Review: The Unthanks at Warwick Folk Festival; plus a word of thanks from the organisers
The Unthanks, Warwick Folk Festival, 25th July
“Does anyone want to hear any prog rock?” This is not ordinarily what you’d expect at a folk festival. But then again, The Unthanks are no ordinary band.
Hot foot to Warwick from participating in a Proms’ performance dedicated to Nick Drake, Rachel Unthank teases us with a little prog during Thursday’s headline set on the main Stage in the Kingmaker tent. It turns out to be Starless from King Crimson’s 1974 LP, Red. The original, as I recall, is somewhat long and dreary but here it is, born anew, delicately sung by Rachel’s sister Becky, transformed, characteristically Unthanksed, into something stately, wide-eyed and full of wonder.
This is what The Unthanks do, and they do it more emotionally than anyone else treading the boards right now. Pretty much everything they sing and play tugs at the heartstrings or touches a nerve, often simultaneously. Hard to imagine a more moving testament to female fortitude than their rendition of The Testimony Of Patience Kershaw, while the way the brilliantly accomplished band navigate the soaring heights of Mount The Air is a marvel to behold.
Everything is delivered seamed through with a love of the old ways, a sense of coming together, a fervent feminism, a suspicion of organised religion, and politics leaning instinctively to the left.
Personal highlights? Their lovely enactment of Set Me Free, a piano ballad by Molly Drake, Nick’s mum, complete with a tender taped spoken interlude by actor Gabrielle Drake, Nick’s sister. And most sublime of all, Becky’s astonishing take on Anthony & The Johnsons’ Bird Guhl. Anthony is now Anohni and it’s a song of blissful release. I sobbed all the way through.
The Unthanks sent us off into that good night with a communal Sorrows Away – an apt description of their utterly mesmeric talent.
I’ve got to ‘fess up that when support band Tarren mentioned those dread words “Morris Dance” I hightailed it forthwith and with as much speed as my aging bones could muster to the bar. I know, my bad. Come-uppance wasn’t long in waiting. Selecting with due care as to the strength of the seven or eight choices of ciders on offer, I settled for the middling Molly and confidently spoke forth my order. The gent behind the jump looked me up-and-down and there then ensued something of an awkward silence.
Mistaking I had mumbled or been misheard, I repeated my order and the barchap sighed. “Plastic cup is it?” Uh, yes please. Another sigh. I look around. I am the only – and I mean ‘the only’ - person in the immediate bar area not furnished with my own personal tankard. There’s a chap over there with an ornate pewter one. There’s one made of some sort of shiny tin. Could that one really be carved out of ivory? And there’s a lady with one elaborately fashioned from leather with straps to hang from her belt.
Also, come to think of it, I don’t appear to be wearing a cape. Or a shirt sewn from patchwork. Nor any sort of headgear, with or without fur or feathers. And my beard falls a good couple of feet short of my knees and is not knotted - not once, not twice, not thrice.
I am, I realise, an interloper. An alien in these parts. Next year I’m donning the full Gandalf.
A Note from the WFF Organisers:
First and foremost, from the bottom of our hearts - thank you to everyone who joined us for Warwick Folk Festival 2024. We were so glad to have you with us on our beautiful site - we danced, played, sang, shopped, ate and drank to excess and loved every minute of it.
From the fantastic opening night ceilidh, and concert from Tarren and The Unthanks, some fabulous workshops like Lauren Souths ‘Learn the fiddle from scratch’, great music sessions (from dawn until way past dusk!), through to the closing performances on Sunday evening, we had a wonderful weekend and are already planning the party for next year.
If you were with us, what were your highlights of the festival this year? We want to know what you loved about the festival this year, and what we can improve on to make 2024 even better – we will try to order sunshine again but we can’t make any promises!
For your chance to win a full camping ticket next year please give us your feedback by accessing this form to let us know what you think.
We look forward to hearing from you, and really hope to see your smiles back at Warwick Folk Festival in 2025!
Warwick Folk Festival is run completely by volunteers who spend their whole year meeting, plotting and preparing: so from all of us at HQ, we want to thank you for all of your relentless support in keeping our little festival going - we couldn’t do it without you. We love you all so much and can’t wait to catch up with you next year!
On the topic of social media – make sure you are following us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, for some great recaps of festival weekend 2024 - and see you next year!
Loads of love,
WFF
