Despite the rain, a great bank holiday weekend was had as we hit the road to Towersey Festival 2023, writes Vicki McCarthy.
Set in the beautiful grounds of the Claydon Estate near Buckingham, the four-day festival is practically on our MK doorsteps and must be doing something great, as it’s been entertaining music lovers since 1965.
At its heart, it’s a folk and roots festival, and in the words of Festival Director Joe Heap, “Any ‘stream’ but ‘mainstream’ is how we describe our eclectic mix of music and arts. Our programme these days is a real mix of music that we just know you’ll love!”
The festival was founded and initially organised by Denis Manners and it’s a real family affair, having been handed down the generations, with Joe (his grandson) currently taking the reins.
The 2023 programme was full of promise and talent, with the line-up confirmed to this year include sets from The Divine Comedy, Frank Turner, The Proclaimers, Thea Gilmore, and Nickel Creek to name a few. So, we’d set off excitedly on Friday to catch the first evening’s entertainment.
Sadly, we learned ahead of the festival that The Proclaimers had to cancel their appearance, due to Charlie Reid being unwell. As gutted as we were to not get to see them, Sammy was more than delighted to learn that The Blockheads were signed up to headline on Friday night. Having seen them many times over the years, Sammy concedes that they are one of her favourite live bands.
As we arrived onsite, in typical British bank holiday fashion, the heavens opened before I even had time to get my waterproofs from my bag, and I got a brief, but heavy soaking! Thankfully, the stages at Towersey are all undercover in spacious tents, which was a welcome sight!
The wait was over, as The Blockheads came onstage. Originally founded by Ian Dury in 1977 and then known as Ian Dury and The Blockheads, the band had much success and after the untimely death of Dury in 2000, the band carried on with some line-up tweaks which saw Derek “The Draw” Hussey take over lead vocals and act as main lyricist until his passing last year.
Now fronted by songwriter, producer and playwright Mike Bennett, the band jumped straight into a packed setlist, which was perfectly punctuated with crowd pleasers, Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3, Billericay Dickie, What a Waste, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and of course, Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick. The set went down a storm and ended day one in style.
In the light of day, we set about exploring the site, which heaved with activities such as axe throwing and blacksmithing, to children’s play areas, a fully stocked bar, an abundance of food vans and stands, plus countless stalls to buy festival clothes, jewellery, hats, and sunglasses… for the optimistic among us!
To be fair, the sun did sporadically show its face over the weekend, and even occasional bursts of rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of those in attendance, including us.
Monday was the day I was personally looking forward to the most, with Merry Hell taking to the stage in the late afternoon. The band were borne out of 1990s folk legends The Tansads, from whom brothers Bob, John and Andrew Kettle went on to form Merry Hell in 2010, with John’s wife Virginia on joint vocals with Andrew.
With their signature folk-rock sound and thought-provoking lyrics, Merry Hell really are an aural treat, and never fail to bring tracks from their six studio albums to life onstage. The first time I caught them live in 2014, I was hooked and have had the pleasure of catching them live six times in the past nine years.
Make that ‘seven times’, as I bagged myself a spot on the barrier, determined to not miss a minute of this long-awaited return to Buckinghamshire, it was April last year when the band last paid us a visit. I made new friends with fellow fans down the front, and we excitedly shared what we hoped would be on the set.
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The band came out to an appreciative crowd and perfectly performed each song with aplomb, showing their talent, passion, and sometimes great humour. For example, 2015’s Ghost in Our House, Andrew cheekily declared to Virginia he’d apparently been singing Goat in Our House all this time!
As hoped, the beautiful Lean on Me and Bury Me Naked were on the setlist. Two personal favourites of mine, they’ve genuinely moved me to tears when performed in the past.
As Virginia announced that the men in the band were taking a ‘Prostate Break’, she was left onstage to shine alone. With just an acoustic guitar, she performed Violet, a fun song about women who aren’t timid, quiet, or shy with their opinions.
The rest of the band’s set included plenty of their up-tempo numbers, including the equally raucous Loving the Skin You’re In, C’mon England and Baker’s Daughter, which are all impossible to not dance to.
After 70 marvellous minutes, it was time to say goodbye, and Merry Hell had the crowd shouting for more. As much as the band and organisers would have loved to have them back for an encore, the festival’s run like a tight ship and The Spooky Men’s Chorale was up next, followed by the Festival Finale and Lantern arrival.
With early starts beckoning for both of us the next day, it was time for myself and Sammy to call it a night and bid farewell to a festival that had been amazing to experience. It was our first time at this great local festival and hopefully won’t be the last.
Thank you Towersey!
