Blowout

This is an abridged version of George’s review of Blowout 2015. Read the full article on the website.

Since I’ve reported on the Blowout many times our perceptive Editor said, “Why not tell those who don’t go what they’re missing?” So here goes!

First, it’s FUN. We often start the weekend with a competition, and this year we were invited to get up and perform a piece of music from stage and screen – not often bagpipe hotspots. But it was clear that Society members are an ingenious bunch. Apart from the Heath Robertson clapometer worked by John Goodacre, the tunes were staggering. No room to list them all, but Jon Swayne and Becky Price’s Nessun Dorma looked a winner until we saw and heard Peter and Kate perform selections from “Andy Pandy” of beloved TV memory – in costume! As Julian said, anyone who went to those lengths surely deserved the prize.

Next, naturally the Blowout is primarily about bagpipes. And it’s the best place in the country to see a lot of them and of different types. We don’t see so many Highland, Northumbrian or Irish regularly as they have their own support networks and their habitat is a bit more specialised. In fact, though we’ve covered aspects of all three in the Society’s nearly 30 years, we’re more generalist in outlook, and the Blowout is the place to see and hear an incredibly wide variety of types. Not only that, but you can get close up and personal. You can ask the owners about them, you can talk to the makers, and have a play on that type you haven’t tried before – and perhaps even order a set. For that the Blowout is a very exciting place with so many of Britain’s top makers displaying their wares. Jon Swayne, Julian Goodacre and Sean Jones are regulars, but I hadn’t seen Jim Parr before, although he’s been a maker for a long time. I was impressed with his neat Zampogna, the classic Italian pipe. Phil Bleazey’s whistles were a reminder that if your budget is limited and you don’t play anything yet, a whistle or recorder is a good start. This year we also had pipes and hautbois (shawms) from guests Robert Matta and Pierre Rouch, whose work concentrates on a surprisingly wide range of pipes and shawms from the Pyrenean regions of France and Spain. These areas are part of a wide historic Occitan and Basque culture which runs from Aragon and Catalonia to Provence and the north east of Italy. Their presence at the Blowout was also an important part of what the Society is about: we’re not tied to a nationalistic agenda, but enjoy pipe music from all over the world and of all types. It’s a lot of years since I heard Occitan music and I’ve tended to play more Central French in the years since, but this year reminded me how much I enjoyed the sort of stuff that Robert and Pierre were playing with Jonas Gimeno as part of “Trio Matta Rouch”.

The Blowout is also about playing with other pipers, not always possible for some of us at home. So it’s a real pleasure to join in the sessions last thing. The noisy pipes play for dancing in the hall, normally, and the quieter ones, usually in D, have the dining room to themselves. I usually play in the noisy brigade, but the quiet players make a fantastic sound.

It’s all very well to have your set of pipes and play them – but are you doing that as well, as effectively, as you could? And so the Blowout has its talks and workshops on technique, on possible repertoires, and on the history of piping. In that recent BBC Scotland two-part programme on bagpipes, the great Liam O’Flynn said that in piping you’re part of a tradition, and that’s a comfortable place to be. Workshops over the weekend came from Paul Martin on border pipes and tunes, Dave Rowlands looking at Irish music, Andy Letcher running a piper’s surgery for those needing help with their piping and Trio Matta Rouch took people through various Occitan tunes. Meanwhile, Chris Allen ran workshops for the hurdy gurdy players in attendance.

Although as pipers we respect tradition, we are not slavishly bound to it, as quite a few presentations in past Blowouts have shown. Rohan Kriwaczek took us back to the basics of what we are about. He explained how his own long academic study of music and composition has left him dissatisfied. Looking at primitive music, he argues that humans seem to find that with five notes is a minimum because with them we can begin to tell a story. People have been doing that for a long time; “proper” flutes have been found going back 45,000 years. And dance may well be as old; we’re creatures that evolved to run long distances – rhythmically. He sees pipes as a way forward as drone music is the basis of so much modern music, and pipes are the ideal instrument for that. He felt that ornamentation was as vital as consonants are to speech, but we shouldn’t be too hung up on the exact system. Nor did he want simply to trot out traditional tunes as he had his own things to say. In the same way, he didn’t want to saddle himself with a nationalistic baggage, so he has invented his “own” country. And if you want to hear the results, you can buy his CD!

Other guests paying a fleeting visit were Balazs Istvanfi and Andras Nemeth from Hungary. Central European pipes can look primitive, but the music is complex and beautiful. As we know, pipes pair well with hurdy-gurdies, and Hungarians have found this out as well as the French. Their hurdy-gurdy is big, but has a small wheel as it needs to be able to articulate some very fast music.

AGM’s are not considered fun, but are necessary. Further, the tone was very positive. Membership is increasing, the Blowout is well- attended and the profile of bagpipes is greater than it was. But we need to raise it more, and there is still money for special events to do that. Showcases and workshops at festivals to come and try a bagpipe often do well - could you do that at your regular festival given the chance? Further, in these days of widespread mobile phone filming, could more piping “footage” be sent in to be spread via the net? A final point ‐ next year is our 30^th anniversary – any suggestions?

We’ve been lucky over the years to have a church for our Saturday formal concert as they’re ideal for our instrument. As usual, several members joined a workshop for a band presentation as the opening spot, and this year it was a treat to hear a piece conducted by our own John Tose, and written by his daughter Mickey, who is studying music. It was a lovely reflective piece, and fitted the church setting perfectly.

Next were the Hungarians. What struck me on this second hearing was that this is not sound bite music. It’s probably not familiar to most of us, but it’s inaccessible either and it’s full of drive, power and passion. Third were the Occitans with their amazing variety of pipes and shawms. We ended Saturday with the dance. One of the good things about BagSoc is that we don’t forget that a lot of piping, indeed folk playing generally is about dance, a fact that has been forgotten in the many “sessions” where it’s played today. There were two “official” bands, the first being duo Jon Swayne and Becky Price on pipes, accordion and keyboards. They know exactly how to play effectively for dancing, and it struck me that their music is classy. It’s original, with good melodies, it’s good to listen to as well as dance to, and there’s always a sense of warmth in their playing. And the second band was Trio Matta Rouch. It was a great performance with a fandango and a sept-sauts joining the more familiar French dances. Then it was down to everyone else to play for those who wished to dance!

Sunday contained more workshops and presentations and concluded with a final concert from all those taking part throughout the Blowout. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, but I can’t end without mentioning all those that make it possible – Ian Clabburn, Robert and Ruth Bramley and the team with the kind cooperation of the vicar and his congregation. And the excellent food provided by Vanessa and her team. (I look forward to it almost as much as anything else!) Without them all the event wouldn’t be the same, and I doubt if it would even be possible. So three cheers to them all!

I hope this has given those who have not attended the Blowout before a flavour of the event. So see you all there in 2016?

To get a full flavour of the Blowout, then do take 10 minutes out with a brew to watch a video made by Jeremy Cooper. He really managed to capture the event brilliantly. Thanks Jeremy! Here’s a link http://tinyurl.com/ogxus9m Also check out recordings of the groups in concert on the Society’s YouTube channel - see next article for the address.

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You may need to scroll to find the article you’re looking for.

This edition is from our archives, so it is presented as scanned pages rather than text.

You may need to scroll to find the article you’re looking for.

This edition is from our archives, so it is presented as scanned pages rather than text.

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John Tose:

Arriving at Polesworth, and whilst

setting up camp in the field behind the Abbey – looking forward to an evening chilling out over some cider, a barbeque, and a few tunes with the girls – I was collared by none other than Julian Goodacre. Apparently my pres- ence was required in the hall as he had some- thing planned about an assembly dedicated to producing a standard chanter. No rest for the wicked.

To be honest, I had no idea what he

was on about, but as it turned out Julian

hosted an entertaining session in which he

hooked up a bagpipe to a standard lamp (!)

via a reed chamber containing the biggest

double reed you’re ever likely to want to see

in action. This produced a D so low I expect

it was only really audible to the larger cetace-

ans… and then invited the assembly to decide

how work should proceed to turn the beast

into a working chanter. Sean Jones was the first to step up and drilled a hole about half way – a Bb apparently – closely followed by Dom Allan who managed the D above. Somehow I got wangled in to get the C between the two, and that was it for the ‘standard chanter’ for the evening.

Funny thing with the Blowout – there’s always plenty going on, but you can only be in one place at a time, so you might well see or take part in a full weekend of activi- ties, workshops and concerts while missing out on as much again. And so that was more or less the last that I saw of Julian’s standard chanter apart from brief and sometimes distant sightings…

Saturday dawned a sunny day and so it was soon time for the first workshop of the day. I was in the church for a playing session on medieval music led by Tony Purnell, a self confessed inexperienced bagpiper, but someone with more than a little experience of early music. First tune up was ‘Quand je voi’, a troubadour song by Colin Muset, which, arranged for G and D pipes, went pretty well. We then had a go at something a little harder - ‘Sempr’acha Santa Maria’, cantiga 137. Well we struggled with this one, but eventually got the hang of it’s odd rhythms by the end. It’s one of those tunes that once you’ve got it, it’s a lovely piece, but just following the dots it was a bit of a pig! Now it’s in my head I’ll be keep- ing it for future use.

After Tony’s workshop I went to Clive Matthews’ one on ‘Apes, Jugglers and the Scourge of Actors’. You may know Clive from his many recent contributions to Chanter. He gave a splendid talk on the subject of bagpipers in the ‘masks’ performed in Tudor times. This could have been really dry fare, but Clive managed to make it lively and hu- morous. A thoroughly entertaining lecture which should be appearing in expanded form in Chanter in the not too distant future.

