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Nick Aldwinckle was in attendance at the Hop Farm Festival Paddock Wood in Kent on Sunday 6th July 2008

The inaugural year for Mean Fiddler founder Vince Power’s newest festival has a lot to contend with. Firstly, though set in the scenic Kent countryside, today, it’s, frankly, p*ssing it down; windy, cold and generally a pretty miserable scene for anyone ready to brave the elements in search of good music.

Neil Young at the Hop Farm Festival

Secondly, bad sound problems are apparently making decent bands sound distinctly sub-standard. Not a good sign, so after numerous delays (traffic; gathering of wet weather survival gear) lead to missing out on Carbon/Silicon, Everest and Laura Marling’s early sets, the day’s shaky start is given an early boost by Guillemots’ **** impressive show. The band are brazenly loud, almost operatically so, with an element of Muse grandiosity mixed with the emotive vocals of frontman Fyfe Dangerfield. They give their all to try and raise the largely dampened spirits of this long-suffering crowd, and the more bombastic numbers from latest record Red go down a treat. A nice start, though you get the sense that everyone present is already starting to flag.

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For a band whose original line-up split in 1973, Pentangle show remarkable resilience. I mean drummer Terry Cox has been running a restaurant in the Balearics for the last 20 years – and yet here they are still one of English folk’s finest proponents.

At the start of tonight’s Dome show, Jacqui McShee’s fluted vocals seemed muddy as if the Royal Festival Hall and Cardiff gigs have taken their toll. Fortunately not and the vocal challenge of 27-verse standards are taken in her increasingly, assured stride.

With Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, as the ablest acoustic accompaniment you’re ever likely to see and Danny Thompson’s virtuoso double bass, no wonder the hubbub surrounding this tour has brought everyone from Madonna’s producer to Devendra Banhart out of the woodwork.

Concert Hall, The Dome, 2 July
5/5

Jan Goodey

Latest 7’s Nick Aldwinckle takes us through the highs and lows of the Hove Festival 2008 in… Norway

View of the beach from the festival

To describe the small island of Tromøya, off the South coast of Norway, as stunning is an understatement. Beautiful fern woodland, majestically craggy rocky terrain and a sandy (not to mention oddly sunny) beach looking out to the North Sea make it one of the prettiest music festivals in Europe. In the middle of summer, it never quite gets completely dark as the midnight sun plays tricks on the mind. Add to this a strong line-up of bands both established and making their first steps in the music biz along with the standard array of weird and wonderful stalls, tents, film and art installations and general hijinks and you have the recipe for a memorable week long festival.

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Detailing Ry Cooder’s life as a Californian native – the adventures, the music, the loves – I, Flathead is a stripped-back and raw to the bone musical odyssey. There is a 104 page novella to accompany the album, and guests include Jim Keltner, Flaco Jiminez and Jon Hassell. It’s a more stripped-down, blues and rock’n’roll album; back to Cooder’s musical roots.

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