Oysterband
20th Jun 2010@ 16:30 Indoor Main Stage
It's the mighty Oysterband...
A loose collection of musicians who met at the legendary Dukes Folk Club in Whitstable in the late 70s turned into a renowned dance band ("The Oyster Ceilidh Band") in the early 80s, then became interested in writing songs and emerged by 1986 as a hard-hitting punk-influenced outfit ("The Oyster Band") that somehow managed to combine political lyrics with deep traditional roots. Freedom And Rain, their collaboration with June Tabor ("a marriage made in heaven" - Rolling Stone), became one of Mojo's 10 best folk albums of the decade.
By the early 90s, they had moved on to major labels and international touring, building a reputation as a great live act and major festival attraction, with a dedicated following. The addition of Ray Cooper (Chopper) on bass and cello and Lee Partis on drums lifted the band to another level, sparked a further name change ("Oysterband"), and began the most prolific period of the band's history. Between 1992 and 1996 they released 4 albums, including the influential Holy Bandits, regularly cited as one of the great folk/roots-rock albums of all time.
The turn of the millennium saw Oysterband revisit their acoustic roots with an innovative collaborative project, The Big Session, which produced three tours, a live album and an intriguing festival, now in its 4th year. Recently they have picked up two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, one as Best Group.
30 years, many miles and 35 countries later, Oysterband are still running. On a roll from the enthusiastic reception right across Europe and North America of their superb recent album Meet You There, they'll be mixing up old and new material, Oyster classics and radical rearrangements.
Irrespective of media fads, Oysterband has forged a distinctive identity, free of hype, independent in spirit. They are a Great British Band.
Celebrate!