In the afternoon it was back to the church for another playing session with Tony Purnell – this time on renaissance music; an Allemande from Gervaise, and a canon by Melchior Franck ‘Da Pacem Domine’. This was a fairly straightforward 6 bar phrase arranged for D and G pipes but with the different parts coming in at odd times. The ar- rangement we settled on had us all playing the G part through a couple of times, then the D part held a note so we could come in 1⁄2 a bar later than the G players. After a couple of times through like this we further split so that half the G’s re entered a bar and a half after the other G’s, while half the D’s re entered a bar and a half after the D part, or 2 bars after the original G part. I have

to say without Tony’s excellent con-

ducting this could never have

worked but as it was it was lovely,

and looking in on the workshop, Ian

Clabburn asked us to perform it at

the start of the evening concert.

Whilst hanging round wait- ing for the AGM - and thanks Andy for the constant reminders; I actu- ally remembered to go to it this year! – and on the lookout for photo opportunities I was collared by Paul Martin one of the guest pipers at the Blowout this year, who had spotted my pipes sticking out of my bag and wanted to know more about them. It seems he’s a bit of a fan of single reed pipes so was interested in my pibgorn / gaida hybrid pipes that I play mostly these days. There’s a photo hereabouts of him having a go. There should be a law against people being able to just pick up a strange set of pipes and being able to play them better than you can yourself…

The evening concert was soon upon us and as usual well attended both by Blowout goers and local people as well. This year Ian had changed the format somewhat so that it was basically just the guest pipers. The show started with Tony Purnell’s workshop group performing ‘Da Pacem Domine’ which went pretty well, although I confess to going a little wrong in the last few bars – hopefully no- body noticed!

Next up was Paul Martin on bellows blown border pipes. Paul’s a fine player both of tradi- tional border tunes (with variations) and also his own compositions, and his performance was true to form. Excellent stuff.

He was followed by Rémi Decker, a young

piper from Belgium with a growing reputation.

Rémi is from the French part of the country and is

a notable performer on French bagpipes as well as

the Belgian shepherds bagpipe (the Muchosa with it’s untempered scale and which died out in the early 20th century) the pastoral pipes and low whistle. He started his set on the French pipes, singing a song of his own composition as he played before moving on to dance tunes. Between them he proved himself a fine storyteller as well. He finished this first set with a couple of tunes on the low whistle – a couple of his own composition; one describing the perambulations of a tipsy priest on a bicycle (much to Father Phillip’s amusement), the other a Breton style gavotte…

After the interval Paul returned for another 3 sets of tunes, this time having switched to another set of pipes, still border pipes but this time mouthblown and with a single bass drone. A very mellow set of pipes and quite old by the looks of them.

Then Rémi was up again. More tunes on the

French pipes but an excel- lent piece as well on the Muchosa – a bit of a walk on the wild side this one and owing more to Jimi Hendrix than piping tradition! More whistle as well plus a set on the Swedish pipes. The concert finished with Rémi call- ing on Paul and Ian Clab- burn to perform a bourree that had been composed earlier in Rémi’s workshop earlier in the day.

The evening concluded with the usual bal in the community hall to new French band ‘Mister Klof’ who are Julien Cartonnet on cornemuse du Centre, Sylvain Quéré on guitar – both ex Rufut de Chene from last year’s Blowout - Tiennet Simonnin on accordéon chromatique and Sylvain Vuidart on flute. As I’m sure you can imag- ine they were excellent both to just listen to and to dance to as well. After their first set, Rémi took over for a while before they returned, but by then we’d had enough and it was time for bed.

Sunday dawned sunny at

first but quickly turning to rain, though not before I managed to get most of our camping gear to the car. I was off site until after lunchtime visiting relatives but got back in the afternoon for part of Rémi’s workshop where he explained more about the revival of the Muchosa. Controversial at times he told us how the instrument had been copied from a survivor but then there had been difficulty in reeding it – no one knew what it should sound like. The result is an instrument with it’s own unique scale – a long way from ei- ther equal temperament or just intonation. And yet it sounds great…

The Blowout ended as usual with the Sunday afternoon concert, which once more featured our two guest pipers (Paul Martin doing a nice set this time on Northumbrian smallpipes) but with the unexpected addition of one Mano Panfor- reteiro, a Galician piper who was attending the festival. Highlight of his set was when he was joined by Vanessa Ryall’s daughter Dolly and they performed, well, a jazz song I guess you’d call it – Mano playing gaita and Dolly singing over the top of it. Excellent stuff.

Many thanks to Ian Clabburn for once again organising an excellent Blow- out. Robert Bramley for ticketing, Vanessa Ryall and the catering staff for keeping everyone fed, and all the workshop people for their contributions.

Ruth Bramley:

I always look forward to the Blowout, and this year was certainly no exception,

especially because I knew that the hurdy-gurdy workshops would be extremely good. This was my first year of running the box office, although I have assisted Robert for several years, so I wanted to get to Polesworth quite early on Friday, armed with all my paperwork, tickets for collection, etc. Almost as soon

as we arrived, people started asking me for tickets, or wanting to pay for previously booked tickets.

Anyway, back to the review… Once the tent was pitched we met up with Chris Allen and Mike Gil- pin, who were to do the gurdy workshops over the weekend. Mike and Chris are very good friends of ours: Mike was my teacher when I first started playing and it was through him that we met Chris. Both are hurdy- gurdy makers and I have had the pleasure of attending the Over the Water hurdy-gurdy festival in Seattle a couple of times, when they have been teaching there. I had found out that it was Chris’s birthday so had baked a big chocolate cake, complete with dark and white chocolate barber-pole edg- ing, in pseudo-hurdy-gurdy style. I knew that Chris would be embarrassed if we announced his birthday in the hall, so instead we had a quiet celebration with those in the vicinity, with just enough cake to keep us go- ing until dinner time. Dinner was, as usual, delicious and a truly sociable event. Julian Goodacre then summoned us all to participate in his planned discussion on the “standard chanter” – or how

to construct a chanter using a wooden standard lamp and an enormous reed. He invited people to drill finger holes, which caused much hilarity. A number of brave souls volun- teered, including Sean Jones, Dominic Allan and Chris Allen. Very soon the sessions were underway and the beer was flowing freely.

After a healthy breakfast, the workshops commenced, with the hurdy-gurdy play- ers trooping over to the refectory where Mike and Chris were getting ready to lead the workshop for the morning. As usual there was a mix of abilities, and gurdies in both G and D, but Mike and Chris were well-prepared. They decided to concentrate on just one tune, Bourrée de Glux, a traditional tune from the Morvan area of France. Mike and Chris had cleverly arranged the tune in two parts, one part for the G and the other for D instruments, but both parts equally interesting, with enough challenging bits for the more advanced players, but without being too daunting for those not so experienced. The morning flew by as we all worked on getting our fingers to go in the right places, and very soon it was time for lunch. In the afternoon hurdy-gurdy workshop we continued to work on the same piece, now adding the trompetting. I think we all came away from the workshop feeling that we had learnt a lot. It was good to see so many in the class, with at least ten participants attending both workshops.

After dinner we made our way over to the church for the concert, where Paul Martin and Rémi Decker played magnificent sets. I was also very impressed by the group from Tony Purnell’s workshop who opened the concert. We rounded the evening off with a few pints of beer (well someone had to do it) and lots of dancing in the com- munity hall before crawling back to our tent.

There was some interest in continuing the gurdy workshop on Sunday, and Chris said that he was willing to do so. As the refectory was theoretically available from 11.45 we headed over there, but weren’t able to get in until a little later. In the short time we had we revised what we had learnt the previous day, before heading back for lunch. As always, the final concert was a very intimate and delightful end to another enjoyable Blowout. All too soon it was time to bid farewell to our friends, many of whom we may not see until next year’s Blowout.

Featuring: Mister Klof, Paul Martin, Rémi Decker, Julian Goodacre, Clive Matthews, Andy Letcher, Chris Allen & Mike Gilpin

This year, we’re back to a “normal” weekend, a little later than usual, but this guarantees much better weather, of course.

The programme is still evolving and there will be updates on our website:

www.bagpipesociety.org.uk

Mister Klof (Saturday Bal)

are Julien Cartonnet on pipes, Tiennet Simonnin on accordéon Sylvain Quéré on guitar. Sylvain Vuidart: transverse flute. Last Blowout saw the one and only UK appearance of the excellent Re-fût de Chêne which, sadly, disbanded in the autumn. However, I am very pleased to introduce the new incarnation, Mister Klof. The brilliant and innovative piper Julien Cartonnet and guitarist Sylvain Quéré from Re-fût de Chêne have joined with Sylvain Vuidart (Kitus) and Tiennet Simonnin (Duet TTC) to bring us a dance band fusing the diverse influences of the members to create a blend that is quite their own. The Bal last year was something special and you are strongly advised not to miss what will undoubtedly be one of the dance events of the year!

http://www.myspace.com/misterklof

Paul Martin (Concerts, workshops)

It has taken me two years to get this amazing player to the Blowout and I am sure that the wait will have been more than worthwhile! Paul has a style which is both deeply rooted in his traditions and also very much his own. Not to be missed!

Biography:

Paul has spent most of his life in County

Durham in the North East of England, apart from a spell in the Army and a prolonged stay in Australia.

Since the age of 12 he has played several varieties of bagpipe, initially learning the Highland pipes before experiencing local traditional music and taking up Smallpipes and Uilleann pipes.

