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Post by olirow on Oct 10, 2023 19:32:45 GMT
Is anyone else going?
Line up looks a bit thin but I am sure it's going to be fun nonetheless:)
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Post by calndel on Oct 11, 2023 20:12:01 GMT
We've managed to pick out a few things each day, the line up looks thin but there's enough to make it a good weekend
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Post by olirow on Oct 21, 2023 7:34:52 GMT
Well it took 9 hours of driving but I got here. Some fabulous weather if you like extremes
Friday night was pretty decent. Both Jasdeep Singh Degun and Sura Sasso were absolutely excellent, have seen them both before (here) but Jasdeep in particular is now a really accomplished performer and it was a joy to listen.
We also had John Hegley, some nice dry bits of humour, but perhaps a bit overjaded? and Ubunye, who took ages to get going but were quite tight by the end, however their type of jazz not really my cup of tea. They do however have the distinction of being the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Club's Ensemble of the Year 2023, nice for them (perhaps?) but likely we can add music to the list of things you shouldn't trust a politician with.
Let's see how Saturday goes, will be fun!
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Post by olirow on Oct 23, 2023 16:38:54 GMT
I was going to give a daily update but didn't quite get round to it:) Overall, having a full Musicport experience once again was wonderful, and although they played it quite safe with the line up, there was plenty to enjoy.
The new guy Simon Williams who is taking over from Jim and Sue seems a decent chap. He spoke at the end about it being bigger and better next year, and that having Womex in Manchester should make it easier to improve the line-up. Jim is definitely still around though, I saw him a few times, and I think Sue is too. Things are looking a lot brighter for the festival, which is great news.
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Post by sc on Oct 24, 2023 7:20:18 GMT
Lovely weekend at Musicport, all very easy going and thoroughly enjoyable. Again wonderful to meet up with friends. We travelled up by train to York, which worked perfectly and very quick, then caught the Coastline Bus 840 from York to Whitby, a glorious 2 hour 20 min tour of the Yorkshire Mores and villages for the princely sum of £2 .... that'll do nicely thank you. The festival was small friendly with everyone who was able on their feet and dancing for the late evening slots with State of Satta on Saturday Night and Onipa on Sunday, all leaving with happy hearts and souls, sweaty and aching limbs. A big success, clearly Finance is an issue but with such a positive first full festival under new management of Simon, crowd funding and finance I'm sure will flow their way and the future looks bright. Easy wins for next year, I'd suggest would be a big bright and obvious Merchandise stall, selling artists merch and Musicports, sorting out the WiFi and maybe striking a deal with local restaurants (they donate to Musicport and Musicport pushes it's customers to them with sonething like a 10% discounts for wristband wearers, work together to extract the cash from the punters  It was a perfect weekend, with friends, good food (local restaurants), music and dance. We took the bus to York yesterday and train home tomorrow. A perfect weekend |
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Post by beef on Oct 24, 2023 11:17:57 GMT
Sounds wonderful... especially with the bus trip through a fantastic part of the country for £2! Must try this festival sometime... and Womad again... things are looking up at beef HQ for 2024, so fingers crossed...
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Post by olirow on Oct 25, 2023 21:16:07 GMT
That's great to hear Beef, there's plenty of seating at all the stages in Musicport plus it's small so any mobility challenges likely much easier to manage compared to Womad and similar.
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Post by sc on Oct 26, 2023 7:00:05 GMT
Sounds wonderful... especially with the bus trip through a fantastic part of the country for £2! Must try this festival sometime... and Womad again... things are looking up at beef HQ for 2024, so fingers crossed... you should Beef, lovely town and setting, all indoors, split over two levels and a lift for those that struggle with stairs. Loads of restaurants and tourist traps in town when you want a break |
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Post by Rendrags on Oct 27, 2023 14:40:48 GMT
Lovely weekend at Musicport, all very easy going and thoroughly enjoyable. Again wonderful to meet up with friends. We travelled up by train to York, which worked perfectly and very quick, then caught the Coastline Bus 840 from York to Whitby, a glorious 2 hour 20 min tour of the Yorkshire Mores and villages for the princely sum of £2 .... that'll do nicely thank you. The festival was small friendly with everyone who was able on their feet and dancing for the late evening slots with State of Satta on Saturday Night and Onipa on Sunday, all leaving with happy hearts and souls, sweaty and aching limbs. A big success, clearly Finance is an issue but with such a positive first full festival under new management of Simon, crowd funding and finance I'm sure will flow their way and the future looks bright. Easy wins for next year, I'd suggest would be a big bright and obvious Merchandise stall, selling artists merch and Musicports, sorting out the WiFi and maybe striking a deal with local restaurants (they donate to Musicport and Musicport pushes it's customers to them with sonething like a 10% discounts for wristband wearers, work together to extract the cash from the punters It was a perfect weekend, with friends, good food (local restaurants), music and dance. We took the bus to York yesterday and train home tomorrow. A perfect weekend Sounds lovely, would love to try this sometime. Just wondering if there's a toilet stop on the bus journey from York to Whitby? 2 hours 20 minutes seems a long time without one! |
