like ‘Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed’, this year their act will be recorded on a CD available only to festival-goers, who will be credited by name as backing singers on the sleeve-notes!  We think this is the first time this has been done.”

Tim Addams explained, “Last year we recorded as much as we could and then went back to our HQ to edit and transmit some of the content over the weekend. Later we made some special programmes that went out during the year.

“Keep your eyes on the Frome FM website for some exciting announcements and keep listening for all that’s best in local news and entertainment.”