A few weekends ago I went to a festival. Two Thousand Trees is a relatively small affair: new independent music and lots of West Country Cider. It rained, as it has for the last four years. With the exception of the eclectically brilliant Frightened Rabbit, I hadn’t heard of many bands on the lineup. I never have. And it’s always a highlight of my summer.
A good festival is a mini journey of discovery. Whatever your taste in music, theatre, comedy, line dancing, extreme ironing, wensleydale… there’s sure to be a festival out there that will suit your interests and, more importantly, introduce you to something a bit new. There’s nothing more satisfying than wandering into a marquee because something catches your ear and leaving half an hour later safe in the knowledge that your music collection will be enriched by the addition of your new favourite band’s CD.
Two Thousand Trees provided a microcosm; we were a community of soggy, slightly drunken music lovers crammed together in a ramshackle tent. We had a choice, at any one time, between a handful of acts across a handful of stages. It was perfect downtime after rehearsing a show all about being stuck in the middle of nowhere; the festival reminded me just how much that can be.
And now we’re on the brink of another festival. A festival on a whole different scale. There is nothing micro about Edinburgh. He we are - Fine Chisel - a group of theatre makers out to tell a story. We’ve got a band, we’ve got some beautiful posters and we’ve got buckets of enthusiasm. The only problem is there are 2,500 companies out there with a similar idea. They’ve all got stories to tell too, many of them very exciting. I never ceased to be overwhelmed by Edinburgh. This evening as I drove over George IV bridge, with a van full of set and instruments after our tech, I could feel the air moving rapidly across the city. Yes, the Scottish weather is as changeable as ever, but I think that the communal intake of breath from all of those people has got to make a difference too. So many hours of work, so many ideas. And now we all wait and watch to see whether they fly…