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Post by sc on Oct 27, 2023 14:51:50 GMT
Lovely weekend at Musicport, all very easy going and thoroughly enjoyable. Again wonderful to meet up with friends. We travelled up by train to York, which worked perfectly and very quick, then caught the Coastline Bus 840 from York to Whitby, a glorious 2 hour 20 min tour of the Yorkshire Mores and villages for the princely sum of £2 .... that'll do nicely thank you. The festival was small friendly with everyone who was able on their feet and dancing for the late evening slots with State of Satta on Saturday Night and Onipa on Sunday, all leaving with happy hearts and souls, sweaty and aching limbs. A big success, clearly Finance is an issue but with such a positive first full festival under new management of Simon, crowd funding and finance I'm sure will flow their way and the future looks bright. Easy wins for next year, I'd suggest would be a big bright and obvious Merchandise stall, selling artists merch and Musicports, sorting out the WiFi and maybe striking a deal with local restaurants (they donate to Musicport and Musicport pushes it's customers to them with sonething like a 10% discounts for wristband wearers, work together to extract the cash from the punters It was a perfect weekend, with friends, good food (local restaurants), music and dance. We took the bus to York yesterday and train home tomorrow. A perfect weekend Sounds lovely, would love to try this sometime. Just wondering if there's a toilet stop on the bus journey from York to Whitby? 2 hours 20 minutes seems a long time without one! Sorry no toilet stops, but there are bus stops, so in theory you could hope off and then get back on the next bus, looks like they're roughly hourly until mid afternoon Alternatively you can stick with the train to Whitby Coastliner 840 timetable bustimes.org/services/840-leeds-york-malton-thornton-dale-whitby |
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Post by Zenrider on Oct 27, 2023 20:49:19 GMT
Lovely weekend at Musicport, all very easy going and thoroughly enjoyable. Again wonderful to meet up with friends. We travelled up by train to York, which worked perfectly and very quick, then caught the Coastline Bus 840 from York to Whitby, a glorious 2 hour 20 min tour of the Yorkshire Mores and villages for the princely sum of £2 .... that'll do nicely thank you. The festival was small friendly with everyone who was able on their feet and dancing for the late evening slots with State of Satta on Saturday Night and Onipa on Sunday, all leaving with happy hearts and souls, sweaty and aching limbs. A big success, clearly Finance is an issue but with such a positive first full festival under new management of Simon, crowd funding and finance I'm sure will flow their way and the future looks bright. Easy wins for next year, I'd suggest would be a big bright and obvious Merchandise stall, selling artists merch and Musicports, sorting out the WiFi and maybe striking a deal with local restaurants (they donate to Musicport and Musicport pushes it's customers to them with sonething like a 10% discounts for wristband wearers, work together to extract the cash from the punters It was a perfect weekend, with friends, good food (local restaurants), music and dance. We took the bus to York yesterday and train home tomorrow. A perfect weekend Sounds lovely, would love to try this sometime. Just wondering if there's a toilet stop on the bus journey from York to Whitby? 2 hours 20 minutes seems a long time without one! Make sure you go right before you get on the bus? Don't drink a lot of coffee or beer before boarding? If you can't make it three hours (allowing for any unexpected delays or detours), I'm thinking it might be time to start wearing Depends. 😝 |
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Post by calndel on Oct 31, 2023 12:05:18 GMT
We had a good time at Musicport, Cal energy levels had improved since WOMAD so she was able to take part in more things.
We both noted the reduced line up and the music was more relaxed than passed years. The quality was there but there was nothing that really blew or sock off. Mind you that's getting hard to do the older we get.
We both liked seeing bands in the theatre stage, the comfy seat and pleasant atmosphere adding to the whole festival vibe.
We enjoyed staying with a group of friends in a holiday rental but next time we'll try to avoid a property which felt like an escape room at times (lots of little puzzle to solve, including how to get in and out when the front door lock broke). Whitby was Whitby and we beginning to build up a good local knowledge of where to go and where not to go.
The lack of a festival shop was a disappointment but it was nice buying merch from the artists, however if there was a fuller line up this could have been an issue.
As for next year, it sounds like they could benefit from WOMEX in Manchester which will help boost the line up and hopefully ticket sales.
All in all we had a great extended weekend either side of Musicport and we're hoping to do it again next year.
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Post by mikey on Nov 7, 2023 13:00:41 GMT
We had a good time at Musicport, Cal energy levels had improved since WOMAD so she was able to take part in more things. Glad to hear that Cal is starting to return to normal and hope she gets back to pre covid level of energy. |
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