Beggars Fair 2013
Partly overshadowed in recent years by tales of drunken brawls and town lockdowns, the annual Beggars Fair in Romsey remains to be an incredibly revered, if somewhat tense, event to take place midsummer.
Established in 1993, the Beggars Fair heralds a day of fun for the town of Romsey and its surrounding estates centred round the performance of local music. Although the intended folk of this mini-festival has largely dissipated, the calibre of local artists and bands who flock to play is often astounding and always met with friendly crowds. With more than 40 different performers taking to the stage all through the day this year, live music flooded the small market town from 11am til late into the evening.
July 13th was an abnormally hot day, however, instead of lounging in parched gardens or battling the traffic to the beach, hundreds of visitors poured into the centre of Romsey to partake in the Beggars Fair, in which 10 pubs and even churches were hosting musical guests for the day. Covering jazz, folk, ska, acoustic, rock and an affluence of cover bands, the selection of performers was extensive with something always going on.
The Olive Tree, a popular pub in the centre of Romsey, in particular, was hosting some inspiring musicians and, unsurprisingly, was packed into the evening. Giving over their tiny garden to a stage area, bar and BBQ stall, sweaty dancers and hilarity ensued. However, being serious, one artist to catch a few ears was Ben Goddard. You may have come across this guy before, as it appears that he is in every way intending to come to the forefront of music in the near future. Youthful and evidently experienced, Ben Goddard took to the stage at 4pm, trying to appear cool under his curly strawberry-blonde mop of hair in the relentless heat. Whilst many of the acts appearing at the Fair claimed to be singer-songwriters, none of them appear to have captured the current overtures in this genre recently, especially by males, as Goddard has. Channelling the likes of Ed Sheeran and Ben Howard, Goddard has a soothing and rangy voice that, in assimilation with Sheeran and Howard, he doesn’t look like he should have. That, coupled with his beautifully composed songs, pulled people in from other sides of the building to converge under the umbrellas in a sweat drenched mass. Compiling some vocal rap rhythms with plucky guitar, his acoustic set fitted in with perfectly with the summer climes and atmosphere. As shown on his website and in this year’s programme, Ben Goddard is shaping up for an interesting future, with supposed shows coming with chart-topper Bastille and rapper Mike Skinner of The Streets fame, and no doubt has a fair few supporters after his honest performance on Saturday. Check out tracks ‘Fallen For You’ and ‘The City’ on iTunes.
An essential part of the Beggars Fair are the cover bands, who appear in all shapes and forms. Of them all, there were a pleasing few that caught the attention and happy vibes of the crowd; one of them being Ken Wood and the Mixers. Despite having an apparent average age of 60 years old between , the energy they produced on stage at the Old House At Home public house had the relatively sparse crowd on their feet and bopping away to their renditions of some jazz, funk and blues classics. With punchy sax accompanying sexy bass lines and bluesy beats, they delighted with every new track as the lead singer interacted with the clapping crowd, jumping around (and, at times, off the stage) in an oversized yellow blazer and blue creepers.
Another moderate cover artist came in the form of Joe Butt, singer and guitarist, who pumped out popular tunes from various periods in pop history, causing audience participation in lending their voices to the music. Playing the likes of The Waterboys ‘Whole of the Moon’ and REM ‘Losing My Religion’, his set at the Olive Tree pub only seemed to improve the numbers of people. Whilst not overly awe-inspiring, Joe Butt knows his way around a guitar and can sing which, coupled with popular covers, deemed him an understated success.
The Cornmarket stage, positioned in the centre of the town, is an unofficial main stage of the day as passersby and occupants of nearby establishments can observe in harmony in quantifiably more room than the corners of pubs. More traditional folk band State of Undress graced this stage at 4pm, with jaunty jigs and old time ballads that featured well in the overall spirit of the day.
Obviously, whilst primarily a music festival, other activities and amusements were lined up at the Cornmarket, War Memorial Park and Bradbeer’s for children and adults in the shape of Morris dancers, face-painting and a story-teller.
Despite the solid live music all through the day, there was a definitive feeling of small town camaraderie thrumming down the streets, riding on the back of glorious sunshine, heavy attendance and decent local musicians. Even as the day drew to a quiet end and, finally cooling down, I took a mental review of the day, the music continued in the form of a local man sat in the corner of the pub playing gentle folk songs on a well-loved guitar, only indicating further the firm place the Beggars Fair holds in the calendar of Romsey and the heady anticipation for next year....
