Hollow Hand - Star Chamber

One of the joys of this time of year is that it is Festival season, and over the past six or seven years the Greenbelt Festival has featured in our calendar. Greenbelt is a creative gathering, which for the last 6 years has met at Boughton House in Northamptonshire, and although faith-based in its foundation it is not overtly so, and certainly not cloyingly so.  The programme is always varied, with speakers, actors, activists and musicians filling a variety of venues over the four days.

Whilst it is a time to catch up with old friends, and listen to nationally- and internationally-renowned acts, Greenbelt also offers opportunities to expand one's horizons - to try something new. This I did on the opening evening when I joined a select crowd for a 40-minute set by Brighton-based band Hollow Hand. I was drawn to them by the 'blurb' in the programme, which said that they "cite Syd Barrett and The Grateful Dead as influences, and conjure up a rural idyll accompanied by beautiful stories and sunny guitars. Lovers of Big Star and Super Furry Animals will find themselves resonating with their blissed-out, summery, ever-so-slightly-psychedelic sound." I was intrigued.

The set delivered what it promised: the cited influences were evident, and they even performed a cover of one of Syd Barrett's songs alongside their own material (can't remember which one, sadly...). For a three-piece band - guitars, bass & drums - the sound was solid and full, and there was plenty of musical dexterity on display. I was impressed enough to pick up a copy of their CD, Star Chamber, after the gig  and had a nice chat with their guitarist/ songwriter/ singer, Max Kinghorn-Mills.

Star Chamber is the second album by the band - though both seem to be more or less the work of Max on his own. The credits on Star Chamber include Atlas Shrugs on drums, and Pan Andrs on various keyboards and additional guitars. Their first album, 'Ancestral Lands', from 2015, is available as a digital download on Bandcamp, and alongside Star Chamber it offers a wonderful nostalgic feel bringing to my mind the music of The Kinks, The Grateful Dead and particularly the dreamy acoustic sound of early '70s Pink Floyd (Summer '68/ Granchester ... kind of thing)


Star Chamber opens with a track called Ancestral Lands, a reflective solo acoustic song, in contrast to One Good Turn which opens with the sound of children playing and is more of a full band song, electric, joyful and jangly with good strong vocal harmonies. Blackberry Wine  is up-beat, with a strong Kinks or Steve Harley feel to it. A World Outside ticks along nicely with some good chord progressions and a familiarity about it for a 'new' song, (Stealer's Wheel?...) and for me just a hint of Paul McCartney in the vocals at times. Milestone is kind of Syd Barrett meets The Killers, strong and metronomic throughout with an understated guitar solo towards the end (a bit more to the fore in the live setting). Side one (the album is also available on vinyl) ends with It's You, late-Beatles-like in its vibe and a mellow end to the first half of the album.

Two of Us opens side 2, and has a kind of Allman Brothers feel to start with before becoming more Kinks-y and Floyd-y and flowing into an eastern vibe. End of Everything, perhaps understandably, has a darker feel to it, played in a lower register and with brooding drums and eerie harmonies. Made Up My Mind is thoughtful, and almost reggae-like at the start and carries on with a laid-back vibe throughout. Avalon is in 3/4 and has a cheeky, playful air to it, acoustic in feel and a very pleasant song. Land of the Free is the album closer, the longest song in the collection, and another in triple time. It is an excellent, thoughtful song with many aspects to its structure that interplay wonderfully well together, and the length of the song gives time for these aspects to work their own particular spell. The long slow fade brings the album to a close and one is left uplifted yet chilled by the experience.

This is certainly a band that I will keep an eye on in the future, as a third album is on the horizon, and I encourage you to check them out if you haven't already.

Greenbelt 2015 - The Bright Field

They say (not sure who 'they' are, but...) that if you do something once it's innovative; if you do it twice, it's tradition; and is you do it three times, you've ALWAYS done it. This year was my third visit to the Greenbelt Festival, gathering for a second year at Boughton House, near Kettering, a wonderful greenfield site, with rolling fields for camping, caravans and for the festival itself.

