vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
I attended the Big Session festival at Leicester de Montfort Hall for its final two years at the venue. They were great experiences - compact site, great trade stands fantastic catering at realistic prices and a wonderful carnival/festival atmosphere. The festival was a joint venture between the Oyster Band and Leicester council.
Cut backs meant that the festival didn't run (it did sort of as a one day event within another festival) and relocated to Catton Hall this year.
What an underwhelming experience it turned out to be. The traders and performance tents were spaced to accommodate a much larger attendance. Traders were beefing about lack of trade. Many of the performers were samey and didn't really align with folk music and the main tent was like a national convention of residents from homes for old folk and the seriously bewildered.
Today I found the prospect of leaving early to collect the front wheel from my audax bike from a pub near Goole where I drove of and left it after last week's audax, more appealing than staying for a couple of class acts as the space between breakfast and them coming onto the stage was punctuated by a chasm of tedium.
It's a great shame.
Next year I'll be going to Beverly folk festival instead.
Cut backs meant that the festival didn't run (it did sort of as a one day event within another festival) and relocated to Catton Hall this year.
What an underwhelming experience it turned out to be. The traders and performance tents were spaced to accommodate a much larger attendance. Traders were beefing about lack of trade. Many of the performers were samey and didn't really align with folk music and the main tent was like a national convention of residents from homes for old folk and the seriously bewildered.
Today I found the prospect of leaving early to collect the front wheel from my audax bike from a pub near Goole where I drove of and left it after last week's audax, more appealing than staying for a couple of class acts as the space between breakfast and them coming onto the stage was punctuated by a chasm of tedium.
It's a great shame.
Next year I'll be going to Beverly folk festival instead.
