Wet Grass and Bluegrass: Ireby Festival



We couldn't fit inside!



Last weekend, John and I drove up to the Lake District, to a tiny village right on the northern edge of the park, called Ireby.

We go almost every year, to visit the lovely Ireby Music Festival and this year, I took my trusty sketchbook.


Mochara - contemporary Irish ballads



It's primarily folk music, but incorporates various interpretations within that umbrella.

Sam Carter - brilliant songwriter

Talking of umbrellas, as you can see from my first drawing, it was a wet one! We were OK, as we were staying with friends, but the campers got very damp and the car parking field had to be changed twice.

saxophonist from the Elkie Brookes band

Luckily the events themselves were inside, either in various small venues within the village, or in the main marquee, which still only holds 500 (so it's an unusually intimate, friendly affair, with a real family feel to it).

Sean of Viper Central

My favourite act of the whole weekend was probably the one I didn't actually draw: Ade Edmonson (remember The Young Ones..?) turns out to be an excellent musician too.

His band, The Bad Shepherds, did a surreal but fabulous set: cover versions of punk classics form the late 70s and early 80s, but done in the style of Irish folk, complete with pipes and fiddle. Wonderful. I was jumping up and down in the aisles!

Tyler Rudolph of Viper Central

I love bluegrass, so it was brilliant to be in the front row for Viper Central, a fabulous band who'd come all the way from Canada.

Kathleen Nisbet of Viper Central

It gave me the perfect view, so I spent the whole set scribbling away furiously. I was so visible to the musicians that, when it was over, they were curious to know what I'd been up to.

Mark Vaughan of Viper Central

I showed Tyler Rudolph the sketches and he introduced me to the whole band. They even signed me a free CD as a pressie - how brilliant is that?

I did more drawings than I have room for here, but if you want to see the rest, I have created a Facebook photo album you can access.