Over the last 12 years, he began to explore the bagpipe music of the North of England and Lowland Scotland, whilst also trying medieval and other European styles of tunes suitable for bagpipes. This led to the formation of Northumbrian 5 piece Horseplay, neo-medieval street band Wulffengrimm, and latterly the trio Roughshod. He’s also half of duo Mckone and Martin (Pipes , Song, Fiddles and Guitar).

In 2009 Paul recorded a solo CD “Blue”, playing Border pipes in A and G, and Northumbrian and Scottish Smallpipes.

Paul continues to add to his bagpipe collection, and developing his playing style which varies depending on the favourite music of the moment! When it gets too much he plays Mandolin, Fiddle, Whistle and Hurdy Gurdy.

“ the timing and dexterity of Paul Martin’s playing is exceptional…”

Alex Monaghan Living Tradition

“ a well earned reputation as an exponent of the Border pipes…”

John Tose Chanter “Paul has developed a style which works well with the repertoire, crisp fingerwork with

thoughtful application of gracing.”

Chris Ormston Northumbrian Pipers Society Magazine

www.myspace.com/piperpaulmartin also try “Dunholmpiper” on YouTube for some webcam recordings.

Rémi Decker (Concerts and Workshops)

This is another UK first!! Rémi must be one of the top pipers in the French /Belgian scene. He is coming over specially for The Blowout and is not to be missed. He will be performing in the Saturday and Sunday concerts and also running two workshops (details below). Catch him on YouTube and prepare to be impressed!

Biography:

Rémi grew up in a musical family. He

discovered the (continental) bagpipe at the

age of 10, which was something of a co-

incidence: his great-grandfather, Emmanuel

Durlet, a well-known composer and pianist,

was fascinated by bagpipes and traditional

music (he composed a piece called ‘Bagpipe

player’). Through the years, whistles took a

rightful place next to the pipes. Tradition and

creativity makes Rémi’s musical language

rich, inventive and spontaneous. His talents and his desires have led him to initiate an eclectic variety of projects including:

‘K VOEL ME BELG (www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoqYdF36BzY)

GRIFF, BBGE (Belgian Bagpipe Groove Experience), DUO DECKER-DECOMBEL All details can be found on http://www.griff.be. Rémi also performs with SOURDINE (www.sourdine.be), IALMA, the BRABANTS VOLKSORKEST and the French band MINUIT GUIBOLLES.(www.minuitguibolles.com)

He has toured with his projects in Poland, Finland (Kaustinnen Folk Festival), Italy (Liguria, Puglia, Sardinia), France, Spain, Andorra, Germany, Austria, Malaysia, Mexico… Rémi is also often asked for different projects as studio musician (film music, singer song…) and is becoming a renowned teacher of whistle and bagpipes. http://www.remi-decker.be

Illustrated Talks:

Julian Goodacre

“Old tunes. New Tunes. Your Tunes?”

Julian says: “The aim of this presentation is to encourage everyone to explore

their own potential as composers of tunes. I will consider tunes, their inspiration, where they come from and my own process of ‘capturing’ them. This is based on my personal experience and is open to all; pipers and non pipers alike.”

Clive Matthews

“Apes,Jugglers and the Scourge of Actors: Glimpses of Tudor and Stewart Bagpipers” This talk will introduce some recently discovered references to 16th century bagpipers in England. The main focus will be on the Revels accounts of Edward VI which describe a Masque of bagpipe playing apes performed in front of the dying king in 1553, a 1592 diatribe by William Cuckoe an Elizabethan bagpiping juggler and an anti- Puritan play written in Latin and performed in 1623 which includes the named role of “utricularius” (bagpiper).

After an initial classical training on the oboe at the Royal College of Music, Clive came to the pipes in the mid-1990s as part of the historical re-enactment scene. In recent years he has become interested in exploring and writing about the history of the pipes, especially in an English context.

Workshops in The Vestry

Chris Allen & Mike Gilpin

Chris says: I started to make lutes 23 yrs ago but have long since been abducted by the hurdy gurdy. This amicable separation has allowed me to indulge my love for French traditional dance music. I will be teaching from beginners to intermediate, French repertoire and trompette technique. The plan is to add layers of difficulty until we all have a good workout. The Montagnard St Anne as listed on the hurdy gurdy forum resources page is a useful tune which we could work with, or Carrée de Vouvray is well known and we could use it as a vehicle to find harmony, counter-melody, and rhythmic diversity. Maybe people will have their own agenda that I can try to work to.

Precisely how things pan out will depend on what level of playing (competence) we have and the mix of G/C and D/G instruments.

I don’t want to spend much time setting instruments up as this frustrates the better

players ! We should do that before class, and I’ll be happy to help. Mike intends to come too, so we could split the G/C D/G, or separate out beginners. There will be number limits for this workshop, so please make sure you book a place by ticking the box on the application form, and returning it asap.

Workshops in the Community Hall

Rémi Decker

Rémi will be presenting two workshops based around Belgian music, one about the historical aspect with musical illustrations, maybe learning a tune, and the second one about how to arrange traditional tunes.

Paul Martin

Paul will be presenting two workshops entitled: Ornamenting Tunes on the Border Pipes and Tackling Variations in Border Pipe Music

Andy Letcher

Pipers’ surgery - for ‘southern’ English Border pipes in G or D. Andy will be offering individual (or small group) lessons where you can concentrate on one aspect of pipe playing, depending on your stage of progress/personal interest. Examples might include ornamentation, developing rhythm, reaching the second octave, or handling tricky fingerings. Each session will be 30mins and can be booked on a chart, which will be available from 9.00 Saturday morning. There will obviously be limited availability, so it will be offered on a strictly “first come” basis.

Biography:

Andy Letcher (southern English border pipes) has worked with Distil, Max Reinhardt, Kerfuffle, The Steve Tyler Band, Nonimus and Dragonsfly. In 2008 he appeared with Bellowhead at the BBC Proms in the Park, and was guest tutor at Chris Wood’s English Acoustic Collective summer school; and in 2009 he performed in Rosemary Lee’s ‘Common Dance’ with a score composed by Terry Mann. He plays for French and Breton dancing in a duo with Cliff Stapleton, and in 2011 is set to launch a new trio, Wod. A song-writer, he also fronts Spiral Earth Award-nominees, Telling the Bees.

And…

Other participatory workshops to be announced – as in previous years, there will be workshops for “novice” players as well as those who already know their way round the instrument. Please contact me direct if you have any requests or suggestions.

We will also be running a dance workshop prior to the Bal. Details to be confirmed.

Makers’ Stalls

The following pipe makers will be exhibiting their wares and will be glad to help you draw up your wish list: Julian Goodacre, Dominic Allen, Sean Jones

There may be others…

CD Stall and “Swap Shop”

This become quite a success and we have expanded our services, to include a small range of commercial recordings, mostly produced by BagSoc members (sold on commission only) and a selection of tune books. We will also continue with our CD swap shop – bring along your unwanted pipe CDs and swap them for someone else’s – small contribution to BagSoc funds invited. Start digging them out now!!

Enquiries to: vicky”at”windway.co.uk

The Venue

Polesworth Priory has a beautiful setting among mature trees and the remains of a monastery by the river. We have unlimited access to the mediaeval church and vestry (services permitting) and we have hired the adjacent community centre from Friday pm to Monday midday. This gives us plenty of space and facilities, which include a good number of REAL MODERN TOILETS, warm dry rooms, a dance-sized hall with stage, kitchen and a bar with real ales ordered.

Camping at the Blowout will be in two main areas: inside the Priory’s secure and fully enclosed walled gardens and also the adjacent field, both of which are secluded and well away from public rights of way. There is unrestricted access to the modern toilet facilities throughout the night.

IMPORTANT!!!

We are getting an increasing number of caravans and camper vans and this is beginning to cause some space issues in the main car park round the community hall. With reluctance we will need to place a restriction on total placements, so it is most important that you pre-book as early as possible, by returning the booking form and ticking the “camper van/caravan box”.

Wash facilities are still limited to small hand basins. Last year we had access to the showers at the local leisure centre on the far side of Polesworth. It may be possible to use them again. Please ask when you arrive.

Local Accommodation

Polesworth is not a tourist area and accommodation is scarce. There is one hotel in the village - contact me if you are considering this option. Tamworth is only a short drive away and can offer a wider range of accommodation.

Volunteers!

Over the years, the smooth running of the festival has relied upon the hard work of a few totally unpaid volunteers who put in more time than they should. Please be prepared to lend a hand whenever you can, whether it involves collecting up empties, sweeping round, putting out or clearing chairs, wiping tables etc.

Blowout Menu

Vanessa (The Blowout’s official caterer) will again be providing all the meals for the weekend – quality, quantity and value for money! At last year’s prices too! However, in order for this to work, it is vital that we all pitch in with peeling, chopping, setting out, clearing away and general all round helpfulness.

NB All meals must be booked and paid for in advance.

Fri 10th June

Supper £4.00: Vanessa’s vegetable special! Stew, mash plus pickled cabbage, onions and gherkins, yoghurt, fruit

Saturday 11th June

Big breakfast £3.50: Cereals, bacon & egg bap, tea, coffee, juice, toast, jam etc

Lunch £5.00: Pasta Bakes, seasonal salads. Tiramisu, fruit

Evening meal £6.00: Big Vegetable Curry, dhal, raita, onion salad, chutneys, rice, lime pickles. Fruit salad, mango couli, yoghurt

Sunday 12th June

Big breakfast £3.50: (As Saturday)

Lunch £5.00: “Big Soup”, bread, salad. Cakes

Directions

Postal address: Polesworth Priory, High Street, Polesworth B78 1DU

Nearest Motorway Junction M42 Junction 10, take A5 (East) to Dordon, then

follow signs to Polesworth. From Tamworth, take the B5000. At the mini roundabout in Polesworth turn left over the river then follow second paragraph below.

