musomuso recently attended the inaugural Days in the Sun Festival in Gloucestershire and enjoyed 3 days of great music, lovely people and an atmosphere that meant you just didn't want it to end.
Days In The Sun is a 3 day Folk & Roots festival based in Gloucestershire. The title comes from the Roving Crows song 'Days In The Sun', which encourages us to live our dreams. Days In The Sun is curated jointly by Caitlin Barrett and Paul Chief O'Neill from the Roving Crows band, who have programmed and curated many events for third parties over the last 20 years, leading to them creating this bespoke event which they plan to grow slowly as the years progress. And they weren't alone, fellow band members Jim and Laurence were also put to work, be it compare and sound engineer for the second stage and even working behind the bar! Not to mention the family members and friends all supporting the preparation and onsite activities.
It was always planned to start small and the professionalism and attention to detail meant everyone had a fantastic time and it was seemingly absent of any major hiccups all weekend long. The music was first class, a real mix of styles across nearly 30 bands. We had singer songwriters, bands from 3 to 11 members and even a 70 person choir......and just about every instrument you could imagine. We even had a stylophone ! In-between acts there was also an open mic in the second tent, and the Pentacle Drums and Syren Belly dancers performing in the field. Food selection was small but the fresh rice / poke bowls were first class and the 'burger van' option had a wide selection and even a complete Greek offering. It was certainly a good varied range for the small event.
With a note to the potential changing weather in late September, the performance stages (and the bar!) were both in tents and when full, were packed but not to an uncomfortable level. We had a blustery wind day 1, a wet start day 2 but by Saturday evening the sun came out and Sunday was a glorious late summer day. The facilities were more than adequate, great feedback was heard regarding the onsite showers and backstage toilets, and with the camping literally the other side of the fence from the arena it made it easy to pop back and forth for supplies, a rest or recharge.
And the bands. We had Liberty Tree, the brilliant Vespas, Cash Rewired (a young band living their best lives doing Johnny Cash covers), the Severn Collective, the fabulous Nick Parker with 2 sets, one on each stage, Common Culture from Barnsley playing a fantastic set, the pure rhythmic drive of Arcadia Roots and The Dolmen closing out Day 1. Day 2 opened gently with James J Turner, followed by the Kitchen Island Band before, Burn The Midnight Oil, The Whipjacks, Rusty Shackle and Dub Catalyst heated up the tent with their high energy. Trevor Babajack Steger and Jesse Benns gave us some hardcore blues (and then a more chilled acoustic set in tent later on) before traditional Scottish music band Skipinnish closed out the night. Sunday was to end on a high with the likes of Birdbrother, Reivers' Gallow, the fabulous Mighty VU choir, Mobius Loop, the celestial Brutha T & Be, A Bloke Called Maddie and Perkelt. The festival finished with a rip roaring closing set from the Roving Crows themselves. What a way to end a fabulous 3 days.
I spoke to so many people over the 3 days, young and old, and they all talked about the relaxed and fun atmosphere and the general vibe of this wonderful festival. Many said it felt like festivals of old, before everything got so big and corporate. Everyone said how friendly it all felt and how, by the end, many have made new friends and gig buddies. Even the 4 legged attendees seemed content with the weekend, even if the field was a bit spikey and their owners grumbled about tents and camper vans full of old straw!
This was a wonderful achievement for Paul and Caitlin and I believe they couldn't have imagined it going any better. Early Bird tickets are already available for next year and I can't wait to see what that will look like in 2027. If they can retain all that has been great about this year (and that was just about everything!) and build on it, there is no limits to how amazing it could be.
It was a wonderful way to spend 3 'days in the sun' (and a little rain)
Words and Pictures by Glenn Morrison
