Feedback from bands and guests for the 2010 event

Bands

Rob Kirtley - bass player of Creamful

"The Summer of Love party in July was fricking excellent - me and my girlfriend Elle are hoping to get to the festival next year as spectators, we thought it was awesome."

Nigel Mazlyn Jones:

"Had a great time at SOL. A really great quality time. Pass on my congrats to anyone/everyone involved for making such a vibey event happen. Thanks for asking me along, I hope you all get a rest after all the effort you all put in."

Clare Button, who accompanied Sharron Kraus:

“Wanted to say how much I enjoyed SoL. Everyone was so friendly and it was a really special atmosphere. Would love to make it again sometime!”

Vinnie Liotta of Da Vinci:

“Just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU for booking us for the SoL Party. We all had a great time. It's a truly wonderful, wonderful event, and we feel privileged to have been a part of it!...And I haven't had a hangover like that in AGES!”

Danny Shaw of The Higher State:

“my family and band members all had a lovely time and enjoyed the SOL party very much. Please consider us for any future events run by yourselves or any affiliates of the SOL team.”

Marty Ratcliffe of The Higher State:

“Thank you so much for having us last night. We had a fantastic time up there. You are a great bunch of guys . . .”

David Weston of Rainy Day Women:

“Just Exactly Perfect sums it up I think

• Superb organisation and organisers
• Lovely music
• Wonderful people (nice dogs too!)
• Excellent bar
• Beautiful location
• Sunshine

What more could one want? Thanks to everyone many times over”

James Partridge of Rainy Day Women:

“thanks so much for a great day on Saturday, I really enjoyed the whole vibe, great sound on and offstage and nice to see proper beer on sale!”

Neil Robert Herd of the Coal Porters:

“Please give your love and applause to the technical guys, Jay and the guys back there. They’re doing a fantastic job. Possibly the best onstage sound we’ve ever had - and I’m not joking.”

Spencer Pratten of Creamful:

"Just a brief note to say many, many thanks for inviting Creamful/Gunrunner to perform at the SoL Party this year.

The band and I thought it was brilliantly set out and organised, and the sound system and engineering second to none. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and hope the audience equally enjoyed our Cream and Classic Rock sets into the early hours of Sunday.

It was  a pleasure to meet such a dedicated team, and to have been a part of such a great little festival of music from all genres."

 

Guests

Richard Bartram:

". . . what a great weekend. I only heard about last year's SoLstock via the Robin Williamson website and came for the Friday only. Having experienced the Friday I have to say it was my favourite festival of 2009. So this year I came for the whole weekend bringing four other "campers " with me all of whom confirmed it was a great weekend. Obviously the weather helped but regardless it was a stone classic.

The highlight for me was Sharron Kraus. I have been a fan of Sharron's for about the last four years, she is unique talent. Thanks for a great weekend."

Phil Reed:

“Another SoL is over, another 830 mile trip is in the bag, more happy memories stored and these old bones are going to rest up today. Got to thank everyone involved for all their hard work putting SoL together. And also got to thank all the bands for playing, especially Barry Melton (top man), David and Linda LaFlamme, Higher State for their great set (gotta have them back for a longer, later set), Rainy Day Women for some of the best interpretations of Dylan songs I've ever heard and The Cole Porters for not only playing a superb Bluegrass set but also having the best encore (and Sid Griffin was right, Ronnie lane would have loved SoL). The Strange Remains for the superb music between acts, Jay the Soundman for the excellent quality of the sound, and all the lovely people who attended.

SoL is far more than just music. The vibe of the whole weekend is one of friendship, togetherness, stress-free, and having a damn good time while respecting your neighbour. Every year I travel down by myself and meet up with some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. We now greet each other like old friends even though we have only met a few times. We share food, drink and other things :-) and we are usually blessed with glorious weather. So if any of you haven't been to SoL get yourself down there next year because you will not regret it.”

David Stevenson:

“appreciate all the hard work which made this year the best SOL ever! It was wonderful Chris and a credit to everyone involved, thanks I had a ball! I will definitely pressurise some friends to come next year.”

Pete & Celene O’Connor:

“Cheers to all involved, we had a great time”

Nasim Beacham-Paterson:

“Just wanted to thank you for a superb weekend! Last year’s SoL was great, which is why we returned, but you’ve really outdone yourself this year. The line up was great as was the atmosphere. It was really nice meeting up with people who we met last year and fun to have so many of our friends join us this year too. We all popped into the local pub after we left and everyone talked about what a great time they had and they all plan to return next year. Ritchie had a great time and he couldn’t have chosen to celebrate his 40th in a better place.”

Jeremy Carr:

“Big thanks for this year’s event - I will definitely try and persuade a handful of old friends to come along to swell the crowd next time.”

Rob Lancaster:

“just to let you know that we really enjoyed it and hope to come next year.     Music: highlights were the Higher States and Coal Porters. The DJs and Grateful Dead worked so well in the sunshine and the superb sound system delivered its potential to the maximum. Crisp and spacey. The locally sourced beers were well chosen. Many thanks.”

Claire Browne:

“Thanks for a great festival - we're already talking about coming next year”

Jamie Dewar:

“I just wanted to say I thought the festival was perfect, there was nothing that would have made it any better. Great mix of music, something for everyone. The sound was good, the bar was good but most of all the festival goers and the staff were wonderful. I had a great time.”

Martin Rørdam:

“THANKS FOR A WONDERFULL TIME!!!”

Trace Pearce:

“Just a short note to thank all the organisers and bar and food staff for a truly wonderful weekend, the atmosphere just keeps getting better every year!”