Directions from the A5 Grendon (near Tamworth). At the Black Swan Roundabout turn on to Spon Lane, which is the exit on the opposite side of the roundabout to the pub. At the end of the lane, turn left on to the B5000. On entering Polesworth, stay on the B5000. You will pass a Gulf garage on your right. Take the next right turn over the bridge, signed to Warton.

Turn right into the Community Hall, Library and Surgery car park. On arrival and before you set up/ pitch tents etc, please walk through the park to the church and make yourself known at the reception area, where you will be directed to the appropriate camping spot.

PARKING - IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE:

The driveway is now complete and is no longer a car park! It’s definitely a driveway.There are only a few spaces available for cars, quite close to the Church, but they are solely for disabled visitors to the site. There is no problem with the usual drop off and unload, either by the Refectory door or by the garage — which is probably an easy way into the garden. After drop off, re-park, either by the Memorial Hall or on the College Car Park, which is the next entrance up from the Gatehouse, opposite the Co Op. Both are really convenient — within 100 metres of the Church.

Ian Clabburn ian.clabburn@yahoo.co.uk

Words: John Tose. Photos: John, Daniele and Micayla Tose.

Usually, George Featherston writes us an excellent, detailed account of goings on at the Blowout and as Chanter editor I can sit back with my feet up and wait for it to come in the post. Unfortunately, George phoned me a couple of weeks before the event to let me know he wouldn’t be able to attend this years bash so that put paid to that scenario… Still - an opportunity, perhaps, for an account from someone giving one of the workshops rather than someone on the receiving end. That would be me then.

Actually, this was to be my third year on the trot of doing a tunes workshop for pipes in D and G and after the previous two attempts I was quite looking forward to it. Last year’s effort had been perhaps a little too ambitious though it had been well received, so for this year I’d settled on something a little easier - the Galician ‘Marcha Procesional de San Benito’ and as Julian Goodacre had suggested to me that it might be a good idea to do something again from a previous workshop, I’d opted for the Welsh round with variations ‘Had Maip Mon’ that we did the first year but never performed in the concert.

I’m getting a little ahead of myself

here, so back to the

beginning… It was

getting quite late when

we (the family and I)

arrived in Polesworth

as we’d had to wait

until Sheila finished

work before we could

load the car up for the

trip - and although

Polesworth is a lot

easier to get to than

Milton Keynes used to

be, it’s still a four hour

drive. So we arrived

only to discover that

the driveway up to the Rectory was closed off for repair work so we had to lug our gear quite a way to the campsite which again was in the Rectory garden and the field beyond it. We elected for the field this year and very pleasant it was down by the riverside and by the morning we knew it had been a good decision as Father Phillip had forgotten to switch off the church bells for Friday night.

Over in the community hall I thought it was a bit quieter than previous years. There had been a competition - the most inappropriate tune for the bagpipes - but we missed that and by the time we got over there, there was just a bit of a session going on that petered out some time after midnight.

Saturday dawned a little miserably and was quite a wet day, though the ground was so dry you would hardly have known it had been wet at all. First thing of the day was my first workshop, which went really well I thought. We started with the ‘San Benito’ piece which I had arranged fairly simply - the G pipes had the tune for the first part while the Ds also mostly had it but dropping an octave for those parts that were too high for them. In the second part the D pipes had the tune while the G parts played it a third higher. Both parts in fact could be played as if they were the tune - I always feel this is important when making an arrangement - sometimes you see arrangements for duet playing where one pipe simply has the melody while the other seems to have a series of disconnected notes jumping up and down all over the place, which although they may well harmonise with the melody and sound okay, are no pleasure to play at all.

Mike York bores out the chanter with a helping hand from Jon Swayne.

After I played through the D part to show how it went, the Ds had a go and then the Gs. They both sounded pretty good and when Ds and Gs played together it was really good. Normally I try arrangements out on the computer to check they’ll work but with this one I hadn’t been able to as we’d changed computers and the old programme no longer worked.

So then we moved on to ‘Had Maip Mon’ - which translates as ‘Anglesey Turnip Seeds’ - not exactly a classic as tune titles go… Again, I played through the D part before the rest of the D pipes had a go, and then the Gs had their turn. We did it then as a simple round, with the Ds starting and the Gs joining us after 4 bars. This worked quite nicely so at someone’s suggestion we split the Ds and Gs into two and each group came in after each succeeding 2 bars. This also went well but the result was a bit more muddy so we decided to stick with the 4 bars and just the two groups. And that was the end of my first workshop.

Terry Mann then followed with his percussion workshop which I attended. He had us seated in a circle beating a rhythm to start with using feet and hands as we introduced ourselves and despite the simplicity of the beat it was surprisingly hard to think and talk at the same time while maintaining the rhythm - but there again I can’t talk and play an instrument either… We moved on to harder stuff then - doing syncopated clapping and eventually an Egyptian drum rhythm (dum ta-ka dum ta) before finishing with stamping and clapping working from 4 beat bars to 3 beat bars and then into 2 beat bars and back again.

That took us up to

lunchtime. Both workshops had

been in the main hall and there

had been some difficulty due to

noise from other things going

on - people going round the

stalls of various pipemakers

and of course the main

attraction of the day in the little

room at the end of the hall

where Tony Millyard had set

up his impressive looking lathe

the ‘Pipewatch’ event in

which several of the Bagpipe

Society’s professional pipe

makers were attempting to

jointly make a working set of

pipes from scratch over the two

days of the Blowout.

Pipemakers involved were:

Sean Jones, Julian Goodacre,

Jon Swayne, Mike York and

Dom Allan, while Tony himself made two of the stocks. There seemed to be always a good crowd gathered in front of the lathe while the pipemakers discussed matters and woodchips flew. A certain Welsh Bagsoc member was heard to say that it kind of knocks the two year waiting list on the head a bit…

After lunch, while Matt Seattle was giving his talk in the main hall I retired with a couple of other Welsh attendees for a bit of a ‘sesh’ in the side room which was quite fun and a bit of a change from all the English/French stuff wafting in through open doors. Stephen Rowley’s early music workshop followed. Stephen is ‘Chair’ of the Taborer’s Society which is dedicated to the Pipe and Tabor and he led a variety of instrumentation through such as ‘Edi Beo Thu’, ‘Miri it is’ and ‘Chirintana’. It was quite a pleasant change to be playing in ensemble with hurdy-gurdies, flutes, recorders and tabor pipes as well as a wide variety of bagpipes.

Well, that was Saturday’s workshops for me, though there were other ones I didn’t attend. Julien Cartonnet did a French pipe workshop, Jean Pierre Rasle held a piper’s surgery while Ian Clabburn did his usual beginners workshop , and there were hurdy-gurdy and pipes masterclasses from Cliff Stapleton and Dave Faulkner.

The evenings entertainment was a bal, featuring Jean Pierre Rasle accompanied by Paul Martin on guitar to start us off followed by Dave Faulkner and Steve Turner who managed to squeeze a little English country dancing into the otherwise Frenchness of the evening. There was a little resistance from the French dance brigade but those of us who did the dances thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - including the three members of the main band of the evening ‘Re-fut de Chene’ who joined our set a little bewilderedly for ‘The Willow Tree’ but who seemed to really have fun once they got the hang of it!

After a break it was then French dancing for the rest of the evening with youthful band Re-fut de Chene. They were all three truly awesome - a pleasure to listen to and to dance to. They hail from the Morvan area of Berry and appeared to have brought quite a contingent of young French people with them to the Bal.

Interestingly, their attitude to the dancing seemed much more relaxed and natural, and dare I say, much less stuffy than some of the Brit. French dance brigade…

Sunday got off to a traumatic start when well known French dancer and Blowout attendee Mike Hughes suffered a major heart attack and had to be rushed to hospital for surgery. At the moment of writing Mike would appear to be on the road to recovery. I’m sure we all wish him well and hope to see him back at next years Blowout. Thankfully there were several first-aiders present at the time who were of great assistance until the paramedics arrived.

First workshop of the day for me was with Stephen Rowley again. This was for a second attempt at the pieces that the group would be performing in the concert in the evening. It went pretty well although it became apparent that not everyone present would be playing in the concert, plus Tony Milyard and Eric Moulder who would be at the concert and had been with us at Saturday’s workshop with their shawms, couldn’t be there this morning. Difficult therefore to finalise an arrangement.

It was interesting for me to be one of the ones struggling to sight-read unfamiliar scores when of course in my own workshops I can mostly play without looking at the music. I also find it harder to play by sight-reading when I’m playing bagpipes than other instruments. Presumably because with the pipes there’s more to concentrate on than with other instruments - bag pressure, grace notes and such.

We finished by agreeing to have a further practice in the church itself after my own workshop which was also to be in the church in the afternoon just before the AGM. I can’t actually remember what I did for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. There were more workshops by Terry Mann, Jean-Pierre Rasle, Dave Faulkner, Cliff Stapleton and Dirk Campbell (on Uilleann pipes) but I managed somehow to miss them all. I did watch a bit more of the pipe turning - fascinating to see that almost everything they did was completely different to what I do in my own, rather less sophisticated workshop.

Then it was into the church with my own group which had dwindled in numbers somewhat, less assured members of my previous workshop having dropped out and some at least having started for home already. It did actually feel a little strange to be having the main concert on the Sunday evening instead of the Saturday and doubtless some people had lives to return to…

This rehearsal went really well and by the end we were not only playing in tune but everyone starting up and finishing neatly as well as coming in exactly in time with everyone else. This also applied to Stephen Rowley’s rehearsal which followed.

