Auckland Folk Festival – Kumeu Showgrounds January 26-28, 2018

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If there was one thing that defined the experience of the 45th Annual Auckland Folk Festival, it was the heat. For three days the sun hammered down on Kumeu Showgrounds, causing festival goers to clamour into the shade and those of us who camped in the middle of the open field to avoid our tents in the daytime altogether. Thankfully, the various stages around the festival are all located in shady marquees, so the heat was no deterrent to taking in the varied lineup.

The lineup this year leaned heavily on a strong batch of New Zealand acts, sweetened as usual by some overseas visitors. Singer-songwriter Nadia Reid was of course the biggest “local” name, a more contemporary and popular artist amidst the traditional acts, much like Don McGlashan the year before. Both of her performances were brilliant – one hour on the Sunday afternoon and the penultimate slot in the final Sunday night showcase. Of these, the afternoon slot took the cake for the inclusion of tracks like Runway and Holy Low from her debut album and the additional presence of electric guitarist Sam Taylor, whose watery glistening playing adds a whole other dimension to her songs.

Not that Reid was the only New Zealand artist worth mentioning. Auckland trio Ravens played a brilliantly spooky set of gothic folk tunes, both in their own feature and as a part of the final concert. Wellington’s Americana group T-Bone Trio were on fantastic form in their Saturday performance, dishing up a mixture of passionate covers, traditional folk standards, and originals.

The Deadbeats filled a slot in the final concert with a set of swampy electric blues that stood out from the mostly acoustic instrumentation of the other performers and featured great playing from all members. Klezmer Rebs showcased the energetic klezmer style of Yiddish/Jewish folk music that crossed over to America in the early 1900’s, and Wellingtonian Neil Billington’s harmonica playing is truly an incredible thing to watch.

Then of course there were the overseas guests. Every year the festival seems to offer certain reliable “types” of acts, most notably the fiddle-inclusive crowd-pleasing hoedown-inducing celtic group to round things off on the Sunday night. This year that niche was filed by Canadian trio The East Pointers, the three cousins closing the festival with an energetic set of fiddle-driven jigs and reels that ticked all of the above boxes, and incorporated some more modern technological aspects, at least by Auckland Folk Festival standards, such as effects pedals and a keyboard.

I did notice all of the slots on the final night were a lot shorter than usual, but in this case it didn’t matter, as the group had made their presence felt, and their music known to all within the campground, the night before with a late-night “celtic rave”.

Another highlight was the Scottish harpist and vocalist Esther Swift, whose harp playing alone was nothing short of mesmerising, and her songwriting, steeped in ancient Scottish mythology, entertaining as well.

Aside from the main sets, the Auckland Folk Festival has always been good at offering many workshop-like events throughout the weekend. The songwriter’s circle this year was particularly interesting, with Nadia Reid, the lead vocalist of Ravens, Chris Dent of Albi and The Wolves, and Scottish balladeer Alan Reid all sharing their thoughts on songwriting and choosing a few compositions to share.

To be honest none of them had anything to say about the craft and their inspiration that I haven’t heard many times before, but it was enjoyable to watch them responding to each other and choosing their own pieces to highlight all the same.

Another nice feature was Tiny Town – a small booth with room enough for only four people to sit on stools at a time to watch artists both on and off the lineup share one or two songs in this intimate setting.

Of course, the ambience of the festival is always a major part of the appeal, and it’s always a nice experience to be able to hear music drifting around throughout the night from any point in the grounds, as the division between performers and audience slips away. This, supported by a strong local and international lineup this year, made the festival a success despite the punishing heat making a mockery of the mostly Celtic-influenced music. Just make sure to get in early for a spot in the shade next time around.

Ruben Mita

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