Ian Stewart:

“Thanks, Chris, Already looking forward to next year”

Ian Wilson:

“4th time in a row for me and this one provided the most consistently good standard of music. Highlights, in no particular order – The Higher State (get them back please!); Buick 6 - ditto, and Liam the drummer was drummer and beard of the weekend, again; Barry Melton, especially for being so much more chilled than on previous occasions and playing all the better for it; Rainy Day Women; Sharron Kraus - a gentle set with a gentle sound; and the Coal Porters, who were a revelation and I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. It was another great weekend. Even more chilled than usual and gorgeous weather as ever.”

Ritchie Beacham-Paterson:

“Thanks for what was a really fantastic weekend. Last year’s SOL was hard to surpass but by god did you guys do it! Leaving was quite hard for all of us (expect a campaign to extend it to three days) and all of our friends are now full converts to the way of the SOL and will be coming next year.”

Tim Hutchinson:

“Fantastic weekend - many thanks to all! Too much to write in one short email, but must single out the Coal Porters who, for me, stole the show with an amazingly entertaining and technically accomplished set. And I don't normally go a bomb on Bluegrass. Please pass on my thanks to all who worked so hard to put it together. It is really hard to think how it could have been improved and I look forward to the recordings surfacing over the coming weeks. To be honest, I don't think it mattered too much that there wasn't a GD cover band; Creamful were great fun and worked hard to follow on from The Coal Porters, who really were a revelation to me. Overall an excellent balance of music, all played to a high quality, with good beer, food and company.”

Allan Orrick:

“Elaine and I had a great time. The vibes were really nice, everybody seemed really friendly, the artists were approachable, and the performances were superb. Barry Melton was great and then when he was joined by David and Linda LaFlamme, well what can I say . . . a fun experience. Well done Chris and the rest of the SoLParty team.”

Nev Smith:

“Thanks to all involved for a brilliant weekend. Couldn't have been better. Personal favourites of the bands were Buick 6 (great drummer!), The Higher State with their very authentic sixties garage/psych (I never thought I'd hear West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band material played live!), Rainy Day Women, and the Cole Porters...I'd hope to see any or all of them next year. Barry Melton was wonderful as usual and the IABD section was a treat.”

Richard Hannay:

“I missed saying goodbye on Sun and just wanted to thank you for helping to make it the best SS to date. Great mix of bands and a lovely atmosphere. I appreciate that this is the result of much hard work over many months. Inshallah we'll be back next year and I promise to (1) buy tickets earlier, and (2) bring along lots of friends + family.”

Pat Wellfare:

“SOL managed to surpass the previous year yet again - something I did not expect without a Dead band! The Cole Porters were fabulous as was Barry Melton and David and Linda LaFlamme. I will look forward to Higher State again next year. The music was all good and I really liked the Dead stuff played by Strange Remains. I would like to thank all those involved for their hard work to make this such an awesome weekend, and can't wait for the videos!! AND THE SUN!! How do we do it? :) :) :)”

Mike Appleton:

“Thanks so much to all responsible for organising and contributing to a fantastic weekend.  I liked all the music in one way or another.

Highlights

· Buick 6 - very tasty and very tasteful.

· The Higher State - what a wonderful surprise they were. Hope they come back.

· Barry Melton Band - thought he played better than last year. Really let rip on the guitar.

· IABD - a great way to end Friday night. Charming people too.

· Sharron Kraus - original and different. Some fine songs and the two voices were mesmerising.

· Coal Porters - just exactly perfect and that encore was something truly special.

Honourable mentions

· Da Vinci - lurching towards Spinal Tap territory but saved by sheer bravado and by not taking themselves too seriously. Not my bag at all, but highly entertaining.

· Creamful/Gunrunner - gamely took on the Saturday night slot after the Coal Porters. I thought they did well

Ray Day:

“Thanks for all the hard work which you, Kent and friends did to make it another good'un. There seemed to be more people this year and a good cross section of musical genres. You seem to have got the bill just right with a fair number of young 'uns interested. The weather was excellent and the food too. I thought Creamful were very good, especially since they didn't just focus on the well known numbers.”

Roger Tedstone:

“Just a short note to thank you for your work in making SOL such a great weekend, good bands, good sound, good weather, good beer and good company. I've only been back a day and 6 people have expressed an interest for next year. The highlight had to be Rainy Day Women doing Subterranean Homesick Reggae. Priceless!”

Nick Dunning:

During the festival:

“Having mellow time here, spectacularily diverse artistes. Currently enjoying Dylan singalong with The Rainy Day Women. Rock and roll!”

And later:

“Was a truly lovely day out yesterday. Major kudos to everyone who set this up. Congratulations to all, it was superb.”

Jules Gray:

“I can only echo what my esteemed friend Mr Dunning said. Most enjoyable. Thanks for the invite, CJ.”

 

And, via Facebook:

Fiona McGowran:

“If Carlsberg did festivals! . . . . I'm STILL buzzing! That was a wonderful weekend....Thanks again.........and again...AND AGAIN!”

Daisy Harmer:

“Such an amazing way to spend a weekend. I can't wait for next year!”

Alex Blackburn:

“I had a whale of a time. My housemate's already saying that he'd really want to go”

Carole Smith:

“Home again........That was the best weekend in a long, long time...certainly the best festival EVER!! What more could I ask for? Beautiful people, brilliant music and sun, sun, sun all the way. . . Ahhhh, I LOVE SoL!!!!! :)))”

 

Apologies if we’ve missed anyone out

CJ