What's On?...

The adjective 'legends' is vastly overused but it's definitely the only word to describe Toots and the Maytals. The first group to use the word 'reggae' in a song title with Do The Reggay in 1968, Toots and co are key figures in the colourful history of reggae. All natives of Kingston Jamaica, their combination of strong well-blended vocals with a seldom rivalled passion for their music made them popular from the start, with critics likening Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert's voice to the late great Otis Redding. Although the band broke up in 1981 they made a triumphant return in the 1990s, reasserting their soulful horn-driven style all over the world.

www.tootsandthemaytals.com
www.myspace.com/tatm

Our 20th anniversary is guaranteed to kick off with a real party atmosphere with the return of Jools and his 24-piece troupe of superb musicians. Over the last 14 years an incredible four million people have experienced Jools’ uplifting blend of jazz, pop, blues, rock, ska and boogie-woogie. This year’s star guest is non other than the unique pop icon Alison Moyet, whose powerful, soulful voice graced a whole string of hit singles and albums in the 1980s.

www.joolsholland.com

Headlining our Thursday night we welcome the first appearance of this superb American blues vocalist and guitarist to the festival. For over thirty years Robert has laid down track after track of good-time, low-down urban blues. He's already won five Grammy's and been nominated for 11 more. Robert's virtuosity has led to collaborations with many artists including Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, BB King, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker and Chuck Berry.

www.robertcray.com
www.myspace.com/robertcray

We'll announce the headliner details as soon as they're confirmed, so watch this space!

We'll announce the headliner details as soon as they're confirmed, so watch this space!

Newton is the UK’s latest word-of-mouth musical sensation. The Surrey-based guitarist has built up a huge fan base which propelled his debut album Hand Built By Robots to No. 1 for two weeks in July 2007. Relentless touring has brought his lyrical songs to a wide audience, including festival appearances at Glastonbury, Connect, and Latitude Festival. It’s his uniquely forceful guitar playing that has really cemented his reputation. “He doesn’t just strum it, he beats the living daylights out of it”. Daily Telegraph.

www.newtonfaulkner.com
www.myspace.com/newtonfaulkner

For over thirty years Oysterband have managed to perform a balancing act which they have made into a fine art - combining the ideals and knowledge of English folk music with the fire of punk.  Their deft mix of poetry, politics and insanely catchy melodies have made this 5-piece one of the greatest folk-rock ensembles of all time.  “No other folk-rock band has the magnetism and verve of the Oysters live” Daily Telegraph.

www.myspace.com/oysterband
www.oysterband.co.uk

The Unthanks are a Geordie folk outfit who are currently the hottest act on the British folk scene. Formerly an all-girl group known as Rachel Unthank and The Winterset, they arrive at the Larmer Tree having added a couple of blokes, including Rachel's husband Adrian McNally on piano. Under their former name they were nominated for Best Group, Best Live Act, Best Album and The Horizon Award at 2008 BBC Folk Awards. Their new album Here's The Tender Coming received unanimous rave reviews, including one from renowned journalist and broadcaster Paul Morley, who said: it was:"absolutely exquisite. A real work of art. I will be playing it forever".

www.rachelunthank.com  
www.myspace.com/rachelunthank

Since the early 1990s this Edinburgh-based 6-piece have been delighting festival audiences with their ambient brand of folk-rock which they dub "acid croft."  One of Scotland’s most unique musical exports, Shooglenifty’s fiery and infectious blend of Celtic traditional music and dance grooves has a reputation for getting even the most sedentary audiences up on their feet and dancing.

www.myspace.com/shooglenifty
www.shoogle.com

HBE’s seven brass players are all brothers and the children of trumpeter Phil Cochran, formerly of Sun Ra's Arkestra and a founding member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. But the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble's music has much more to do with the New Orleans contemporary brass band tradition. Sporting a bold brass line, bouncing tuba, and simple, funky percussion, HBE channels the heritage of ceremonial brass band into the 21st century, incorporating funk and hip-hop influences to produce music which is danceable, fun, and highly accessible.

