Banter - Delight at Chippenham Folk Festival

Some great Banter with some lovely folk

Chippenham Folk Festival takes place on Bank Holiday Weekend at the end of May, and this is the 50th time it has done so, a very Happy Birthday to said festival. Some of the variety on offer can be traced in the day in the life of one band, Banter, on the Sunday of this year’s festival.  As you work your way up the High Street at lunchtime, past Morris Dancers in all sorts of attire from the traditional to a bit of drag and steampunk even you come to the Buttercross in the centre of town, with a stage and Banter kicking off a lunchtime ceilidh, free to all comers.

For those not familiar with the idea, a ceilidh is a led dance with a band and someone telling you the moves. Most people get it wrong, but that’s part of the fun, think line dancing with more movement and less cowboy boots. It appeals to all ages with, at a rough guess, people from about three to seventy five taking part. Musically it is tunes rather than songs with Nina Zella on Keyboards taking the lead musically ably accompanied by Simon Care on melodeon, Tim Walker on drums, percussion, brass (musical Swiss army knife as he introduced) and newest member Mark Jolley on Bass, Fiddle, Guitar.

Two hours of sunshine is a wonderful way of enjoying the English spring, for the night owls there is also an evening ceilidh at the leisure centre, which by chance Banter headlined last year. Evidently, they are particularly fond of playing the leisure centre, while is maybe someone else’s turn to play the hall, this year Banter are playing the swimming pool. Only open to weekend ticket holders this time, presumably as number are naturally limited in such a space, but it was of the same. Collective dance but this time in your swimming kit. The band were up in the viewing gallery which was apparently a tad humid. Check out their Facebook page for the livestream, it is certainly something a bit different.

For the more traditional concert, as most people would expect it be, i.e., in a room with no led dancing or swimming shorts required it was to the Consti Club in the town centre. Once they’d shut the doors to the party going on next door it was a lot easier to concentrate on the acts on stage.  Banter’s headline set started about 10.15pm and ended at 11pm, so it seemed quite a short set. I think partly to allow more acts to play, with four in total entertaining the crowd. People can come and go, but the headliners certainly pulled the largest crowd as you’d expect.

This was the time to showcase their own songs and when you can truly appreciate just what it is they do. They mix a range of sounds from slightly quirky tunes to traditional folk and with a ballad or two thrown in too. They have been described as the “world’s smallest big band” and it’s understandable to see why, the range of sound they produce from just the four of them is quite something. Tonight, they showcased several songs from their upcoming album, which if this sneak peek is anything to go by will certainly be up there with the three, they have produced so far.

In a truly intimate venue such as this the vocal quality of lead singer Nina Zella really comes across and it is breath-taking. With a wide vocal range from the upbeat to the almost haunting at times it really does draw you in. They seem to be continuing to build their fan base and are now holding their own festival in September, which is already sold out which shows something of the regard they are held in. They certainly did a great job of rounding off the penultimate day of the Chippenham Folk Festival and we look forward to more of the same in the future, next year for the festival and hopefully sooner to see Banter again.

Check Out! Banter 'Live at Southwell Festival' Below...