English Country Music Weekend 2003

High Bradfield, South Yorkshire: 20-22 June

Photos of the 2003 event

For more than 25 years, The English Country Music Weekend has been the main national focus for musicians who are captivated by the dazzling legacy of the traditional music and song of England. The English Country Music movement began in the 1970s as a response to what many saw at the time as the over-formalised approach of the EFDSS in teaching and propagating "folk" song and dance, and instead turned attention to learning from surviving traditional musicians still playing and singing - in rural and in urban locations - much as they had been doing for most of the century, for their own, and local, pleasure.

The Weekend is a yearly meeting of musicians, and interested audience, who spend the time playing and singing the tunes and songs of England, and sharing their latest enthusiasms, researches, and tunes. It is not a festival in the normal sense: there are no concerts (though interested audience are very welcome), and although there is (obviously!) a real-ale bar, on-site catering and a handful of specialist stalls and displays, this is at heart an extended session.

Many of the most notable musicians of the English traditional music revival make this a priority feature in their schedule, and everyone can share the experience of playing alongside such stalwarts as Rod Stradling, Tony Hall, Martin Brinsford, John Adams, Katie Howson, Dan Quinn, Paul Burgess, Mark Bazeley, Jason Rice, Reg Hall, Will Duke, Chris Coe, Flos Headford, Rees Wesson, Jeannie Harris, Ed Rennie, Simon Ritchie, Dave Hunt, Nick and Mary Barber, Will Noble, Michael Hebbert, Reuben Shaw and many many others in an informal setting, and hearing important traditional singers in relaxed and friendly surroundings.

The Weekend takes place at various locations around the country - last year in Devon, the year before in Stowmarket, Suffolk, the year before in Todmorden, before that in Postlip in Gloucestershire. This year it is being hosted at Edgemount Farm, in High Bradfield, just outside Sheffield in South Yorkshire.

The location of the Weekend is chosen in response to the local strength of the Traditional music scene, and Sheffield is no exception. South Yorkshire is of course widely famous for its winter Carol traditions, but it has a much wider traditional singing base than that; and it is also currently notable for the strength of activity of younger musicians in the idiom. Thus we hope that this year two of the principal focal points of the weekend will be traditional singing, and the passing of music between the generations. There will be musicians present from every decade of life, from the first to the Nineties.

There will be the opportunity to hear, and play with, top-level exponents of most of the characteristic instruments of English traditional music. Apart from the predominant fiddles and melodeons, there will be English, Anglo and Duet Concertinas, Northumbrian and other English pipes, Hammer Dulcimers, mouthorgans, a range of brass, woodwind and percussion, and from time to time, percussive step-dancing. When in full flight, an English Country Music session makes a memorable sound, quite unlike anything else in music!

As well as wall-to-wall music, the weekend is also an opportunity for those doing research into traditional music to share the current state of their enthusiasms. It's not an academic occasion, more a general-interest level opportunity to keep people in touch with what is being discovered. This year, there will be Ian Russell talking about traditional singing in West Sheffield, Paul Davenport on the "Six Blind Fiddlers" of Sheffield, and John Adams and Chris Partington giving an update on the progress of the Village Music Project which is collecting, disseminating and analysing the many dozens of surviving MS tunebooks from musicians from the 18th and 19th centuries. More talks may be arranged if appropriate, perhaps including a brief introduction to the English Country Music Revival, for those who may be attending for the first time.

Since much of the music played is intended for dance, there will be a dance element in the weekend. Local traditional Longsword teams Grenoside and Handsworth have been invited to perform; and to highlight the vibrant younger traditional music scene in Sheffield, the Saturday night ceilidh will feature the exciting music of young Sheffield-based band Hekety, one of the current star names on the eceilidh circuit.

There will be plenty of space for camping and mobile homes/caravans - useful to stay on site, as sessions often go on till 4 in the morning. Local pubs will also be hosting sessions, as and when seems appropriate!

If you are at all interested in playing - or in hearing, or finding out more about - English Traditional Music, mark the date in your diary, and enjoy an unforgettable weekend. For more details, contact:

Edeophone@aol.com

ECMW
Edgemount Farm
Lumb Lane
High Bradfield
Sheffield S6 6LJ

At Musical Traditions:

A short history of the English Country Music Weekends
2003 English Country Music Weekend

At Essex Folk News:

English Country Music Weekend 1999 - 2002: photos