FOLK music is often characterised by the gentle art of looking back and many at the splendid castle site will have found their thoughts turning back to 1976 and the last time we had huge swathes of grass this parched and yellow.
Dry stalks and dust blown by the wind added to a truly summer feels and the festival provided every bit of sunshine needed to make this a real standout gathering.
The car park was full, the stalls doing good business and plenty of action to entertain folkies and families everywhere the eye was turned.
Musically there were plenty of high spots. Fisherman’s Friends, fresh from their successes on the big screen, drew a full crowd all willing to imagine this site being a lot closer to the rolling waves than it actually is.
Elsewhere Scotland’s national treasure Eddi Reader proved yet again why she is so much more than just a tribute act to her own 1980s hits with a stunning breadth of songs beautifully delivered with a fine humour and a top band. Perfect.
Spiers and Boden brought the festival to a thumping conclusion on Sunday but the last evening may have belonged to the darlings of the avant-garde folk scene The Rheingans Sisters with music which defies pigeonholing as much as it entertains.
Headliners aside, it’s the depth of what’s on offer that truly marks the strength of a festival and, despite a heavy reliance on perennial acts returning as they do every year, Warwick can always be relied upon to programme unexpected and unexplored delights.
Saturday’s mainstage appearance by Belgium’s Naragonia Quartet was just one example. Taking their fine musicianship closer to classical than many folk outfits, they provided a memorable, gentle afternoon soundtrack to an appreciative audience and a splendid collection of slow-moving, organised and impromptu dancers.
As in previous years the festival gave generously to the town which has been its host all along, providing a weekend of packed streets, wandering musicians and morris sides, street parties and – as recent press stories have attested – a welcome and not inconsiderable boost to the local economy.
Festival director Dick Dixon was on hand to declare the event a success and to urge the audience to fill a bucket collection for the county’s Air Ambulance called into action earlier in the day after a serious incident involving a gas canister led to injuries and the intervention of emergency services.
Any glance round the vibrant campsite would underline the fact that, families aside, the folk festival audience is gracefully getting older. But, like the festival itself, there’s still plenty of life on show and long before the last chord has faded away many will have been busy planning to do it all next year.
