Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the premier festivals in the British music calendar and usually found to be a sell-out and according to the local paper it attracted around 13,000 people over the last weekend of July 2001. At this year's festival I was greatly impressed with Texas singer/songwriter, Slaid Cleaves' performance, appearing on all three stages over the weekend. On the main stage Ireland's Sharon Shannon & The Woodchoppers gave a mind reeling performance both Friday and Saturday evenings. The band to top the whole festival weekend, had to be Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. Formed in 1995, The Rhythm Kings embrace eleven awe-inspiring musicians, including two of my personal musical hero's from the 60's, Georgie Fame and Garry Brooker from Procol Harum. Guitarists Albert Lee, Martin Taylor and Terry Taylor and the sensational voice of Beverly Skeete all add to this wonderful explosion of sound, enthusiastically blending numbers from 1930's - 40's with material written by themselves.

Opening the Sunday evening performances on stage one, American bluegrass sensation Rhonda Vincent & The Rage thrilled with a traditional set even though they were forced to use borrowed instruments, as several of the band found theirs had gone missing after the flight from Lyon, France. Filling the line-up alongside Rhonda, were twice IBMA Banjo Of The Year player Tom Adams, Mickey Harris bass, Audie Baylock guitar and mandolin and Mike Cleveland, a 20 year old fiddle player making his first trip outside the USA, with England being the fourth country visited on this tour. Taking front of stage and playing the fiddle tune 'Back Up And Push', Mike received a great response from the crowd, they loved this young man and left him grinning from ear to ear and I'm sure when he returns home he will be harbouring many fond memories from his first trip overseas. Mike and Rhonda thrilled us with a blistering twin fiddle version of Jack Clement's 'Just Someone I Used To Know' and Mickey Harris gave us 'Drink Up and Go Home'. At three years of age Rhonda was playing in her family's Sally Mountain Show and at age nine she had a hit with 'Mule Skinner Blues' in 1974, with the band including a thrilling edition here.

Five exceptionally talented musicians, they are being sponsored by the US Martha White Flour Company; therefore Rhonda & The Rage included a number named after their sponsors. A top-flight band, you don't get much better than Rhonda Vincent & The Rage. The pick of the litter drawing great interest from many people in the music industry at Cambridge Folk Festival.

Graham Lees, Dewesbury, W.Yorks Write to | Website

4th Feb 2002