The new Marymass Folk Festival Fringe proved to be an excellent warm-up to the 44th Marymass Folk Festival with guests including John Carmichael & His Band; Dominic Boyce & Ian; Haggerdash; Landermason; Lyra Celtica; Maw, Paw & The Wean; The Tattie Howkers Ceilidh Band; Thomas Turner and Michael Woods. The Folk Festival Fringe was made possible by an Awards For All grant and it means that folk musicians can be heard by people who otherwise might not have the opportunity.
“It’s terrific to get this Awards For All grant’ said Folk Festival Committee Chair Anne Clarke.” It means we can extend and develop the Festival, reduce the financial pressure and it lets us try out new ideas. Straightened financial times means that to do new things without new money is just not possible. The Awards For All grant gives us new money and we will use it to bring top quality folk music to Irvine that people can enjoy free of charge at our new Fringe. We are delighted.”
In the early days of the Folk Festival, musicians playing in the street were commonplace. Rising transport costs and a move away from live music contributed to the demise of such outdoor sessions. Experience here and elsewhere shows that there is a demand for live music and having it outdoors helps make an overall feel-good factor in the community – particularly when the town is geared up for its annual Marymass Celebrations.
The funding also supported a Marymass Photography Project. Essentially, it’s about asking anyone who has a camera to take photos at Marymass and these will then become a Marymass Web Exhibition later in the year. The web based exhibition will hopefully have some of the pics that will be seen in future years.