Next thing up was the AGM but one committee member blotted his copy-book somewhat by forgetting all about it and failing to attend (not for the first time!). He shall remain nameless… Apparently there was quite an interesting discussion as well as the usual stuff.

And so to the concert. The Goodacre Brothers started off proceedings with processing into the church before performing a couple more tune sets. Excellent stuff - and this from the new line-up of Pete Stewart, John Goodacre and his son John Francis in place of Julian who announced his retirement from the band though couldn’t resist the temptation to join in at one point to everyone’s amusement.

Next on was Stephen Rowley with his ‘Rowley’s Rowdies’. Nerves were a factor here - we definitely peaked during the afternoon rehearsal! - but that’s not really the point with these participatory contributions to the event. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and this kind of thing gives us all a chance to take part and to do something we don’t normally have a chance to do. Long may it continue.

We were followed by 14 year old Grace Lemon playing a delightful set on

Uilleann pipes which would have been a credit to anyone irrespective of their age. In his introduction of her Ian Clabburn told us that from the age of 7 she had had the ambition to become an Irish piper after seeing someone performing on them and just seven years later here she is playing at this standard. I’m sure she’s going to attain great things in her future musical career. As well as the usual jigs and reels, all well executed and with good use of the regulators, she did a slow air in a most unusual style. Difficult to describe but not played like anything I’ve ever heard before. Great stuff.

Then it was the turn of the ‘Pipewatch’ pipemakers to show off the fruit of their labours to general amusement as all five together proceeded to play a tune on the finished bagpipe - Dominic Allan supplying elbow pressure with the bag tucked under his arm, Julian Goodacre on inflation, Mike York, upper three fingerholes, Jon Swayne, lower three and Sean Jones, thumb holes.

Re-fut de Chene finished off the first half of the concert. They were as good as they had been the night before at the Bal. Great Morvan piping from Julien Cartonnet with sensitive but equally talented guitar and accordeon work by Sylvain Quere and Jean Thiery. Again, quite a youthful ensemble making this first half of the concert a very young affair, what with John Francis Goodacre, Grace Lemon, and now these new generation musicians from France.

After a short break it

was on with the show, starting

with my own ensemble from

the workshops. Last year Ian

dubbed us the John Tose Light

Orchestra, but this years group

was a much slimmed down

version. And non the worse for

that. Again, as with Stephen

Rowley’s group, nerves were a

problem. Sight reading is hard

enough but there’s extra

pressure in the concert of

course. On the whole it went

quite well though not as well

as in the rehearsal - the

‘Marcha’ was way too slow - I

blame the conductor; who is

that guy? In ‘Had Maip Mon’

the D and G pipes got a little

out of step at one point but

managed to get back together by the end. For me, I had the bizarre experience of playing to an audience with my back to them!

Dave Faulkner (border pipes) and Steve Turner (piano accordeon) followed and did a predictably excellent set. Steve’s accompaniment was thoughtful and sensitive, never overpowering Dave’s piping - despite the fact that I was sitting much closer to Steve than Dave.

Then, last item on the bill - the Matt Seattle Band, with Terry Mann standing in for their usual percussionist. I confess to a little feeling of guilt here - when I was setting up for my last rehearsal in the church earlier, they’d come in expecting to do some rehearsing themselves and had had to go off and find somewhere else to practice, it having been a while since they’d last played together. Well, apologies, Matt - but I think you’d agree that my lot needed the practice more than yours!

Anyway, they played a blinding set. Two items really stood out for me - the first was a twelve minute suite based on the tune ‘Thomas the Rhymer’ which I thought was great, starting with a slow air based on it, then into an extended version of the song tune before finishing with a reel version of it. Great stuff. The second was ‘Damascus Drum’ named after a cafe in Hawick with a great arabic feel to it.

After the concert, which was considerably longer than we normally have, dancing commenced over in the main hall though we didn’t stay for long. Andy Letcher and Cliff Stapleton did a spot followed by Ian Clabburn on French pipes plus bass (Dom Allan) and hurdy gurdy. And that was it for us - another thoroughly enjoyable Blowout courteously provided by the considerable efforts of many people. All the workshop leaders, the performers, the ‘Pipewatch’ pipemakers, Vanessa in the kitchens doing sterling work and Robert Bramley and of course the irrepressible Ian Clabburn who is doubtless already well into organising next year’s event. Once again: well done all…

As always, I was looking forward

to the Blowout, knowing that it

would be a great weekend, filled

with music, dancing and good

company, this year extending into

the Monday as it was over the Bank

Holiday weekend. This would be an

extra special weekend for my friend

Michael Opp (pictured far right),

who had planned his trip to

England, (to collect his brand new

hurdy-gurdy from Mike Gilpin), to

include the Blowout weekend. I

met Michael at the Over the Water

Hurdy-Gurdy Festival in Seattle in

2008, when he came along hoping to have his first go on a hurdy-gurdy. He left the festival the proud owner of a gurdy made by Cali and Alden Hackmann. Having worked hard at his playing, he decided that he should now have a more traditional instrument, and duly ordered one from Mike Gilpin, who lives quite near us in Cambridgeshire (Mike taught at OTW in 2008 and 2009). This was Michael’s first trip outside North America, so a big adventure for him. He is a big fan of Blowzabella (and loves French dancing too), so was absolutely delighted when I told him that Cliff Stapleton would be running the gurdy workshops at the Blowout.

We arrived at Polesworth and pitched the tents before heading over to the community hall to check people in for dinner. The after-dinner competition was hilarious! I’m sure that John Cage would be delighted that so many people chose to play his well-known composition… And then the session began. I’m not sure what time the session finished, but it was in full swing when I headed off to my tent.

Saturday morning arrived and we were soon breakfasted and ready for the first workshop, which took place in the refectory. All too often workshop leaders try to squeeze too much into a short time, leaving all the participants (except, perhaps, the best players), gasping for breath and feeling swamped. Thankfully, this was not the case with Cliff. He had supplied music in advance, for just one tune, Spider. On the face of it, this is a fairly simple tune, but presents a number of technical problems for the gurdy player, mainly to do with the fingering. During the first workshop we worked on just the first part of the tune, playing the melody over and over until we were all happy with the fingering. The tune is in two parts, in G minor and C minor, which meant that it could be played on both G and D instruments. The time flew past and very soon it was the end of the first of Cliff’s classes.

After lunch we returned to the refectory for the next instalment. Again, Cliff worked steadily, this time concentrating on the second part of the tune (in both keys), until we were all confident that we could play the whole tune reasonably well, at first just the G, then just the D instruments, and finally all of us together playing in harmony. What a lovely sound we made! Up to this point we had not even looked at the trompetting side of the tune - that was to be saved until the following day.

Cliff ran a further two workshops on Sunday afternoon during which we worked on the trompetting, looking at possible variations and decorations to both the tune and the rhythm. By the end of the final class we were all able to play the tune confidently, and most managed the trompetting as well. I certainly felt that I had gained a huge amount from Cliff’s workshops and I think the other participants felt the same. Nice one, Cliff! And as for Michael… well, he’s hoping to be able to come back to England and says that he would love to come to the Blowout again.

Yes, we’re back to the Bank Holiday weekend for this year, which gives us more time to indulge in all the qualities that have made The Blowout such a great little festival. Changes:

I have taken this opportunity to make the Saturday Bal longer and to move the now extended concert to the Sunday evening. The concert will be followed by an “open stage mini-bal”, featuring Society members. Contact me direct if you want to be part of this. All at last year’s prices too!

I am pleased to also announce The Return of the Inappropriate Tune Competition, but more of this later.

Monday will be “Chill out” time – nothing programmed as such, but a chance to wind down socialise, play wonderful music, including all those new tunes, and say goodbye

The programme is still evolving and there will be updates on our website http://www.bagpipesociety.org.uk

So, here are our main guests:

Re-fût de chêne (Saturday Bal)

Hailing from the Morvan area of Berry, we are very pleased to host the first UK appearance of this excellent young French band Re-fût de chêne. They are Julien Cartonnet on pipes, Jean Thiéry (son of Raphael) on accordéon, and Sylvain Quere on guitar.

They come highly recommended by Jon Swayne, Adam Cade and others who know, and that’s good enough for me. You can hear them on: http://www.myspace.com/refutdechene Prepare to be impressed!

Matt Seattle Band (Sunday concert)

Matt Seattle - Border pipes, guitar, voice, Donald Knox - guitar, mandolin, voice, Lewis Powell-Reid - accordion, mandolin, guitar, and Terry Mann - (dep for Frazer Watson) - percussion

In Matt’s own inimitable words: “Music with a Border heart, welling forth in muckle springs from watershed ridges thrown skywards from the Earth’s fiery depths to where Alba and Albion touch shoulders. Melodies of strength, passion and beauty which weave new strands into the tapestry of tales and tunes of bards and minstrels, from Thomas the Rhymer of Earlston to Rattlin Roarin Willie Henderson of Teviotdale. Our sound - pipes, accordion, guitar and middle eastern percussion - has been described as “Border lamb with Moroccan spice”! Music from here, enhanced with the finest natural ingredients from around the world.”

myspace.com/mattseattleband http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Aay0JXri7Ao&feature=channel

Trouvere (Sunday Concert)

A band of musicians sharing a common interest in medieval music and entertainment, Trouvere perform on a wide variety of medieval instruments and also often include storytelling and jesting as part of their live performance, though not at The Blowout!.