www.myspace.com/hypnoticbusiness

Tunng are an experimental folk group who are founding fathers and prime movers of the whole Folktronica movement. The five members are renowned for their use of unusual items on stage which astonished and mesmerised members of the Tuareg desert blues band Tinariwen when they toured together last year. Critics have praised their daring mix of real instrumentation underscored with a torrent of electronic samples, glitched psychedelic tracking, cracking harmonies and cerebral lyrics.

www.myspace.com/thisistunng
www.tunng.co.uk

In 2007 after a boozy pre-Christmas lunch in Soho former Young Ones and Bottom comedian Adrian Edmondson ‘accidentally’ bought a mandolin in Denmark Street.  After tinkering with the instrument in his kitchen the next day, Adrian decided to form a band.  Recruiting established musicians Martin and Troy Donockley, plus rising Irish violinist and vocalist Eimear Bradley, The Bad Shepherds were born.  They rehearsed intensively, and went out on the road to revisit punk era classics and play them in folk style late in 2008 to the delight of packed houses.

www.thebadshepherds.com

Chumbawamba are best known for their single Tubthumping which reached No 2 in the UK charts in 1997 - 'I get knocked down, but I get up again' - remember? But over their 27-year career the band have moved through an astonishing variety of genres including anarcho-punk, pop-influenced dance music, a cappella, world music and now acoustic folk. Their irreverent attitude to authority is the core to their lyrics, tackling such subjects as domestic violence, racism, fascism and the consumer society.

www.chumba.com
www.myspace.com/acoustichumbawamba

This conglomerate of West London hedonists have been serving up their dancy fusion of dub and big beat since 1996.  They have always added a touch of rock 'n' roll swagger to the UK dance scene, chewing up hip-hop, dub, techno, ska, reggae and punk, and spitting them out in a style that defies categorization.  Their genre-mashing abilities have led to remix work with the likes of Moby, Bono and Ian Brown.  Their latest album Rum & Coke, was released last year. 

www.myspace.com/thedubpistols
merchandized.co.uk

The fusion of folk and electronica isn't a new phenomenon but London based singer-songwriter James has taken the genre and shaken it up in a way that no one could have predicted. His debut album Turning Down Water For Air heralded the arrival of a young artist full of promise, and led to a hectic tour schedule which has seen him performing all over the world including SXSW, Radio One Big Weekend and Latitude Festival.

www.jamesyuill.com
www.myspace.com/jamesyuill

This genre-crossing outfit hail from the tiny hamlet of Noid near Bath in Somerset. From country to rhythm and blues, garage punk to rock and roll, The Heavy started out ripping and chopping beats from the likes of Bo Diddley, Little Walter and The Parliaments, fusing them with intoxicating guitar riffs and reverberating bass lines to produce a raw and distinctive high-energy sound. “The Heavy produce the kind of raw, infectious, down-and dirty sonic assault that your mother warned you about.” David Taylor, The Independent.

www.myspace.com/theheavy73
www.counterrecords.com  

Formerly a dry stone-waller from Yorkshire, Ian has travelled all over the world soaking up a multitude of musical styles before returning to reconnecting with his English traditional roots. An accomplished guitarist and banjo player, he now mixes folk songs with a deep love of dub and reggae. His latest album Panic Grass and Fever Few impressed veteran folk singer Shirley Collins, who remarked “elegant, witty, daring and powerful – this is folk music for the 21st century!”

www.myspace.com/iankingofengland

Named after a secret society featured in the cult TV series Twin Peaks, The Bookhouse Boys are a sprawling London-based collective featuring the talents of eight males and one female.  Led by vocalist Paul Van Oestren, this unique ensemble feature a duo of drummers, a brass section and duelling guitars to produce a startling surf-punk sound.  As The Independent put it: “They come across like Dick Dale lost in a Spaghetti Western…in other words they belong on a Tarantino soundtrack.”

www.myspace.com/thebookhouseboys

Voted Folk Singer of the Year in BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2009, Chris is a multi-talented instrumentalist, and one of folk’s most eclectic performers.  He plays fiddle, viola and guitar and is a gifted vocalist who has lent his talents to the duo Wood & Cutting, the trio Wood, Wilson & Carthy, and also played on the Oysterband’s first album.  In his 30-year career he has specialised in traditional English dance music, but his repertoire also includes French folk music and traditional Québécois material.

