11:47am Thursday 16th April 2009
By Anne Morris
SUMMER is a-coming in, loudly sing cuckoo – so goes the 13th century English folk song, heralding the true beginning of spring and the promise of summer.
Picnics, al-fresco dining, live outdoor music and dancing on grassy lawns until the midnight hour are all eponymous with the summer festival, and there is something for everyone to choose from in 2009.
Salisbury International Arts Festival kicks off the festivities with two weeks of arts events from May 22. Some events have already sold out (Opera at Trafalgar Park and Very Hungry Caterpillar events for example). Full listings and selected highlights will be published in the Journal’s dedicated festival supplement on May 7.
Jazz aficionados will be delighted to learn that singer Stacey Kent and her saxophone playing husband, Jim Tomlinson will be headlining Wiltshire Jazz Festival 2009 (formerly Dinton Jazz Jamboree) at Jesses, Snow Hill, Dinton in June. The name change of the festival is down to its popularity over the last few years, and other musicians in the line-up include trombonist Dennis Rollins, New Orleans-style jazz band, Pete Allen Band, and Dorset cabaret act, Misbehavin’.
Choral music takes centres stage in July as the Southern Cathedral plays host to the Southern Cathedrals Festival, the annual festival featuring the choirs of Chichester, Salisbury and Winchester Cathedrals.
A feast of music is anticipated as the festival celebrates anniversaries of Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Purcell. Fourteen concerts, nine services, a choral masterclass and world premières by Barry Ferguson and Will Todd.
International African singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré has been announced as the Saturday headliner at July’s Larmer Tree Festival, held in the atmospheric setting of the gardens at Tollard Royal. Her latest album, Tchamantché has been in almost every music critics’ recommended albums for 2008 and as well as the Larmer Tree Festival, the Malian singer will only be performing at WOMAD, so quite a coup.
Other headliners include The Imagined Village, Richard Thompson, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and festival favourites after last year’s heart-stopping performance, Kanda Bongo Man.
Rock legends Status Quo headline at July’s Tidworth Festival at its open-air site at Perham Down. The festival also takes in the popular music in flight event, which this year sees Christian Moullec taking to the skies with his flock of feathered friends to fly in a v-shaped formation behind his microlight. The performance, Vol avec les Oiseaux will be flying in synchronised timing to vocal and orchestral pieces from Saint-Saëns opera, Samson and Delilah.
Endorse it in Dorset prides itself in offering an alternative to other music festivals with its mix of ska, dub, punk and other festival acts.
Headlining this year are Sham 69, Pama International and Dreadzone. Other bands confirmed include Lucky 7’s, a funk band with a full brass section that brought the house down at Glastonbury last year. The three days of live music and DJs also includes a special Ladies’ Day.
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