March in Ireland in a wonderful time of year, the cuckoo welcomes back the season with its beautiful songs,  new born lambs leap though the fields, daffodils and primroses  are in bloom, there is slightly less rain and who can leave out the colour and festivities of St Patrick ’s Day.

But for a week this March I decided to throw caution to the wind, so I packed my sun cream waved goodbye to rain drenched shores and inflatable shamrocks and headed for sunny climes.  It wasn’t the sunshine alone that drew me, something very special was happening on Spain’s Costa Del Sol.  This year the beautiful resort of Benalmadena was playing host to the first ever Costa Del Folk Festival and I wasn’t going to miss a note of it.

Folk music is my life’s greatest passion and over the years I have been to many terrific festivals all over the British Isles.  This one for me was a little different, as I was travelling a greater distance and I was travelling alone.  As a single girl with limited experience as a solo traveller I was slightly apprehensive and unsure of quiet what to expect.   I need not have worried for a moment and from the very moment I landed I could not have been made to feel more welcome.  I was met straight off the plane by Enjoy Travels friendly representative who helped me with my luggage and delivered me safely to the hotel a short 20 minute drive away.  Here I was met with more representatives, who insured a speedy check in, handed me my festival wrist band and programmes and gave me the quick lay out of the Hotel and where everything was taking place.

The Hotel itself was very nice, well maintained and spotlessly clean.  The spacious bed rooms had everything you might need for a relaxing stay.  The Hotels communal areas were bright, airy, comfortable and very roomy (and as the week went on they provided an excellent location for an impromptu session or sing a long). The Large sun terrace, garden and pool area were perfectly presented with ample seats or sun loungers for all.  The events main stage was situated in the garden terrace. It was positioned in such a way that the music lovers could relax in the sunshine while looking up at the stage.  For an open air venue the acoustics were near perfect, giving a more personal feel to the performances.  Other venues included the Bar area, where there was always something going on and it was always lively and the wonderful ‘Folk Club’, a warmly lit room with a smaller stage and the most intimate of atmospheres. Here the audience was entertained well into the night and literally transported back in time to the coffee houses and Folk clubs of the 1960s and 70s.

The Festival compare was a man who needs no introduction, acclaimed broadcaster, musician, comedian, champion of Folk music and all around ‘good egg’ Mr Mike Harding.  Whether he was introducing an act on stage with his peerless wit, humor and style, chatting to festival goers or joining in one of the many sessions, Mike was in the thick of everything.  He really did an outstanding job and was one of the many reasons this festival went off so well.

Which leads me on to the music, what can I say about the music?  The written word can scarcely describe how good the line-up at this festival was.   Groups, duets and individual performers went to make up a truly breath taking array of talent.  Each and every act delivered outstanding performance after outstanding performance.   Making the Costa Del Folk the first festival I have ever attended where it is practically impossible to pick a highlight.  Fairport Convention and Show of Hands were superb.   The Demon Barbers, Steam Chicken and The Hut People had everyone stomping their feet and demanding encores.  Niamh Parsons beautiful voice sparkled while Graham Dunne accompanied her brilliantly on guitar.  The Doonan’s shone as bright as the sun all week with many outstanding performances, opening the festival on the main stage and one of the last acts to perform in the Folk Club on the final evening.  Tom McConville and his band charmed us all with some lively instrumentals and beautiful ballads.  The solo performers were absolutely outstanding, Rory Motion had people both laughing and singing along to his many wonderfully witty songs and comic arrangements.

The Gorgeous Flossie Malavialle entertained her many fans and endeared herself to many many more with her warm, charismatic style and carefully chosen songs.   Singer Song writer, Sean Taylor was like a one man orchestra, his unique guitar style and clever use of acoustics were the perfect accompaniment to his thought provoking lyrics.  Dave Burland, truly was ‘The Sinatra of the Folk Song’ while John ‘Fake Thackray’ Watterson captivated his audiences with his fabulous renditions of Jake Thackray classics.  But there was one Band that had everyone talking and humming their tunes for hours after they left the stage and was the Magnificent Blackbeard’s Tea Party.   These six extremely talented  young musicians brought to the stage not just an astonishing arrangement of Traditional and Folk songs, they brought vibrancy, enthusiasm, an unquenchable energy and they delivered three pulsating performances over their two days at the festival .

It wasn’t all music at the festival, there were many ‘meet and greet’ opportunities, presentations and workshops on everything from Clog Dancing to Song writing. There really was an extraordinary vibe at this festival, with many of the artists staying in the hotel, you never know who you might hear practicing in the bedroom next to you or who you might bump into in the lobby.  Everyone, the organisers, the hotel staff, and my fellow festival goers were so warm and friendly.  The Artists were amazing, always making time to sign an autograph, pose for a photo or just stop for a chat.  I struggle to think of another festival where you could be invited to play volleyball with SteamChicken, pool with The Daemon barbers or water polo with Blackbeard’s Tea Party.

The hotel has a beautiful open air square leading out to the Garden area and at one point as I passed through it, there were a number of musicians in one corner practicing before their evening gig, a young girl being shown some Ceilidh dance steps in another corner while a bunch of fiends who hadn’t seen each other in several years sat on the centre benches chatting and reminiscing on old times.  There are many moments I will cherish about Costa Del Folk, but that one that sums the whole week up for me, ‘Music, dancing and friendship in a beautiful setting’.

If there was one downside to this outstanding week it was that it all had to end and I had to say good bye to Spain and to the many wonderful friends I made.  Or goodbyes will be short lived, as there won’t be a single person who will want to miss this festival next year.  So, although we parted and went our separate ways, the music, the sunshine and the many glorious memories will unite us all forever.