www.chriswoodmusic.co.uk
www.myspace.com/englishacousticcollectivechriswood 

Otis is a singer-songwriter from Wanamaker, Indiana. Some people describe him as a folk artist, but that is a simplistic way to describe a grizzled veteran who has planted over 7,000 trees, slept in hobo jungles, walked with nomadic shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains, and has an FBI file. "Gibbs is a Midwesterner with a long beard, a trucker's hat and a bag of sharply observed country-rock songs, some far enough to the left side of the political fence to make him a spiritual descendent of Woody Guthrie and brother of Steve Earle." - Larry Katz, The Boston Herald.

www.otisgibbs.com
www.myspace.com/otisgibbs

This London-based bunch of beardies have been widely touted as the British Fleet Foxes.  Apparently the hirsute 6-piece are into caged animals and vintage locomotives – founder members James and John met while working as zookeepers at Whipsnade Zoo, and  they currently record in an old steam train museum in Norfolk.  Their sound has been described as organic and characterised by pastoral West Coast harmonies, and they have a penchant for making use of unusual instruments for percussion including metal radiator guard and doors!

www.myspace.com/goldheartassembly

Led by lead vocalist Josh Ellis, The Grass Mountain Hobos are a throwback to another time, when pleasure usurped work and live music provided the soundtrack to excess. The band come from the wilds of Prince Edward Island in Canada and made their first public appearance at the island's Rollo Bay Old-Time Music Festival in 2007. Since then the band have been playing their hedonistic mix of swing, bluegrass, blues and folk all over the world, getting standing ovations at every festival they have played.

www.grassmountainhobos.com
www.myspace.com/grassmountainhobos

Skip was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1949, and learnt to play the blues on his father’s guitar at the age of eight.  In his varied musical career which has also embraced gospel, doo-wop and jazz, Skip has trod a long and twisting road.  For many years he played in the house band for the pioneering rap label Sugar Hill, providing the music for some of the most seminal records by Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaata, Force MD's and others.  From there he worked on many projects for the On-U Sound label, as well as spearheading the band Tackhead and working with Living Colour.  Since 1992, Skip has returned to his roots with the ‘Little Axe’ sound, releasing five albums of stripped-down gospel-blues. 

www.myspace.com/littleaxesound 
www.little-axe.com 

Swarathma is quite simply the sound of India today. Whilst firmly rooted in the values and traditions of India the band are not afraid to look beyond the 21st Century to adopt the best of the West. This young Bangalore-based sextet blend Indian folk, with a fusion of rock, classical Indian and jazz. Formed in 2002, Swarathma have come a long way since they made the finals of a nationwide hunt for India's best Hindi band on Radio City in 2008. This is their second visit to the UK and we're sure you'll be as knocked out as we were when you hear them perform.

www.swarathma.com
www.myspace.com/swarathmamusic

On his website, John modestly describes himself as "a guitar man from Devon". A classic understatement as John has quietly become recognised as one of British folk’s most exciting new voices, and has toured with the likes of Davey Graham, Martin Carthy and Jools Holland.  He has also collaborated on a single with Cara Dillon and released two solo albums The Fox and The Monk and Live at The Roundhouse.

www.myspace.com/johnacousticsmith  
www.johnsmithjohnsmith.com   

Put together in 48 hours in 2003 by frontman Paul-Ronney Angel, this nine-piece outfit soon built up a huge cult following in London.  By 2005 their fame had spread further with festival appearances at Glastonbury and Edinburgh.  Many more festivals and tours followed over the next couple of years culminating in a whisky-sodden tour of the UK and Ireland supporting The Pogues in 2008.  Their debut album Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop N’ Stroll was released last year, the title neatly summing up their eclectic style.

www.myspace.com/theurbanvoodoomachine
www.theurbanvoodoomachine.com

Billy Vincent are in fact a 5-piece South London-based band who are spearheading their own folky indie-pop sound which they describe as "dirty folk".  Headed by Billy Barratt and David Vincent, hence the name, the band released their first album No Remorse, Stay on Course last autumn.  The Ents24 website summed up their sound: "Billy Vincent’s catchy-as-hell songs are delivered with passion, wit and panache, making them one of the most compelling emerging artists around."

