Morris Procession, Pride Hill, Shrewsbury

Second of 4 days at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival. Performances are not restricted just to the Festival site but are held all over the town in pubs and open spaces. We were up in town for a coffee and had the chance to watch the procession of Morris Sides making their way from the station to the town square.

From there we made our way back to the Festival site where we listened to  a bit of Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker sing songs of misery and sorrow (as many folk songs are). They were followed by The Young'uns, a three part harmony group from Stockton who were hugely entertaining. The last act of the afternoon was Sharon Shannon who, with her band and infectious personality gave an exhilarating performance.

Typical Festival food provided a break before the evening sets. Nothing special, but one vendor was selling porridge still and that proved to be the highlight of the meal, rich and creamy with blueberries and syrup. Just the thing in an evening.

The evening sets began with Lucy Ward, a brash, energetic singer and band in the mode of Bette Midler and Adele, with some great songs and chat.

After Lucy was the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain who gave an absolutely amazing performance of a whole range of difference genres of music woven with humorous asides and comments.

The evening concluded with the Oysterband, we've heard a bit of their music and they've been going many years and have a huge following. But what we heard tonight was truly special and will repay some further attention. The whole evening finished around midnight so it was another late night for us old folkies.