The Lunar Festival

Moseley Folk really are the Kings of the local folk revival and their main festival held annually in Moseley Park and Pool is a real highlight on the Brum music calendar.
Growing this successful brand this year they attempted their first camping festival and were wise enough to start with a very small acorn. Only 500 tickets were available and even though some of the names were fairly big (Fionn Regan, Scott Matthews, Benjamin Francis Leftwich) the festival had a lovely, intimate, family feel. The site itself is a real find, very near the home of Nick Drake, in Tanworth in Arden.
There was yummy food from the Soul Food Project and local booze from Purity. They’ve started some nice traditions already including an outdoor fire that was kept alight the whole time the festival was running.
No, the weather didn’t help. But it is a great start from these chaps and I imagine a great oak will grow from this. ..

I went with my wife and son to this festival a few weeks ago. The weather played havoc with the festival and what should have been a lovely summer day was instead marred by horizontal rain and lashing winds that gripped the region for a few weeks and also did for the Test Match at Edgbaston. The organisers cannot be blamed for this, of course, and would have felt fairly confident that a festival booked for June would have been blessed with better weather. A real shame.
Weather aside, this was a small, boutique festival with a real family feel. There were two stages and the acts were staggered so that as one finished on the main stage, another would be ready to go on the smaller stage. The crowd generously made the short walk between the two stages and gave all acts an audience. Food was provided by the Soul Food Project and the bar was ran and supplied by the Purity Brewing company. Hopefully the weather will be kinder next year!

Newly launched in 2012, The Lunar Festival is run by the same team who brought us Moseley Folk Festival and the Mostly Jazz Festival. The setting was Nick Drake’s spiritual home of Tanworth-​In-​Arden. A festival of acoustic music with folky-​leanings, Scott Matthews, Fionn Regan and Benjamin Francis Leftwich headlined the main stage on each night, while singer-​songwriters from the local area and further afield played sets on both the Northern Sky and the Riverman stages.
With only 500 tickets on sale, most of them were snapped up by those preferring a more intimate festival, a welcome change from the corporate, sponsored rock-​based behemoths. With this small amount of people you see familiar faces, the queues for food and toilets are small, and everything is more amiable and easier. Kids can get into Umberslade Farm Park to look at the animals and to play in the adventure playground.

The highlight of the weekend for me was Fionn Reagan whose witty, wordy, highly poetic songs with references to literature, historical figures and odd places are among the best that I believe have been written. You don’t believe me? Buy his 2006 album ‘The End of History and you might be converted. Keep a watch of the website for details of next year’s festival.