www.myspace.com/billyvincent
www.billyvincent.co.uk

The Roots Union are a young 4-piece folk band from Devon who fuse acoustic guitar, dobro, violin, beatbox harmonica, bass, percussion and harmonies.  Last year the band hit the festival circuit in a big way appearing at Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Green Man, Secret Garden Party, Sidmouth, Broadstairs and Cambridge Folk Festivals.  Their live show offers a rich tapestry of compelling songwriting and musicianship.

www.myspace.com/therootsunion

This Balkan country punk juggernaut produce a sound which defies categorisation but is sure to get you dancing. Although they’ve been compared to Gogol Bordello and Manu Chao, their music is truly original. Their recently released debut album, No One’s Fault But Your Own, received rave reviews but it is live that they have gained the reputation as one of London’s best acts. "An earthshaking cauldron of ska, blues, country and rock’n’roll offers a ‘dance first, ask questions later’ slant on life and love" – Musicians Magazine.

www.myspace.com/pennyblackremedy
www.thepennyblackremedy.com

Emily Barker hails from a tiny rural backwater in the remote south west of Western Australia.  At 19, Emily donned a backpack and head out to travel the world, eventually teaming up with Rob Jackson to form a band called The Low Country.  In 2005 Emily won both Country Song of the Year and Regional Song of The Year in the West Australian Music Songwriting Awards.  She's promised to bring some special guests with her to Larmer Tree including the brilliant accordion player Gill Sandell.

www.myspace.com/emilybarker

Dizraeli leads a 7-piece hip hop folk phenomenon, The Small Gods who enable this Brighton-based poet to perform his rap poetry. Dizraeli was elected Farrago UK Slam Poetry Champion in 2007 and is also a past winner of the prestigious Radio 4 Poetry Slam. Directing his stream of rap-stories like a flashlight into the murkiest corners of British culture, Dizraeli takes in politics, love, rain, supermarkets, grief, drug culture, and the nasty bits of masculinity with a sense of humour and a directness that may make you wince, but that always rings true.

www.myspace.com/dizraeli
www.dizraeli.com

Young, original and inventive, this Kent septet say that if you don’t like folk music, they are the band that’s going to change your mind. Taking their name from the location of their local pub in Maidstone, they got together in March 2007 to play in the folk tradition, combining elements of funk, jazz, pop, reggaie and all types of dance music, performed in passionate and committed style. They’ve already gained many admirers including BBC Radio 2’s Mike Harding who enthused “Indecently talent…raw and immediate…totally brilliant.”

www.wheelerstreet.org
www.myspace.com/wheelerstreet

Jonny Kearney is a young songwriter from Hexham way and Lucy Farrell is his charming Kentish accomplice. Jonny and Lucy opened for The Unthanks on their recent 40-date UK tour, prompting Rachel Unthank to descrbe Jonny's songwriting as "heartbreak and touching, humorous and unexpected and never ceases to enthrall." She also remarked that they were perfect foils for each other "the fragility of one and warmth of the other is a moving combination."

www.myspace.com/jonnykearneyandlucyfarrell

Liverpool-based 5-piece The Cubical released their debut album Come Sing These Crippled Tunes last year, and had critics raving about their brand of dirty, down-in-the-alley blues rock.  Lead vocalist Dan Wilson’s rasping vocals invited comparisons with Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits, with The Guardian’s critic provocatively stating “Wilson makes Tom Waits sound like Tiny Tim.”  A blistering live act with heaps of attitude, we look forward to their debut at the Larmer Tree.

www.myspace.com/thecubicalthecubical

Brought up in Shasta County, California, Rita’s songs reflect a childhood spent among seasoned mountain characters who took her under their wings.  Songs of loss, miners, mountains, trailers and stray dogs are vocalised in what California Bluegrass Association describe as "a soulful howl from the mountains.”  Deeply rooted in folk traditions, Rita is a descendant of Cornish miners who sang in the mines.  She released her third album Come Sunrise last year.

www.ritahosking.com
www.myspace.com/ritahosking

The Voluntary Butler Scheme is basically a one-man band, namely Rob Jones, a young man from Stourbridge.  For a couple of years Rob was a jobbing drummer with local bands, but when the offer of a solo gig came along, Rob began writing songs and discovered he had a talent for catchy melodies and witty lyrics.  He was favourably compared to Badly Drawn Boy by BBC Music reviewer Mike Haydock, who described Rob’s 2009 debut album,  Breakfast, Dinner, Tea as “quite possibly the feelgood album of the year so far.”