After the 'shock of the new' last year, as the festival moved from its previous home of Cheltenham racecourse, there was much talk of how things would develop, and some worries about the financial viability of the venture. This year's event turned out to be noticeably and significantly smaller than the previous year, and it was interesting to see how things would begin to 'bed in' at the still relatively new site. There had been some criticism of the venue last year, so how were the concerns raised going to be addressed? How would a smaller festival 'work'?

I have to confess that, following my first visit to GB (for its 40th anniversary year), I was totally captivated by its ethos and intention: to provide a setting for issues of spirituality, theology, justice and peace to be discussed; to offer the best in contemporary art, literature, performance and music; and to offer spaces for people to explore ways of worship that were both innovative and challenging, and outside the norm of most people's weekly experience. In the light of that 'captivation' I signed up as an 'angel' - one who offers round the year financial support to the festival to enable it to carry on and provide these opportunities to explore the issues it does - so that, as best I could, I could enable this to continue.

The Bright Field

How did it work out this year? Well, the programme was leaner (and fitter?); there were fewer venues on site in which to catch the speakers and performers, in fact everything seemed smaller. Allied to this was a smaller number of stalls/ food outlets on site than previously - I was highly disappointed to miss my Goan Fish Curry this year (though the food I did purchase on site was excellent). The Angels' Lounge, though also smaller than previous years and at times quite crowded, still provided the much-needed facility for mobile phones to be charged, as well as the opportunity for conversations with friends old and new. And conversation was key this year, as soundings were taken of how the festival might develop in future years. It will be interesting to see how this develops.

The Mud Bath

I came with not much of a 'must see' list this year, but those acts that I did get to experience on the whole did not disappoint. Harry Baker's verbal dexterity, word-play and inventiveness was phenomenal, and The Unthanks were quite simply mesmerising. It was great to have the chance to hear 'Thought for the Day' regulars such as John Bell, Giles Fraser, Mona Siddiqui & Lucy Winkett for more than 3 minutes. Maybe my biggest disappointment of the weekend (apart from the weather from Sunday lunchtime) was, I'm sad to say, The Polyphonic Spree, who just didn't do it for me in the way I'd hoped they might. But then, not everything is for everybody, and the diversity of an event like Greenbelt is one of its greatest selling points for me.

Will I come next year? Well, like I said, it's not only traditional now, it's what we always do over August Bank Holiday weekend - just as traditional as plodging (love that word!) through mud by the end of the festival and frustratedly putting away a wet tent. Maybe things will change: maybe one year the sun will shine all the time on the Bright Field, but the companionship (sharing of bread) that one finds among God's people, as well as in the Arms of Jesus (!) will always be one of the biggest draws for me. It may be 4-5 hours drive each way, but Greenbelt: we'll see you next year! (probably)

Greenbelt 2014

Two years attending the Greenbelt Festival, and already I feel like a veteran! Two years: two venues, and two different yet similar experiences.

Last year's festival was held at Cheltenham Racecourse, and this had been the venue for a number of years. For many of the 'regulars', it felt like home, and the move to (literally) pastures new was a big wrench for some this year. Boughton House, near Kettering was, though, a perfect setting for this weekend of art, music, justice and spirituality. Perhaps the only downside to this beautiful greenfield site was the lack of anywhere where you could go to get really warm.

My approach to events such as this is not to try and do too much (it's very easy to do that, as the programme is so varied and full), and I set myself the goal of trying to get to listen to a couple of the speakers and a couple of the musical items, and anything else would be a bonus. It was a particular thrill to sit at the feet of American Pastor, theologian and prophet Brian McLaren - and to have an albeit brief conversation on two occasions, and also to hear first-hand from the challenging Nadia Bolz-Weber about the things that she is doing with her congregation in Denver, CO, 'The House for All Sinners and Saints'.

