Bucklebury festival given top marks all round
Held at Bucklebury Farm Park, hundreds of people turned up on the day, with musical entertainment – a mix of blues, jazz, soul and swing, with a sprinkling of folk – stretching from midday until 10pm in the evening.
Bradfield College Jazz band performed a diverse repertoire, including various jazz standards from 1920 onwards, as well as blues, funk and swing, followed by Pete Allen (jazz) – who ended with a Louis Armstrong favourite, When You’re Smiling.
A highlight proved to be Bucklebury starlet 15-year-old Eloise Weeks, a finalist last year in the Open Mic UK competition at London’s O2 arena.
The St Gabriel’s School pupil, who sings and plays piano, gave a performance of three of her compositions, including Seventeen, a song she wrote about Alzheimer’s.
“It was breathtaking. She was outstanding,” said the chairwoman of Bucklebury Community Events, Christie Morris.
The Kennet School Bands junior and senior musicians showcased talented instrumentalists and voices, alongside the Tom Michell Blues Band, who stepped up the pace with a rocking rhythm and blues set.
In the evening, Richard Navarro (soul and swing) added his trio of double bass and drums to the mix, followed by Megan Henwood, who took to the stage with her own band performing folk, soul, blues and funk, with highlights from her debut album, Making Waves.
The evening ended on a high with funky, energetic brass/jazz band, Brass Volcanoes, performers at the London 2012 Olympics, who had everyone on their feet dancing with what organiser Elizabeth Peplow described as a “show-stealing, heart-lifting performance,” with brass, saxophones, drums and even a sousaphone playing us out with the unforgettable sounds of New Orleans and sealing a great day.”
Despite a couple of light showers, a threatened downpour held off, enabling guests to spread out on the park grass for a picnic, with a hog roast and beer tent suppling West Berkshire Brewery brews and ciders, along with children’s activities such as face painting, tractor rides and farm park activities.