www.myspace.com/thevoluntarybutlerscheme

This is Southampton singer-songwriter Ruth and her four-piece band’s first visit to Larmer Tree, but we’re sure it won’t be her last. Ruth has been making a name for herself in the folk world since she followed up her debut album Worm Food with the highly acclaimed White Holes of Mole Hills earlier this year.

www.ruththeodore.com
www.myspace.com/ruththeodore

Sweet Baboo, aka Stephen Black, hails from Wales, where he formulated his own unique blend of psychedelic pop.  Locked inside his parents’ loft, he would noodle and tinkle with his Casio keyboard, a £10 Tandy microphone, a little 4-track recorder and his father’s guitar.  A degree in clarinet playing at Cardiff University and a spell in a local band, JT Mouse, followed before he went solo to unleash his country-tinged psychedelia with songs about girls, putting heads in vases, drinking and sleeping. 

www.myspace.com/sweetbabootheband
www.sweetbaboo.co.uk

Part comedian, singer, painter and performance artist, Mik Aristik is unpredictable, unnerving, and with his tendency to incorporate the audience in his act, impossible to ignore.  His strange world is captured in songs like Two Chickens, 44 Years To Live, Crook Lock and Vac Attack.  Colourfully dressed, with a shaved head and piercing eyes, Mik was once runner-up to Peter Kay in Channel Four’s So You Think You Are Funny competition and lists Keith Allen and Johnny Vegas amongst his admirers.

www.mikartistik.com
www.myspace.com/mikartistiksegotrip

To make people dance and smile is the aim of this Manchester outfit  who describe themselves a a morally good medicine band.  Playing instruments you might expect to adorn the walls of an antique shop, they excel at good- time rags and reels, showstoppers and foot-stompers delivered with vaudevillian timing and a depth of musicianship reminiscent of the blues and jazz greats of yesteryear. 

www.myspace.com/drbutlershatstandmedicineband
www.drbutlershatstandmedicineband.co.uk

Just booked, more info coming soon…

www.myspace.com/chavomusic

A young 5-piece from Bath, Somerset, Kill It Kid were chosen as guinea pigs by record producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels) for a unique recording experiment at Bath Spa University.  With fellow students watching Big Brother-style through a glass screen, Kill It Kid led by vocalist Chris Turpin laid down their debut EP, impressing John Parish in the process.  They soon followed up with their debut album Kill It Kid recorded in Seattle and released in October 2009, which prompted BBC reviewer James Skinner to remark: “their heady melange of delta blues and rootsy folk music is so emphatically relayed that to doubt its’ veracity would be to miss the point entirely.”

www.myspace.com/killitkid
www.killitkid.com

Tankus the Henge met four years ago whilst working at theme parks and fairgrounds on the outskirts of London. The foursome got together to combine their wide-ranging individual influences of The Beatles, Jeff Buckley, The Beach Boys, Gustav Mahler and Jewish Klezmer with their fascination of jazz, funk and early ska. The result is a colourfully dressed outfit who describe themselves as “street urchin purveyors of bohemian rags, ballads and polkas.”

www.tankusthehenge.com
www.myspace.com/tankusthehenge

Dorset-based roots songsmith Alex blends genres from baroque to blues on vocals and guitar, with some fine lap-steel, mandolin, harmonica, and stomp- boxing to boot.  The troubadour, who has played venues and festivals as far afield as Copenhagen and Barbados, has come a long way over the last couple of years, playing over 200 gigs.  As well as performing his honest and uncompromising songs, Alex also teaches music, songwriting and guitar including work with Jail Guitar Doors, a project which helps young offenders.

www.myspace.com/alexrobertsmusic
www.alexrobertsmusic.com

Since their humble beginnings in a freezing cold farmhouse near Rochdale in the winter of 2006, this Manchester-based quartet has gelled and matured into one of the funkiest and energetic outfits on the British folk music scene.  Featuring two Chetham’s School of Music students, Jim Molyneux and Dan Day, James Meadows, a semi-finalist in the 2006 Radio Young 2 Folk Awards, and violinist Nicola Lyons they tread “a relatively untrodden path between sophisticated jazz and rambunctious folk music” according to citylife.co.uk.