Trouvere include: Mike Beeke (bagpipes, percussion and recorder), Gill Page (harp, psaltery, percussion and voice) and Paul Leigh (citole, flute, lute, percussion, bagpipes and recorder).

The band describe their music as usually ‘authentic’ in style, though they are quite happy to mix in modern sounds as well .

They have performed for The Royal Armouries, English Heritage, The National Trust, The Museum of London, Warwick Castle, The Merchant Adventurer’s Hall in York and The York Archaeological Trust.

www.medievalminstrels.com

www.myspace.com/medievalminstrels

Illustrated Talks:

Matt Seattle (day tbc)

As well as performing with his band Matt will give a talk with musical illustrations entitled “The Muckle Lowp Forrit - closing the gap with Dixon” In 1995 Matt was privileged to rediscover the William Dixon manuscript of Border pipe music, made in 1733 when that tradition was at its creative peak. Since then he has been working hard to make up for the missing centuries so that the Border piping tradition is once again at the evolving stem of piping in these islands.

Dirk Campbell (Sunday)

Dirk will give a talk with musical interludes entitled ‘The Ace and Deuce of Pipering’. This will cover: “Popping, accenting, staccato, rolls, crans, bellows, regulators and all. Learn the secrets of the uilleann pipes and the intricacies of Irish piping. “

Dirk Campbell has been playing uilleann pipes for the best part of 30 years and has featured on films, TV programmes and commercials.

www.dirkcampbell.co.uk.’

Workshops in The Vestry:

Following the success of our extended “masterclass” workshops, I am making use of the extra time to run two this year, which will alternate with each other, giving approximately 3 hours teaching time each over the two days

David Faulkner Extended workshops – Saturday and Sunday

David will be working through some of his favourite tunes, which will include traditional English and Border music plus some original tunes from the Eel Grinders English and French dance repertoire. David writes: “Through these tunes you will be looking at technique and ornamentation as well as having fun with variations. The music learnt will be useful in developing a dance repertoire.”

The workshop will be for pipes in G.

Full time community musician at Devon’s folk arts development charity Wren 13.

Music, David is at the forefront of the English pipe tradition. He is well known for his work with bands including The Eel Grinders and Zephyrus, and his solo work has included international tours and performances. He was the winner of the prestigious Trophy for Border Pipes at the Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering in 2006 and 2007, and also won the Duo Performance award there in 2007. David has a wide knowledge of English and other traditional British music, as well as great enthusiasm for British and European traditional dance.

Cliff Stapleton Extended Workshops – Saturday and Sunday

Cliff is a veteran gurdy-player. An early member of Blowzabella, he has performed and recorded with The Drones, Sheila Chandra, Nigel Eaton and Primaeval. An experimentalist, he has worked extensively in theatre, plays in a free-jazz duo with saxophonist, Tim Hill, and is a member of the electro/industrial band, Cyclobe. Cliff is very busy on the dance circuit with his new band Angles.

Cliff will be exploring technique and repertoire, building on the strengths of those attending. Please note, this workshop is not for absolute beginners.

There will be number limits for these workshops, so please make sure you book a place, by ticking the box on the application form, and returning it asap.

Other Workshops in the Community Hall:

Pipewatch Special (all weekend)

This is a workshop with a difference. Originating from a vague discussion about the possibility of making a simple bagpipe using a pole lathe, a plan has evolved to turn and build a working bagpipe in two days. A live performance on the pipes in the concert is the aim.

An electric lathe will be set up in a side room and over the weekend, Jon Swayne, Sean Jones, Mike York, Dom Allan, John Tose and Tony Millyard will all contribute to building a bagpipe from scratch. You are welcome to pop in and observe the project as it evolves, a bit like Bill Oddie’s nature watch, but without the live webcam and fluffy chicks! This is unlikely to happen again, so don’t miss out.

Stephen Rowley

Stephen will be presenting: ‘Music for Mystery Plays’ - English early music From C12th to the end of C15th.

The workshop will be aimed at bagpipes, but it will be suitable for any instruments, with the possibility of producing something for the Sunday concert. Stephen says: “In The Taborers Society we have been accumulating a strong repertoire of Early English music in our role as musicians for the York Mystery Plays. When we do the plays we invite other appropriate instruments to join us - these have included bagpipes and hurdy gurdies and I would like to use this as a basis for my workshop.”

A leading exponent of the pipe and tabor, Stephen is steeped in the world of ancient and traditional music. He has performed widely both in the UK and mainland Europe. This year he has been working with Simo Busquets - the leading exponent of the Catalan bagpipe - the Sac de Gemecs.

Jean Pierre Rasle

Pipers’ surgery. Following last year’s success “Dr R” will again be offering individual (or small group) lessons where you can concentrate on one aspect of pipe playing, depending on your stage of progress/personal interest. Each session will be 30mins and can be booked on a chart, which will be available from 9.00 Saturday morning. There will obviously be limited availability, so it will be offered on a strictly “first come” basis.

John Tose

John will be presenting a joint D & G pipes harmony workshop, divided into two sessions (Saturday and Sunday)

During the past two Blowout’s a repertoire of pieces has been built up and John will be drawing from this as well as adding his arrangement of the Galician tune ‘Marcha Procesional de San Benito’ by master gaitero Xose Benito Gonzalez. Music reading ability will be needed!

The aim will be a performance in the concert on Sunday.

Terry Mann - Rhythm Workshop

Terry writes: “Not everyone likes percussion, but everyone needs rhythm. Come and explore some ideas of how to improve your sense of rhythm. Bring something to hit if you feel like it.”

Terry plays percussion for Zephyrus (the English Bagpipe Orchestra), and played for several years for contemporary dance classes at the English National Ballet School, Royal School of Ballet, The Place, Greenwich Dance Agency and The Laban Centre.

Other participatory workshops to be announced – as last year, there will be workshops for “novice” players as well as those who already know their way round the instrument. Please contact me direct if you have any requests or suggestions.

We will also be looking to run a dance workshop prior to the Bal. Details to be confirmed.

THE COMPETITION!

After a few years’ rest to allow memories to fade, I feel it is time for the Friday evening tune competition to return.

As before, the challenge is to perform the most inappropriate tune on the pipes. There is a 3 minute rule and the judges retain the right to terminate performances if there is a risk of permanent damage to performer or audience!

Jon Swayne has won this once with One Note Samba and the other time with All the Things You Are, which brought Julian out in a cold sweat!! Your challenge is to prevent him winning three in a row. There will be a prize…

Makers’ Stalls

The following pipe makers will be exhibiting their wares and will be glad to help you draw up your wish list: Jon Swayne, Julian Goodacre, Dominic Allen, Sean Jones, Mike York.

CD Stall and “Swap Shop”

Enquiries to: Vicky”at”windway.co.uk

The Venue:

Polesworth Priory has a beautiful setting among mature trees and the remains of a monastery by the river. We have unlimited access to the mediaeval church and vestry (services permitting) and we have hired the adjacent community centre from Friday pm to Monday midday. This gives us plenty of space and facilities, which include a good number of REAL MODERN TOILETS, warm dry rooms, a dance sized hall with stage, kitchen and a bar with real ales ordered.

IMPORTANT!!!

Wash facilities are still limited to small hand basins, but I am looking into the possibility of using the shower facilities in the local sports pavilion. This facility is run by the local authority, so I am not expecting a quick response. Watch for further developments on the website.

Local Accommodation

Volunteers!

Blowout Menu

NB All meals must be booked and paid for in advance. 16.

Fri 28th May

Supper £4.00 - Vanessa’s vegetable special! Stew, mash plus pickled cabbage, onions and gherkins, yoghurt, fruit

Saturday 29th May

Big breakfast £3.50 - Cereals, bacon & egg bap, tea, coffee, juice, toast, jam etc

Lunch £5.00 - Ham & Egg Pie, Cheese & Onion Pie, Frittata, four seasonal salads. Eton Mess i.e. Strawberries, raspberries, meringue in cream – yum!

Evening meal £6.00 - Big Vegetable Curry, raita, onion salad, chutneys, rice, lime pickles. Fruit salad, yoghurt

Sunday 30th May

Big breakfast £3.50

Lunch £5.00 - “Big Soup”, bread, salad. Fruit

Evening meal £6.00 - Greek and Italian Pasta Bakes with accompanying salads, Big Chocolate Trifle

Monday 31st May

Big breakfast £3.50

Lunch – FREE to season ticket holders! - “Big Soup”, bread, salad.

Directions

Postal address: Polesworth Priory, High Street, Polesworth B78 1DU Directions from the A5 Grendon (near Tamworth). At the Black Swan

Roundabout turn on to Spon Lane, which is the exit on the opposite side of the roundabout to the pub. At the end of the lane, turn left on to the B5000. On entering Polesworth, stay on the B5000. You will pass a Gulf garage on your right. Take the next right turn over the bridge, signed to Warton. Turn right into the Community Hall, Library and Surgery car park. On arrival and before you set up/ pitch tents etc, please walk through the park to the church and make yourself known at the reception area, where you will be directed to the appropriate camping spot.

IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE:

As I write this there is restoration work being done on the gatehouse, so car access to the church may be restricted. Watch for updates on this. If you choose to park on the driveway leading up to the church, please park on the left hand side only and be aware that the gates are locked overnight – anyone wishing to use their car between 10.30pm and 9.00 am will need to park in the Community Centre car park.

