Wickham Festival 2023: Martyn Joseph, Track Dogs, Show of Hands: "A great start" | Review

Unfortunately that’s just what Wickham got – and it caused predictable problems with the car parking situation and mud onsite. However, when the main car park had to be closed off as it had become a quagmire, alternatives within a short walking distance were readily offered up.

Arriving halfway though Martyn Joseph’s solo set, the singer-songwriter’s easy-going charm had clearly already won over the audience. A passionate figure on the folk scene, he’s not one to shy away from a protest song. He wears his politics on his sleeve, as becomes most obvious when he plays Nye – Song for The NHS. Joseph performs it as a deconstruction of the song, breaking it down, telling us how it came about, what inspired certain lyrics and so on, while weaving in the actual verses and choruses. It’s a clever trick which I’ve seen done elsewhere, but requires confidence in your delivery and the craft, which Joseph has in spades. This love letter to the NHS and its founder goes down a storm.

Next up are Track Dogs – a marvellous melange of a band. There’s a bit of brass in there, a bit of banjo, gorgeous four-part harmonies, sometimes a bit Spanish salsa, sometimes Americana or veering towards folk. One song made me think of Love’s Forever Changes. They are, as they say at one point: “Three bands for the price of one.” And all three are excellent.

Headliners are Show of Hands, the folk titans who have played Wickham many times over the years but are always welcomed back with open arms. As is often, but not always the case, Steve Knightley and Phil Beer are joined by their long-term bassist Miranda Sykes.

With a 35-year career and 20-plus albums to draw from and goodness knows how many collaborations, there are always going to be omissions, perhaps most surprisingly the rousing singalong and usual set staple Cousin Jack.

SEE MORE: Rising star Joshua Burnell channels his inner Bowie as he prepares to play Wickham

That aside, what we do get over the course of 80 minutes is their usual masterclass. Their cover of Don Henley’s Boys of Summer is a plaintive sigh to lost youth, and the “Cornish reggae” of Dreckley is good fun. Lyrics are changed on the hoof to suit the surroundings and Knightley is in good humour between numbers.

Guest spots from Dhol Foundation/Afro Celt Sound System’s Johnny Kalsi and a returning Track Dogs are more than welcome.

Midset they bring on Folk on Foot podcast host Matthew Bannister who is undertaking a 180-mile sponsored hike for the charity Help Musicians, which is setting off from the festival site. The song which first bought Bannister and Show of Hands together was Country Life, and so it’s only natural they follow with it. Twenty years down the line, the song’s anger remains undimmed.

Indeed, there is also an overt streak of righteous anger in Arrogance, ignorance and Greed – written in the 2008 financial crisis. While it may be one of their best songs with its excoriating lyrics and a chorus which has become a big singalong it is sadly more relevant than ever.

They close with the poignant Santiago to rapturous applause, and given that some of their best-known numbers remain unplayed, many in the audience want more but it is sadly not to be.

It’s a great start to the festival.