Words and photo by Livi Southern
Find Ben Goodard on Facebook, Twitter and his official website
Find Ken Wood and The Mixers here
Find State of Undress on Facebook and their official website
Established in 1993, the Beggars Fair heralds a day of fun for the town of Romsey and its surrounding estates centred round the performance of local music. Although the intended folk of this mini-festival has largely dissipated, the calibre of local artists and bands who flock to play is often astounding and always met with friendly crowds. With more than 40 different performers taking to the stage all through the day this year, live music flooded the small market town from 11am til late into the evening.
July 13th was an abnormally hot day, however, instead of lounging in parched gardens or battling the traffic to the beach, hundreds of visitors poured into the centre of Romsey to partake in the Beggars Fair, in which 10 pubs and even churches were hosting musical guests for the day. Covering jazz, folk, ska, acoustic, rock and an affluence of cover bands, the selection of performers was extensive with something always going on.
The Olive Tree, a popular pub in the centre of Romsey, in particular, was hosting some inspiring musicians and, unsurprisingly, was packed into the evening. Giving over their tiny garden to a stage area, bar and BBQ stall, sweaty dancers and hilarity ensued. However, being serious, one artist to catch a few ears was Ben Goddard. You may have come across this guy before, as it appears that he is in every way intending to come to the forefront of music in the near future. Youthful and evidently experienced, Ben Goddard took to the stage at 4pm, trying to appear cool under his curly strawberry-blonde mop of hair in the relentless heat. Whilst many of the acts appearing at the Fair claimed to be singer-songwriters, none of them appear to have captured the current overtures in this genre recently, especially by males, as Goddard has. Channelling the likes of Ed Sheeran and Ben Howard, Goddard has a soothing and rangy voice that, in assimilation with Sheeran and Howard, he doesn’t look like he should have. That, coupled with his beautifully composed songs, pulled people in from other sides of the building to converge under the umbrellas in a sweat drenched mass. Compiling some vocal rap rhythms with plucky guitar, his acoustic set fitted in with perfectly with the summer climes and atmosphere. As shown on his website and in this year’s programme, Ben Goddard is shaping up for an interesting future, with supposed shows coming with chart-topper Bastille and rapper Mike Skinner of The Streets fame, and no doubt has a fair few supporters after his honest performance on Saturday. Check out tracks ‘Fallen For You’ and ‘The City’ on iTunes.
An essential part of the Beggars Fair are the cover bands, who appear in all shapes and forms. Of them all, there were a pleasing few that caught the attention and happy vibes of the crowd; one of them being Ken Wood and the Mixers. Despite having an apparent average age of 60 years old between , the energy they produced on stage at the Old House At Home public house had the relatively sparse crowd on their feet and bopping away to their renditions of some jazz, funk and blues classics. With punchy sax accompanying sexy bass lines and bluesy beats, they delighted with every new track as the lead singer interacted with the clapping crowd, jumping around (and, at times, off the stage) in an oversized yellow blazer and blue creepers.
Another moderate cover artist came in the form of Joe Butt, singer and guitarist, who pumped out popular tunes from various periods in pop history, causing audience participation in lending their voices to the music. Playing the likes of The Waterboys ‘Whole of the Moon’ and REM ‘Losing My Religion’, his set at the Olive Tree pub only seemed to improve the numbers of people. Whilst not overly awe-inspiring, Joe Butt knows his way around a guitar and can sing which, coupled with popular covers, deemed him an understated success.
The Cornmarket stage, positioned in the centre of the town, is an unofficial main stage of the day as passersby and occupants of nearby establishments can observe in harmony in quantifiably more room than the corners of pubs. More traditional folk band State of Undress graced this stage at 4pm, with jaunty jigs and old time ballads that featured well in the overall spirit of the day.
Obviously, whilst primarily a music festival, other activities and amusements were lined up at the Cornmarket, War Memorial Park and Bradbeer’s for children and adults in the shape of Morris dancers, face-painting and a story-teller.
Despite the solid live music all through the day, there was a definitive feeling of small town camaraderie thrumming down the streets, riding on the back of glorious sunshine, heavy attendance and decent local musicians. Even as the day drew to a quiet end and, finally cooling down, I took a mental review of the day, the music continued in the form of a local man sat in the corner of the pub playing gentle folk songs on a well-loved guitar, only indicating further the firm place the Beggars Fair holds in the calendar of Romsey and the heady anticipation for next year....
Words and photo by Livi Southern
Find Ben Goodard on Facebook, Twitter and his official website
Find Ken Wood and The Mixers here
Find State of Undress on Facebook and their official website