I always love the way that as Mostly Jazz Festival comes to an end, you don’t have to wait long to be back in Mosely Park to catch another quality three day lineup of folk-inspired artists, in such a cosy and made to fit setting.
We could only make the Friday on this one we had to dash off to Manchester PsychFest the following day, but very excited to start the weekend off with a brilliantly mixed bag of top performers, shifting gears from the Funk of Mostly Jazz to the Folk of Moseley Folk & Arts Festival.
I’m sure you’ve all been to many of the festivals at Mosely Park, so I won’t have to describe the little buzz you get walking down the path after getting your wristband, trees decorated with psychedelic lanterns and fairy lights, like minded folk strolling through alongside you with distant sounds of live music and garlicky, grilled smells of street food floating in the air.
Always straight to the Purity tent to pick up pints and check out the food offering before descending on a musical act, bumping into old friends and noticing that the Mostly Jazz vibe is identical to the Mosely Folk; friendly, fun, passionate, respectful.. the only difference is perhaps the footwear is swapped out from Adidas Originals to Dr Martins, and generally people’s hair is longer.
First on our Moseley Folk musical adventure on the main stage were ‘The Scratch’, a Dublin band that blend Irish traditional music with metal to an amazing effect. High octane metal/thrash riffs versus rigorous traditional guitar strumming with punchy bass and immense drum like percussion. A sight and sound to behold, playing material from their 2023 second studio album ‘Mind Yourself’ amongst older stompers and just as infectious as when we saw them in Shangri-La at Glastonbury back in June.
Needing to take a momentary rest from the talented onslaught of The Scratch, we wandered up to Speaker’s Corner, a reasonably sized tent with talks and acoustic sets throughout the weekend, situated up the hill from the main stage.
We caught around 20 minutes of local historian and author, Carl Chinn, delivering a passionate talk on The Peaky Blinder’s influence on Birmingham, and his own historical family links and stories to areas and people that prevailed post Peaky times. As interesting and absorbing as Carl’s talk was, we’d purchased a Cubano from Deathrow Sandwiches (from the creators of The Plough in Harborne), filled and toasted with Mojo Pork, Ham, Pickles, Mustard, Emmental – super spicy and addictive.. we went halves as a really decent, filling portion with the Cajun fries and Deathrow Hot Sauce (ouch but amazing). Fed and enlightened by Carl, we set off back to the main stage in anticipation of Flogging Molly.
I’d heard the name, but not the sounds before and it was immediately clear that these guys are a force to be reckoned with. Pure class and professionalism throughout their set, lots of energy and connection with the audience. Flogging Molly are an American seven-piece Celtic punk band formed in LA in the early nineties, led by Irish vocalist Dave King. It was touching to hear Dave announce that they had invited Beans on Toast to tour with them in the USA in the past, and with Beans due to play a set right after them, the connection felt woven into the park.
If you haven’t caught a Beans On Toast set before then you have to do it, Beans tours relentlessly and is a staple of the Glastonbury experience. A British folk songrwriter, mixing heartfelt stories of life’s random ups and downs, with leftfield politics and humour thrown in at every corner, all sung with his gruff Essex accent. Beans always seems to captivate and connect with his audience, with his laid-back humour and antics in-between songs on stage, joined by extremely talented pianist Matt (of own Tensheds fame). When Beans wasn’t encouraging world peace via his charming back catalogue, he also slipped in a number from The Fascinating Adventures of Little Bee, a collaboration project with Jaime & Lily Adamsfield, a collection of 10 children’s stories and songs in a box set. Always feel uplifted after a Beans set, and you will too.
Which brings us to the headline of the evening, English folk rock anarcho-punk band, The Levelers. I’ve always wanted to see these guys but our paths have never crossed. I remember having the ‘Levelling the Land’ album on repeat when I was 14, a totally new sound to me, with its Celtic influences and traveler context. Having formed in 1988, these guys are really polished live, yet still manage to maintain a rustic sound, full of equally uplifting yet melancholy up-tempo numbers that capture your imagination. A perfect band and set to close the first day of the festival and leave the weekenders wanting more.
All in all, a lovely afternoon and evening, meandering folk songs and styles, cider and beer, spice and food, all set in a leafy setting not far from home.
Words and pictures by Ollie Lloyd for Grapevine Birmingham.