Sunday morning at Greenbelt features the huge open-air Communion, and this year's was a very moving occasion, as we sat and shared in groups around the massive Glade stage area, having listened to stirring testimony from Mpho Tutu and Becca Stevens. The juxtaposition of the corporate and the intimate is always moving.

Communion in the sunshine

Musically the big draw this year was the appearance on Sunday evening of Sinead O'Connor, and the Glade was absolutely packed for a performance full of energy and passion (though maybe the sound balance could've been a little better: from my vantage point at the back of the arena, safe in the environs of Greenbelt's own pub, the 'Jesus Arms', it wasn't always easy to make out what she was singing about.)

But Sinead wasn't my musical highlight. That accolade went to the Malian band Tinariwen, who closed the show on Monday evening with their particular blend of Saharan blues. What gave their performance that extra 'something' was the fact that by that point it had been raining solidly for nearly 24 hours and the site was quickly dissolving into a mud-bath. Saharan blues in pouring rain - wonderful!

Tinariwen in the rain

The music, the teaching, the new foods to try (I don't know many other places where Goan Fish curry and Tibetan beef stew are readily available), the camping, the opportunities to meet up with old friends and to make new ones, and the chance to have ones views and opinions tested, challenged and changed, all make Greenbelt an event which has quickly and firmly established itself in my calendar. Why not join us next year?

Greenbelt at 40

For many years now I have been aware of the Greenbelt Festival, but have never been to it: until this past weekend when, with many thousands of others, my wife Jude & I drove to Cheltenham racecourse and enjoyed the life of Greenbelt.

It wasn't my first experience of a festival - back in the late '70s and early '80s I shared in the many joys of Glastonbury (before it sold out to commercial interests), Knebworth and Reading, and in 2006 - after a 25 years gap - survived 2 days at Leeds. By then my attitude to the mud and music had changed somewhat (does the music have to be that loud?). So when it was suggested that I go to Greenbelt this year, memories of these events came to the fore.

So what was it like?

Greenbelt is a very different animal from those other eventss. The music is only a small part of what the festival is about: it's as much about art, literature, theology, worship, justice and peace as well. The constituency is strikingly varied: all ages, races, spiritualities, theologies and orientations; people of faith, little faith and no faith, and yet with an underlying purpose for justice. The theology is open, radical and inclusive; the food varied and eclectic - it's the first time I've eaten Tibetan cuisine!; and the overall atmosphere is quite simply divine (in the true sense of the word).

We shared in comedy with Milton Jones, who also talked about the importance of faith to him, and why he doesn't do church gigs. My mind was stretched in debates about the purpose of marriage; what women want from the church; and the radical theology of John Caputo and Peter Rollins, Marika Rose & Lucy Winkett (still processing most of it, particularly the Rollins). We chatted with Vicky Beeching about being real in a virtual world, and I met Twitter followers 'in the flesh' for the first time. We broke bread together in small groups within a congregation of thousands, strangers and friends united in a common loaf and cup and a common Christ.

Musical highlights included the London Community Gospel Choir, going strong after 30 years; The Temperance Movement, a great rock outfit, with elements for me of the Stones, Frankie Miller (remember him?) and Bob Seger (with balls) about them; Thea Gilmore; and a wonderful last night set from Courtney Pine.

I make no bones about being an ageing hippy (albeit a sell-out with short hair ;) ), and for me the seminal festival was Woodstock in 1969. I'm old and wise enough (?) to realise the naivety of the 'Woodstock' ideal of peace, love and understanding - an ideal that lasted at best for the 3 days of that festival in August 1969 and had completely evaporated by Altamont 4 months later. But that ideal is no less a good one to aim at now than it was then, and comes close to my understanding of what Jesus was trying to say when he talked about the Kingdom of God/ Heaven. Jesus never defined the Kingdom, he only ever alluded to it, but I have come home from Cheltenham with a sneaking suspicion that he might today say 'The Kingdom of Heaven is like... Greenbelt.'

I'm already looking forward to Greenbelt 41 in August 2014!