www.myspace.com/4squaremusic

Dan Walsh and Will Pound are two of the most exciting young musicians on today's acoustic scene. Labelled respectively as 'one of the most original harmonica players in Britain' and 'the UK's top claw hammer banjoist', the two have joined forces to create a truly stunning live set.  Prepare to be astonished by flailing banjo wizardry and sounds you didn’t think were possible on the harmonica with musical styles ranging from bluegrass, folk and jazz to Eastern European, funk and blues.

www.myspace.com/willpoundanddanwalsh

With Love From Humans! are a young 5-piece band from Bath. Bassist Lewis George actually attended the Larmer Tree as a small child so he's particularly excited about bringing his band to the festival. Influenced by a wide range of artists including Weezer, Blur, Kings of Leon, The Kooks, Neil Young and The Strokes, WLFH! describe themselves as "A quintessentially British blend of harmony, melody and irony". "Impressive, upbeat and funky acoustic pop" - Acoustic Magazine. "Always melodic and lush on the lugs" - Bugbear Promotions, London.

www.myspace.com/withlovefromhumans

F-Fever is a young DJ making feet stomp across southern England with his blend of modern house, Balkan bangers and swing jazz beats. Co-running the Honky Tonk nights in Bath have brought him popularity with his different slant on dance music. As a child he was brought up on a diet of rural gypsy music that has gone on to influence his DJ sets. Be sure to check him out as he is bound to keep you dancing all night long.

A highlight for many is the Larmer Tree Sunday afternoon carnival, which brings five groups, totalling nearly 500 participants, together in an explosion of colour, sounds, and movement to parade around the festival on Sunday at 3.45pm!  From Friday to Sunday everyone can get involved with adult, youth and three children’s workshops to create costumes and a fantastic figurehead for thier group. 

We'll announce the carnival theme and groups here as details are confirmed.

A highlight for many is the Larmer Tree Sunday afternoon carnival, which brings five groups, totalling nearly 500 participants, together in an explosion of colour, sounds, and movement to parade around the festival on Sunday at 3.45pm! From Friday to Sunday everyone can get involved with adult, youth and three children’s workshops to create costumes and a fantastic figurehead for thier group.

We'll announce the carnival theme and groups here as details are confirmed.

A highlight for many is the Larmer Tree Sunday afternoon carnival, which brings five groups, totalling nearly 500 participants, together in an explosion of colour, sounds, and movement to parade around the festival on Sunday at 3.45pm! From Friday to Sunday everyone can get involved with adult, youth and three children’s workshops to create costumes and a fantastic figurehead for thier group.

We'll announce the carnival theme and groups here as details are confirmed.

This is your chance to get stuck into something a bit crafty, try your hand at any number of the arts activities on offer over Saturday and Sunday.  Learn how to work creatively with wire, willow, wool, beads, textiles, clay - there will be lots on offer for you to choose from. Whatever you make in your session you can take home to proudly display or wear!  Be warned they are popular sessions, so hesitate not, as it works on a first come first served basis!

Details of what we've got lined-up this year will be announced here as it's confirmed.

Hey kids, fancy making something special to remind yourself of the fabulous Larmer Tree Festival? At the Larmer Parler you can join in and make something great to hang on your wall, wear at the festival and at home, or give as a present to someone.  You'll love the variety of things we have on offer over the festival weekend.  It's on a first come first served basis, so hurry and drag your responsible adult with you all the way to the Larmer Lawns for some creative fun!

Details of what we've got lined-up will be announced here as they're confirmed.

Come and help us adorn and decorate the gardens in these popular Friday sessions, which allow you to create a real piece of 'site art' alongside the other festivalgoers and the workshop leader.  It's a great opportunity to give something back to the festival and then happen upon your piece of handiwork, as you wander round the festival, dangling from a tree or tucked into the woods.  In the past we've had tropical hanging gardens, a textile tea party, glowing balloons and willow hummingbirds... come on and get creative! 

Details of the workshops for 2010 will be announced here as they're confirmed.