Last Saturday week the annual Cambridge Strawberry Fair – a free event that started thirty years ago – was on Midsummer Common. Being fond of music as I am, I signed up as a steward in the acoustic/beer tent and while it wasn’t the most exciting job at the fair I did get to listen to some good bands. Honorable mentions go to Flaming June, Rob Jackson, and The Broken Family Band.Flaming June
These are a four piece with a sound like The Levellers or The Cranberries. Very fiddle based but a touch of Gothic at the same time, I’m sorry I had to watch the crowd rather than them.
Rob Jackson
I’d already seen him play with another person singing but this time it was just him, a guitar, and his box of tricks. He doesn’t so much play music as evoke a mood and his work comes across as a soundtrack to a film which has not been produced. If you like Sigur Rós you’ll enjoy.
The Broken Family Band
They played another good gig with a fair amount of songs from their forthcoming album. Alt.country seems to be here to stay, even if the drummer still seems to wish he was in Slayer.