Friday 1^st – Sunday 3^rd August 2008 @ Bristol Harbourside

Featuring: Suzy Condrad, Rachael Dadd, Wig Smith, Jetfly, Phil King and Babel

Finally Bristol has got a Harbour Festival it can be proud of. With the demise of one of the cities other major festivals, Ashton Court, attention seems to have swung full swing towards the 2008 Bristol Harbour Festival and boy, it didn’t disappoint. A little soggy on Friday and Sunday perhaps but Saturday saw what must have been creeping towards a quarter of a million people milling around Bristol city centre under the most glorious sunshine. The organisation of all these people and the entire event was thoroughly impressive; never once did the sheer mass of people ever get too much as the knowledge that if you were ever getting fed up of queuing at Pie Minister or to cross the Shrek Bridge, you knew you were but thirty seconds away from finding your own patch of grass or bench to sprawl out and relax on.

The range of entertainment on offer too was impressive; from the Dance Village, to the Circus Stage, from the Kids Area to the numerous musical stages of all sizes, ranging from the mighty Amphitheatre to the tiny, unofficial Eco-Stage in the garden in Queen’s Square which saw captivating, impromptu shows from a whole plethora of Bristol folksters like Suzy Condrad, Rachael Dadd, Wig Smith and Jetfly.

Fantastic sets from fantastic Bristol bands were witnessed all over with several standout performances: The superbly crafted Cascade Steps were treated Saturday afternoon to the absorbing, intrinsically brilliant sounds of Rachael Dadd and her banjo, joined by Wig Smith on the kora as they poked around in their folk back-catalogue for every maritime song they could remember. They were never short of material being two of the drivers on the Bristol harbour ferries, shipping people back and forth across the floating harbour and it was a nice touch and deliciously heart-warming to hear that most of these fantastic songs were inspired by various landmarks and geese of the Bristol harbour behind them as they played. We were also treated to the always brilliant Phil King, joined by a straw hatted drummer and a very pink calfed bassist. It seems good old Phil just gets better and better every time I see him, with every new song he going another fantastic level beyond his last. Thrilling new songs like When The War Is Already Won were deservedly answered with huge roars and applause from the steps collective.

The sun was really bringing out the best in everyone with packed crowds and a playful atmosphere. A sight that suitably summed up the general feeling was the aged hippy at the very front of the Cascade Steps – a drugged out 50+ with a wide, bucktoothed grin and an absorbing style of dance which saw him unashamedly get lost in all the music performed just in front of him as he waved and swayed his arms and legs around in captivated delight.

Fans at the Cascades were really spoilt Saturday afternoon as we also got a staggeringly good show from another brilliant local band – Babel. I’ve been listening to this intriguing group for a good while now but this was the first time I’ve managed to see them live and knock me backwards and call me Martha, they were worth the wait. Frantic, country folk-rock with a very dark and addictive edge, fronted by Bristol’s biggest character; the bearded, care-free, cock-sure and rebellious Daniel Coughlan.

These superb shows really got the blood pumping and fuelled us on for a fantastic evening, rounded off perfectly with the always spectacular Bristol Harbour Festival Saturday night fireworks. As I found myself standing in the wake of the Earl of Pembroke, craning my neck upwards at the spectacular spectacle of fire and colour above, it was one of those moments where you just can’t stop your cheeks from stretching into a broad, wide smile in an immense sense of pride.

Matt Whittle

Photos: www.ianbradleyphotography.com