  See you there

Ian Clabburn ian.clabburn@yahoo.co.uk

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3rd to 5th June

Savage Prunes (concerts, Saturday, Sunday)

In 2015, the Savage Prunes won the ‘Petites Formations’ competition at ‘Le Son Continu’ music festival, since when they have expanded into a trio. The group is particularly influenced by European folk, as well as baroque, Celtic, jazz, techno, and classical music.

Callum Armstrong

is an innovative piper whose questing approach to the hitherto unexplored acoustic possibilities of the smallpipe is taking the instrument into areas most of us have never encountered. He has played as a soloist with the London Philharmonic orchestra, as well as appearing in Steven Spielberg’s film Warhorse as the piper. In 2014 he won the Chateau D’Ars Solo Piping competition.

George Pasca

was born in Arad, Romania and started his musical training at the Sabin Dragoi Arts High School, where he studied cello and piano.

Alongside being an active chamber and orchestral musician, George is also a very keen folk cellist, who enjoys exploring and creating new Techniques for his instrument. John Goodacre is a young musician with a fiddle style rooted in the dance music traditions of Europe. Having grown up surrounded by folk music, he developed his style under the tuition of the English fiddler Sam Sweeney. His musical travels have more recently taken him across much of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, and led to encounters with musicians from as far afield as Chile, Iran, and Kenya. John also performs as part the latest manifestation of the English bagpipe trio, The Goodacre Brothers.

Juraj Dufek (Concerts Saturday, Sunday, presentation Saturday)

Juraj became interested in traditional Slovak music in the 1970s. He decided to start playing bagpipes after the meeting with Anton Vranka, the instrument’s virtuoso. Juraj participated in and co-created various music projects in Slovakia. In 2009 he founded the first Slovak bagpipe band, Spojené huky Slovenska (United Drones of Slovakia). As a long established maker of the Gajda, he has learnt to make those used in various regions of Slovakia, and in neighbouring countries. Together with leading Gajdos and Bernard Garaj from the Department of Ethnology and Ethnomusicology, University of Constantine the Philosopher, he was able to reconstruct the bagpipes from the Slovakia-Moravian border, as described by the composer Leoš Janáček. Juraj will be performing in the concerts and giving a presentation, accompanied by Paul Martin. http://tinyurl.com/j83jrub

Estron (Concert, music session, Saturday)

Estron are based in Pembrokeshire in West Wales and perform mostly traditional Welsh music. The heart of the band are the Tose family - John and Danny on their Welsh Pibau Cyrn and Micky on ukulele and clarinet. They will be accompanied at the Blowout by Holly Robinson (Amazonne) on octave fiddle. http://www.estronband.blogspot.co.uk

MoltenAmba (Bal, Saturday)

Led by fiddle, pipes & sax, with blistering guitar solos and a monster groove machine of keyboards, double bass and drums, MoltenAmba deliver concerts and dances with haunting vocals, stunning tunes and instrumental pyrotechnics … an extraordinary musical fusion, bringing the rhythms of the world direct to your feet. http://www.moltenamba.com/ http://tinyurl.com/h7sx7dd

Cliff Stapleton & Julian Scott (Concerts, workshop on Saturday)

Cliff began playing the hurdy gurdy in 1980. He has since become prolific as a composer of highly charged, spine tingling, hypnotic, tuneful music both in bands and with film and theatre. His work ranges from the powerful folk dance style of Blowzabella to the sublime industrial electronica of Coil. For almost 16 years he has been a member of Cyclobe (www.cyclobe.com) which recently performed several concerts at the invitation of both Brian Eno and Antony Hegarty. Cliff is joined in the concert by Julian Scott, piper in Venn, which regularly performs at the Horsely French Dance Club. (Photo: Mike Smith)

Paul Martin (Saturday workshop, concerts)

Paul has played several varieties of western and eastern European bagpipe, initially learning the Highland pipes before experiencing local traditional music and taking up Smallpipes and Uilleann pipes. Over the last 15 years, he has explored the bagpipe music of the North of England and Lowland Scotland, whilst also trying other European styles of tunes suitable for bagpipes. In 2009 Paul recorded a solo CD “Blue”, playing Border pipes in A and G, and Northumbrian and Scottish Smallpipes. Jean Pierre Rasle (Saturday, Sunday workshops) has been at the forefront of pipe playing in Britain for many years, exploring innovative ways of developing the French versions of the instrument and its repertoire. He has covered folk-rock with the Albion Band, prog-folk ceilidhs with his own classic band of 30 years’ standing, Cock and Bull, French chanson as an internationally touring duo with Gabriel Yacoub of folk-rock giants Malicorne. He now lives in France and is currently exploring the traditional repertoire of the Cantal and Corrèze regions. http://www.facebook.com/jeanpierre.rasle http://www.youtube.com/user/dronemen http://www.soundcloud.com/jean-pierre-rasle

WORKSHOPS

Cliff Stapleton - Hurdy-gurdy (Sat) Cliff will be leading the extended hurdy-gurdy workshop in the refectory. He says: I will guide, in detail, techniques of fingering and musical expression using simple melodies which relate to drone, no drone and with trompette rhythm. My aim will be to create a strong collective sound from all the participants and a communal feeling of “being in the zone”.

Sean Jones - Meet the Uilleann Pipes (Sat) A rare chance to try the Uilleann pipes, using a number of student sets made by Sean. http://jonesinstruments.co.uk/pipes/uilleann-pipes

Andy Letcher - Pipers’ Surgery Andy will be returning with his popular ‘piper’s surgery’, designed principally for players of Southern English Border Pipes, but open to all, especially beginners and those at an intermediate level. Come with questions about technique, posture, repertoire, or practice and he will do his best to help!

Jean Pierre Rasle (Sat, Sun) Saturday: The lost pipes of South Massif Central: fiddle music of the Artense. “Based on the music of André Vermerie of Pons, South Cantal, for Cabrette, and the repertoire for the Chabrette of Limousin, with that of Alfred Mouret, Joseph Perrier, etc, from a mountainous region on the edge of Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Corrèze, we will look at the traditional melodies preserved by these fiddle players and how their techniques were influenced by pipers.” https://soundcloud.com/jean-pierre-rasle/sets (esp. Tracks 1, 2, 3 and 5)

Sunday: Music from the Baroque era: from smallpipes to great pipes and back. “I’d like to cover in particular “Noels” (Christmas songs) and popular songs in general, that travelled from peasant to nobleman.” Music for the workshops will be available via the website

Paul Martin - Ornamentation in British piping traditions and how it can be adapted for the Border pipes. (Sat) Paul will be looking at how some aspects of Northumbrian, Scottish and Irish gracings can be applied to the G borderpipes.

Vicki Swan - Säckpipa repertoire and ornamentation. (Sun) Vicki is holder of the Brons award for traditional playing of the säckpipa from the Swedish Zorn jury. This year her focus is on the music from the county of Småland (which her family is from). She will be bringing the fruits of her research to find bagpipe-able tunes from Småland to the Blowout. Please note: this workshop is aimed solely at players of the Säckpipa, but others are welcome to observe!

Dave Rowlands - Variations and Gracing in a Tune for ”D” Pipes. (Sun) This year Dave will be focusing on another Jig, “Mary Do It Again”. The workshop will have a similar format to last year; learning the tune (though it will benefit you if you spend some time with it before the Blowout), looking at some gracing, and asking participants to try their hand at creating variations in the Irish style. Music for workshops and all other information will be available via the website at http://www.bagpipesociety.org.uk/blowout

THE COMPETITION!

This year, we are celebrating our 30th anniversary as a Society, so to mark this, we are holding two competitions on the Friday evening:

An original tune composition to mark our 30th year.
Rather less serious, any performance on the theme of “1986 and all that”. Inter- pretation is entirely up to you! Prizes? Maybe…

MAKERS’ STALLS

The following pipe makers will be exhibiting their wares and will be glad to help you draw up your wish list: Jon Swayne, Julian Goodacre, Sean Jones, Jim Parr. Whistle maker Phil Bleazey & Tabor pipemaker Terry Mann will also be in attendance. The Bagpipe Society’s Stall - the place to buy and sell second hand pipes, books & CDs.

Vanessa (The Blowout’s official caterer) will again be providing all the meals for the weekend – quality, quantity and value for money. Most of the food will be bought in the village to support the local economy and reduce food miles. See website for menu details

Please read: All meals must be booked and paid for in advance. Kitchen facilities are tight and there is an upper limit to the number of meals we can provide. The cut-off date for meal bookings is Saturday 28th May. We cannot guarantee that any spare meals will be available on the day, and non-bookers will be served last – you have been warned!

NEW: IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CAMPER VANS AND GENERAL PARKING

Due to local parking concerns, we have had to make some changes. Unless there has been heavy rain beforehand, all camper van and caravans must park in the grounds of Polesworth Learning Centre, which are accessed through the gate on the right just after passing the gatehouse and the Co Op on High Street. The Church driveway is strictly no parking. There are only a few spaces available for cars, next to the Church, but they are solely for disabled visitors to the site. There is no problem with the usual drop off and unload, either by the Refectory door or by the garage, which is probably an easy way into the garden. After drop off, re-park, either by the Memorial Hall or preferably on the Learning Centre Car Park (see above), space permitting. There will be a map available via the Blowout web page.

Directions: Postal address: Polesworth Priory, High Street, Polesworth B78 1DU. On arrival, please make yourself known at the reception area in the Memorial Hall. Camper vans and caravans will then be redirected to the new parking areas, unless you have found it already.

Paying: There is a £5 reduction for current members who pay in advance. We are also going ticketless. Print off your PayPal or email receipt if you require proof of purchase. Please make our lives as stress free as possible by paying as early as you can. You can pay online by PayPal – just follow the link from the Blowout page on the website

All ticket enquiries: bpsblowout@gmail.com

See you in June!

