THE T-shirts for the  19^TH Stonehaven folk Festival bore a movie-style list of credits, naming both the all-star cast and the ’production crew’ that put the PG-rated show together.   And if the weekend of action had hit the big screen as the latest in a run of Stonehaven Folk Festival - the Movie, then the reviews would undoubtedly be saying it was as good as it gets.  Like all Hollywood sequels it dished up a familiar formula with both A-list celebs and festival startlets who added a fresh twist to the plot.

 

The diminutive Kate Rusby was without question the leading lady of the event, giving a powerful opening to the festival with a delightful blend of Yorkshire humour and a vocal performance that proved she is no little voice.  Meanwhile any nomination for best newcomer would go the the guitar and mandolin double act Wingin’ It, whose skilful arrangements earned them enthusiastic praise after Friday’s concert/ceilidh.

 

On Saturday, folk legends Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain, a duo never accused of being grumpy old men, delivered a masterful combination of music and mirth, earning them the festival Oscar for lifetime achievement.  Their crowd-pleasing set came shortly after Give Way – a sister act from Edinburgh who made their first festival appearance at Stonehaven in 2001.  For many, one of the delights of the Johnson girls’ performance was the satisfaction of seeing their metamorphosis from artistic adolescence into musical maturity.  A sense of pride was in the air that night as the talented four were encouraged by their early showcasing at Stonehaven and mentored by fellow stars Phil and Aly.

 

Meanwhile, adding an international zing to Saturday’s show was American funny girl Kristina Olsen who had the audience in raptures with both her wicked sense of humour (who will ever forget the watermelon man?) and her evocative guitar-sliding music and song.

 

Sunday’s farewell concert rattled along a runaway train pace, careering from Orkney duo Saltfishforty whose music pitched from frenetic to wistful, to the gumboot-stomping Black Umfolosi 5 and ending with Wolfstone, who whipped an eager audience to fever pitch with their fiendishly fast and loud Scottish rock.

 

A comprehensive review would extend to pages to do justice to the full festival programme complete with late night blues concert, meet-withs, workshops, the kiddies concert, tradition bearers’ concert, aquaceilidh, paper ‘n’ comb championship, chorus cup and the acoustic youth stage.  But as in many festivals before, it was the un-named cast of thousands – the strolling minstrel extras that arrived in their droves – who made the weekend the success it undoubtedly was.  Stonehaven did indeed come alive to the sound of music with hundreds of visitors and locals enjoying impromptu performances at the harbour front and in bars and cafes across the town.

 

And, though there was some singing in the rain – a downpour on Saturday saw umbrellas go up at the Plainstones free concert – for the main part, as far as this woeful summer goes, the weather was reasonably kind.

 

So it is with great satisfaction that the gaffer of the set aka chairman Andy Popplestone can look back on the 2007 festival.  He said: “It went extremely well.  It was probably the first year we had all the concerts sold out by the time the festival started. The hall was packed out.”

 

Mr Popplestone said the only hitch during the festival was when Johnny Dickinson, who was due to take part in Friday’s late night blues concert, phoned to say he was stuck in Africa and no combination of planes, trains or automobiles would get him to Stonehaven in time.  “Mike Whellan, who played two years ago, was called in Edinburgh at 6.30pm and got here in time. The show he put on was unbelievable,” he said.

 

Mr Popplestone added he was pleased to see the whole town benefit from the festival, which is sponsored by the Scottish Arts Council and the Kincardine and Deeside Arts foundation.  And he made an appeal for more local sponsorship which will be needed if the festival is to carry on pulling in the big names without putting up the ticket price.

 

With this year’s line-up being the highest profile and biggest budget festival Stonehaven has ever had, here’s hoping that doesn’t prove mission impossible.