Nestled on an industrial estate, in a unit painted bright green with a large drum kit on the roof is Studio Se7en. This 200-capacity venue boasts state-of-the-art lights and sound, a well-stocked bar plus street food and played host to Witney Music Festival’s first foray into folk – a one-day affair that packed in a host of local and international talent.
The afternoon kicked off with Tamise who combined guitar, recorder, violin and cello to skillfully craft a set of traditional and contemporary folk tunes. Soon afterwards the organisers took crowd-participation to a new level with Julia Violinista w/ Yogalina. The venue floor was spread with yoga mats and the audience joined in a 45 minute yoga routine to an inspired soundtrack of virtuoso violin playing. Chakras suitably aligned, the sublime lap-slide guitar of The Scott Gordon Band and stunning, Cranberry-esque, vocals of acoustic trio Selver gently sang everyone into the early evening. The pace quickened with Paige and The Red Shift’s mix of folk, pop and country songs, followed by the delightful 5-piece Barefoot Molly‘s set of catchy, originals.
Barnstorming Country For Old Men warmed the audience up nicely for the headline act with a breath taking performance. This is a trio that punch well above their weight, mixing cajon, banjo, fiddle, harmonica and acoustic guitar to deliver a vibrant mix of self-penned numbers and americana classics.
Headliner David Celia, with fellow Canadians Clifford Rutherford (drums) and David Headon (bass), stopped off in Witney as part of their European tour. For this performance they were joined by ELO founder member and multi-instrumentalist Bill Hunt on accordion.
‘Welcome To The Show’ and ‘Faker Baker’ kicked off the set in grand style before Celia’s unique brand of improvisation got an early outing with a soaring Byrds like introduction to ‘Fill My Empty Cup’. The opening salvo of tunes was well received by the enthusiastic crowd as Hunt’s accordion kicked in for ‘Dont keep it All Inside’ and added a wonderful jazz feel to laid-back ‘Severine’.
After introducing the band, Celia burst into ‘Duchess’ and Cajun influenced ‘Infinity’. The tight rhythm unit of Rutherford and Headon really hit their stride for ‘The Wind’ where they kept the groove going while Celia embarked on a 10 minute improvised epic. This was cosmic jazz with a touch of Richie Blackmore as Celia started to really rock-out. The band followed this with a trio of west-coast tinged songs, ‘This Isn’t Here’, ‘Instant’ and ‘Evidently True’ which gave them an opportunity to deliver some quality CSNY style harmonies.
The set was almost exclusively made up of Celia’s earliest work with the exception of brand new song, the upbeat, ‘Slop’ which preceded the riff-filled ‘She’s a Waterfall’ that closed the main set. The crowd coaxed Celia and Co. back for the jazz infused ‘Turnout’ to end a 60-minute feast of musical brilliance delivered with consummate skill, apparent ease and obvious enjoyment to an appreciative audience.
Overall, the promoter and venue put on a great days entertainment. As the house lights went up the crowd left Studio Se7en with genuine smiles on their faces despite the dark November evening that awaited. Locally the organisers are known for a series of summer gigs culminating in a 2-day outdoor festival; Let’s hope that this inaugural event marks the genesis of a regular festival that will grow to match the stature of its summer counterpart.
