The festivities kicked off in tradition fashion with a Grand Ceilidh featuring the Rosianna Band
in the medieval splendour of the Great Hall.
A slight change in format this year brought a formal folk club into the Lower Great Chamber of Gainsborough Old Hall.
It was great to see our old mate John Stothard who had made the trip down from foreign parts to be with us.
The duo Skatz from Leicester way proved to be a revelation and were so popular that they have been booked again for Festival 2005
GFC regular~ John Blanks
Yorkshire Legend~ Dave Kidman
Meanwhile over in the Eight Jolly Brewers, there was standing room only in the first Singaround of the festival and even an overspill musicians session going on in the bar downstairs.
Saturday
The morning dawned bright and clear allaying fears that the torrential rain of the previous evening would result in some seriously soggy morris men.
The teams performed around the town including outside a new venue- Hoppers Coffee Shop- which also hosted music by Skatz and Sandfly
The Dance program cumulated in a 'Mass Morris" in the grounds of the Old Hall
Meanwhile- back at the Old Hall the singing and guitar workshops were interspaced with some serious retail therapy in the Craft & Music Fair.
The afternoon concert in the Upper Chamber was a superb blend of the talents of our own Bob Cleveland
and an (almost) reunion of the original Broadside with John Conolly, Brian Dawson and Bill Meek. A wonderfull concert !
Across at the 8 Jolly Brewers, the BIG singround was in full swing with a one hour special of the songs of Keith Marsden hosted by Cockersdale.
Later in the afternoon the main action moved across town to the Trinity Arts Centre where a large audience were treated to 'Teatime with Derek' an informal meeting with the redoubtable Mr Brimstone and his unique sense of humour.
This was followed by a workshop with Jez Lowe where some of the secrets of successful song writing were revealed.
Time for the Main Concert in the auditorium and what a concert it was!
The proceedings were opened by Julie Ellison, a stunning guitarist and tremendous singer
Followed by the inimitable Derek Brimstone
After a short interval where raffle tickets for the autographed guitar were being snapped up, the marathon concert continued with a very impressive set by Cockersdale and the auditorium was filled with enthusiastic harmony singing.
Finally, it was time for the welcome return of Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies. Jez has long been a festival favourite and it was great to see him back again this year.
Meanwhile over at the Brewers the singaround was still going strong and approaching its 12th hour !
On to Sunday-
An impromptu session in the bar opened the day which was thoroughly enjoyed by all and looks set to be a regular festival sunday institution.
Back in the Vestry there was a concert with our own John Blanks and the Cater Twins (Gwenda and Terry) together with Skatz and Sensible Shoes.
The main afternoon concert in the auditorium featured Cara
Mark Cambell & Paul Bellamy were next up and gave an excellent, polished performance-
Mark & Paul were followed by another old mate from Grimsby- John (Fiddlers Green) Conolly.
The Grand Afternoon Concert was concluded by more of Lincolnshires finest- Bill Walley and Dave Fletcher
and as if we hadn't had enough treats over the weekend they, were joined by Mr Conolly for the finale.
A terrific Weekend was rounded off with a singaround in the Trinity Centre Bar
and it was unanimously agreed that the fifth Gainsborough Festival was the BEST YET- roll on 2005 !!
Next years festival will be October 21st - 23rd 2005 put it in your diary!
The Festival Organisers would like to thank everyone who helped to make the weekend such a success whether as a major sponsor or as a participant.
It wouldn't happen without you.
Back to home page