Friday 29th to Sunday 31st May 201.

This year’s Blowout will again be taking place at Polesworth, nr Tamworth. We have got an exciting and interesting programme lined up for this year – and it is still evolving! There will be updates as we get nearer to the event which will posted on the Bagpipe Society Facebook page or on the Blowout page on http://www.bagpipesociety.org.uk.

Trio Matta Rouch
Balázs Istvánfi and András Németh
Jon Swayne and Becky Price (Bal)
Rohan Kriwaczek
Paul Martin
Chris Allen
Dave Rowlands
Andy Letcher
John Tos.

plus

The Friday Tune competition!

Trio Matta Rouch

(Bal, workshops, concerts, Sat, Sun. Presentation, Sun.

Welcome to this talented trio of musicians and instrument makers, who have done so much to revive and sustain the music, traditions and instruments of the Occitan region of southern France.

Especially attracted by the cultures and traditions of the Pyrenees, these musicians will lead you to discover the particular sonorities of the clari, the samponha, the oboe from Couserans, the bodega and the boha from Landes of Gascony.

Pierre Rouch

Pierre is a maker of bagpipes, such as the bodega and oboes from the Pyrenees. Additionally, he is an “ambulant distiller of the fruits which my client collect.” Nice job! Enthused by traditional music, he has been playing with dou Matta/Rouch for ten years.http://www.bouilleurdesons.fr

Robert Matta

A professional musician and maker of occitan bagpipes, Robert has been a leader in the revival and development of the southern French pipes, notably the samponha, the boha and the bohassa, his own development. Robert says “For forty years I have criss-crossed the roads of Occitany to play and show the bagpipes that originate in our regions. I was a member of the groups Freta Monilh and Trencavel from the 70’s until 2010. http://www.cornemusesoccitanes.com

Jonas Gimeno

An Aragonese musician living in Saragossa who plays percussion of the region in various groups, both French and Spanish. http://www.panderetas.org

Balázs Istvánfi and András Németh

(Presentation Sat, concerts Sat, Sun.

Balázs Istvánfi and András Németh formed their bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy duo in 2010, at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music Hungary, where they were both studying folk music. Balázs has been playing folk music since he was a child, and bagpipe-music for 20 years. He has also recorded three solo albums and contributed to others. He does not only play traditional bagpipe music, but also composes. He is also a bagpipe maker, for which he has won several awards. András was introduced to the hurdy-hurdy as a child,and studied at the Hungarian Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, where he gained the first masters degree of music as a hurdy-gurdy player in the world. In 2007 he was given the state honour: Young Master of Folk Arts.

Their repertoire is a balance of folk music, adaptations, historical and contemporary music, and their own compositions. Aerochord is their first studio album. http://tinyurl.com/mf356cn

Jon Swayne & Becky Price

(Bal, Sat)

Consummate musicians both, Jon (Blowzabella) and Becky (Boldwood) will be playing for the bal on the Saturday night. Both have recorded extensively, both individually and together, for their superb CD Love and a Bottle. This is a rare treat.

See their review on http://www.livingtradition.co.uk/we brevs/roccd2.ht.

Rohan Kriwaczek

(talk, Sat)

“The bagpipe as a musical instrument stripped of cultural baggage – a composer’s perspective”

Rohan gave an impressive and thought- provoking talk at the second International Bagpipe Conference. I immediately invited him to speak at the Blowout. Author, composer, musician and sound artist, he studied at the University of Sussex, the Royal Academy and Goldsmiths College. As a composer he has written numerous scores for TV, Radio and film, recorded over 50 albums and performed on three continents. His 2006 multi-media project An Incomplete History of the Art of Funerary Violin made headlines in the New York Times. His current project, The Saddest Bagpipes in the World has so far produced four albums and two pamphlets, with more planned for 2015. http://www.rohan-k.co.uk.

Workshop.

Chris Allen - Hurdy-gurdy (Sat)

Chris will be leading the extended hurdy-gurdy workshop in the refectory* The tunes will be the Rond de St Vincent set, as on the Chiens Jaunes album, a three tune medley. Intermediate standard.

Robert Matta (Sat).

Robert will be introducing some dance tunes from his home region of South West France. Audio files are available, so you can familiarise yourself with the tune structures beforehand.

John Tose - Big Band (Sat).

John will be presenting a joint D & G pipes harmony workshop, with the aim of a performance in the Saturday concert. Sight reading will be necesary and remember to bring a music stand, especially if you want to take part in the concert.

Andy Letcher - Pipers’ Surgery (Sat, Sun.

There will be a “drop in” session for any beginner pipers who would like some assistance with any aspect of their piping – you only have to ask…

Paul Martin - tunes from the Borders (Sat).

Paul wil be introducing some tunes from North East England and their variations (G pipes)

Dave Rowlands - Irish tunes on the D pipes (Sun).

Dave says, “This will be a workshop in the full sense of the word. We will explore a tune together, looking at gracing and variation” All playing levels, readers preferred.

Music for workshops and audio clips will be available via links on the Blowout page http://www.bagpipesociety.org.uk/blowout

THE COMPETITION

After a few years in exile, the Friday evening tune competition is returning. This year’s challenge is to perform any tune from stage or screen on the pipes, the more unexpected the better. There is a 3 minute rule and the judges retain the right to terminate performances if there is a risk of civil unrest. There may be a prize.

Makers’ Stall.

The following pipe makers will be exhibiting their wares and will be glad to help you draw up your wish list: Jon Swayne, Julian Goodacre, and Sean Jones. Whistle maker Phil Bleazy will also be in attendance.

“Swap Shop” - Second hand pipes, books, CD Stal.

This is the place to buy books, CDs, souvenir mugs and to display and sell your surplus pipes.

Vanessa (The Blowout’s official caterer) will again be providing all the meals for the weekend – quality, quantity and value for money. She will be short staffed this year, so please volunteer to help out with preparation, washing up etc whenever you can.

Please read: All meals must be booked and paid for in advance*. Kitchen facilities are tight and there is an upper limit to the number of meals we can provide. The cut off date for meal bookings is Saturday 23rd May. Although we will do our best, we cannot guarantee that any spare meals will be available on the day – so book in advance! See the website for menu details and all the practicalities.

Paying: There is a £5 reduction for current members who pay in advance.

We are also going ticketless! Print off your PayPal or email receipt if you require proof of purchase.

Please make our lives as stress free as possible by paying as early as you can. You can pay online by PayPal – just follow the link from the Blowout page on the website.

All ticket enquiries: bpsblowout@gmail.co.uk

See you in May! Ian Clabburn

Don’t forget that it will soon be International Bagpipe Day! There are no major events happening in the UK on 10^th March so it will be up to all of us to make our mark to spread and promote bagpipes in whatever way we feel appropriate! Please do celebrate it in someway – and either send in some record or photographic evidence or post something on the Society’s Facebook page.

From 20 – 22d March in Leuven, Belgium will be the International Bagpipe Symposium. Hosted by the University, in association with Brussels’ Musical Instrument Museum, there will be a range of talks presented by experts from all over Europe – Asturias, Brittany, Scotland, Galicia and Slovakia. There will also be an exhibition of bagpipe and reed makers together with workshops given by Eric Montbel and Birgit Bornauw. There is also a dance in the evening and a concert by a new bagpipe group, MUSA. The weekend ends with a trip to the impressive bagpipe collection at the Museum in Brussels. Further details of this event can by found here http://tinyurl.com/kmn5v6 .

The Ely Street Musicioner’s Muster, 2015, as detailed in the Autumn 2014 edition of Chanter, this event is now running over 2 days as part of the Ely Early Music Festival. The Muster for ’loud wind’ and percussion will take place on, Saturday, 13^th June. Please note that this is a different date from that previously published. Tony Pearson is currently planning the finer details and will announce them as they become finalised.

On Sunday 14^th June there will be a number of different music ensembles performing indoors. You will, no doubt, be pleased to know that Jonas, described by one of last year’s participants as “The largest dog in England” has checked his diary and indicated that he is available for leading a procession, if required.

A Facebook Event Page will keep you up to date. (search for Ely Early Music Festival) or, if you would like further details or want to find out how you can get involved, then contact Tony at tonypearson@waitrose.com.

The Bagpipe Society

Blowout

CD Stall and “Swap Shop”

The Venue:

Savage Prunes (concerts, Saturday, Sunday)

Callum Armstrong

George Pasca

Juraj Dufek (Concerts Saturday, Sunday, presentation Saturday)

Estron (Concert, music session, Saturday)

MoltenAmba (Bal, Saturday)

Cliff Stapleton & Julian Scott (Concerts, workshop on Saturday)

Paul Martin (Saturday workshop, concerts)

WORKSHOPS

THE COMPETITION!

MAKERS’ STALLS

BLOWOUT MENU

NEW: IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CAMPER VANS AND GENERAL PARKING

Trio Matta Rouch

Pierre Rouch

Robert Matta

Jonas Gimeno

Balázs Istvánfi and András Németh

Jon Swayne & Becky Price

Rohan Kriwaczek

Workshop.

Chris Allen - Hurdy-gurdy (Sat)

Robert Matta (Sat).

John Tose - Big Band (Sat).

Andy Letcher - Pipers’ Surgery (Sat, Sun.

Paul Martin - tunes from the Borders (Sat).

Dave Rowlands - Irish tunes on the D pipes (Sun).

THE COMPETITION

Makers’ Stall.

“Swap Shop” - Second hand pipes, books, CD Stal.

Blowout Menu