28 August 2018

The 54th Towersey Festival (Friday 24 to Monday 27 August 2018) saw a sell-out weekend of great performances and standing ovations. Highlights over the August Bank Holiday included appearances from Scottish brothers The Proclaimers (Sat 25 Aug) and UK country stars The Shires (Mon 27 Aug), both making their debuts at the famed Oxfordshire festival, and guitarist/ songwriter Richard Thompson (Fri 24 Aug), returning with his Electric Trio. Crowds were also wowed by five-piece Daphne’s Flight, who earned a standing ovation, and Cornish shanty singers Fisherman’s Friends, whose Jon Cleave also made an appearance for the festival’s Sunday morning newspaper review. While away from the music, a switch to re-usable cups at bars was warmly welcomed by festival-goers, and was one of several changes introduced this year as part of a longstanding, and ongoing, commitment to reducing the environmental impact of the event. The festival concluded with its traditional Lantern Parade, featuring inventive constructions designed and created by visitors, and a sing-a-long of The Beatles’ Hey Jude, led by folk rock band Blackbeard’s Tea Party. In the region of 9,000 revellers flocked to the event, one of the oldest independent music festival’s in the country. Towersey Festival Director Joe Heap said: “We’ve seen such an eclectic mix of artists this year, from the country pop of The Shires, to the UK’s number one brass band, Brighouse and Rastrick, to an acclaimed teaming of Peter Knight and John Spiers.“We’ve also welcomed appearances by such established folk artists as the 82-year-old Roy Bailey, our Festival Patron who appeared at the very first Towersey back in 1965, to rising stars of the genre such as harpist Mera Royale, who won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award this year, and Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne.” The 55th Towersey Festival will run from Friday 23 to Monday 26 August 2019. Tier One tickets are on sale now, priced £119. The full 2019 line-up will be announced in the New Year. For details and tickets, see:www.towerseyfestival.com   Image by Phil Sofer

Dustin Lynch has become the latest member to be invited into the Grand Ole Opry, which enables the artist to realise a lifelong dream. The announcement came a something of a surprise, as midway through Lynch’s performance on the 21st August, Opry member Trace Adkins revealed the news, promoting a hugely emotive response from Lynch. “Being a member of the Grand Ole Opry is at the top of my list of achievements in my career and always will be,” Adkins said. “We want people to be members of the Grand Ole Opry that will have a respect for this institution that it deserves, that it has earned for 92 years. “We think that Dustin Lynch is going to carry on in that proud tradition, and we’re glad to have you.” A visibly stunned Lynch was incredibly grateful for the invitation, and just about held himself together to deliver a speech of sorts. “I can’t even talk cause I’m gonna start crying,” Lynch said. “I’ve got my family here tonight and a lot of my team members – a lot of guys and girls that are responsible for getting me on this stage for the very first time, getting my music played at Country radio and all over the world now, and I wanna say we would not be here if it wasn’t for you. “Thank you guys so much. A lot of things have happened over the past six years, but it started with that last song we just played. Cowboys and Angels was the very first song I got to play on the Grand Ole Opry – March 2, 2012 – I’ll never forget that day. “I wanna say Mum and Dad, thank you so much. I’m glad you came tonight. We have so much to celebrate. I’m gonna attempt to sing a song with a frog in my throat and tears in my eyes.”