Found festival reminded me of the very first End Of The Road back in 2006: compact, homely, community-orientated and skilfully curated. The panoramic melodies, wide pastoral instrumentation and whimsical lyricism of local-ish heroes Stornoway instantly induced a dancing vibe, with classics like Zorbing. There’s little new in rock and roll; they occasionally reminded me of Caravan, circa 1971. With The Honeyeaters Song, they debuted a track newly recorded with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Even more unexpected was a singular version of The Only Way Is Up.
After that, the lilting charm of Belfast’s Joshua Burnside was a salve. He’s like Seamus Fogarty but with less eccentricity. Noble Jacks, much like the late-lamented K-Passa, is a band you’ll only like if you like blazing fiddles. Luckily the audience was up for just that, and the house was duly brought down. There’s something a little indie about them which adds to the vibe. Audience participation levels were stratospheric.
The Band is the most appropriate comparison for the Felice Brothers, the greatest Americana compliment that could ever be bestowed. The Catskills background is part of it, but the languid grooves they create were just ideal to cheer everyone up in a sudden monsoon. Negotiating the setlist as they went along, they presented a plethora of new songs from their forthcoming album, due in February. The musical talents and contrasting styles of Ian and James Felice make this band truly unique. Poetic raconteurs both, they exude authenticity and personality, creating surely the longest merch table queue ever seen at any festival.
In a segue which must have been one of the most stunning festival sequences of the year, Kate Stables’ This is the Kit thrilled the by now soggy gathering with their beautiful combo of folk and psychedelia, the extraordinary Neil Smith on guitar adding a brittle edge to a batch of new songs such as Not Enough Is Enough that auger well for the next album (out in January), plus of course a few classics like This Is What You Did and a guest performance by the ubiquitous Robin Ince.
The Elephant Sessions brought the Highlands of Scotland to Buckinghamshire. They’re not a million miles from Noble Jacks but with added dance beats and – ulp – backing tracks, an inspired booking to top off Saturday night.
The festival in general had miscellaneous features which made it unique. It’s great, for example, to integrate the comedy slots into the main bill instead of hidden in a comedy ghetto tent. Having the nominal headliners all appear in mid-afternoon was a novelty but created space for the later acts to be more in-your-face crowd pleasers. All the stages are undercover, quite astute as the long summer decided to come to an end on this very day. Tickets included free admission to the nearby resplendent Claydon Hall, which was a delight. There was also a glorious feeling of liberation, at least for the first two days, on finding that the entire site offered no Wi-Fi or even 5G.
Certain acts on the underbill made strong impressions. Gecko is musically slightly Sheeranesque but with the wit and audience manipulation skills of the Undercover Hippy, especially on the song English Wine, inspired by – er – Richard Tice. The wide cultural range also encompassed folk acts like Christina Alden and Alex Patterson, whose delicious harmonies served as a reminder that violins do not always need to be used for frantic jigs and reels. Meanwhile, Hibbett and Christopher more than lived up to their claim to be the “indie Flanders and Swann”.
Wellness activities abound at Found, and I found myself not only feeling cheerfully relaxed in a mass meditation session but even joining in with a choral version of World Party’s Put The Message In The Box, a particularly well-chosen song for a festival emphasising community and togetherness. Let’s hope they’ll be back next year for a third crack at honouring the decade-long illustrious heritage of Towersey Festival.
I must definitely attend next year