25/07/2025
Farefeld, 20th July 2025
Farefeld is Chris Elliott and Caitlin Jones, who for our concert were joined by bassist Mike Seal and melodeon player Craig Simmonds to give us an evening of full sound and tremendous variety that captivated the large audience throughout.
Chris and Caitlin hail from Staffordshire, which they described as an often overlooked county in terms of folk music. Well that will no longer be the case for the Poppy audience, as we were thoroughly immersed in songs with local Staffordshire connections, both traditional and self penned.
The band name itself derives from the County, with the Fare relating to an older name for Kinver (Caitlin's birthplace) - Kinfare. And the Feld harks back to one of Lichfield's original names - Lyccidfeld - where the couple now live. We were treated to many other snippets of geography and history (or legend!) which put Staffordshire and the Midlands more widely firmly on the map of folk music.
For example, we heard the Song for the Staffordshire Men (though re-titled by the duo as the song for everybody in Staffordshire) which featured the Staffordshire knot. Who knew about that? Then there was "Let's Get Together", the battle cry of the miners of Dawley (a village which became part of Telford new town in the 1960s) who fought a pay cut and lost. Their leader was hanged and their struggle became known as the Battle of Cinderloo (making reference to the Peterloo Massacre of course). Then, also darkly, there was the Queen of the Wychelm, based on the mystery of an entire woman's skeleton found preserved in a tree at Kinver. Then there was "The Discount" referring to a Nailmakers Strike (the hand-making of iron nails going back centuries in the area) where the payments made to the nail makers were "discounted" or, in other words, cut. Lichfield itself was celebrated in Farefeld's own song "When I'm Home", and was topped off with a lively rendition of The Blackthorn Stick. Lichfield cathedral is one of only two in the country with 3 spires. And who knows where the other is? Well the audience does now - Truro!
The strong vocals from both Cait and Chris brought these songs to life, and beautiful harmonies enhanced them further. The instrumental accompaniments and tunes added to the variety and interest. Cait is a wonderful whistle and flute player, the low whistle sounding particularly beautiful in their version of "Silver Dagger" (or "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies") and her table-top hand pumped harmonium provided a rich back drop in songs like "Beware, Take Care" written by Blind Alfred Reed, which warned of the dangers of trusting men with scarves or nice shoes! Real whistling actually featured too, led by Craig, in "Go Along to Kinver". Chris showed us his versatility on guitar, bouzouki, and tenor guitar, which were the backbone of many of the songs. He also treated us to some lovely fiddle playing, for instance in his song "Helping Hands" , about his father who was the longest serving train driver on West Country until his retirement. I think this is the only ode to New Street Station I have ever heard!
Another notable feature of the evening was how well Farefeld engaged with the audience, not just with their informative commentaries, but with the amount of audience participation in the songs. I don't think that there was a single song that didn't offer a chorus or refrain or "oohs" and "aahs", to be joined in with, and there were even dog noises (yes really). All this was taken on board enthusiastically by the Poppy audience of course. The final song, Dougie McClean's "Caledonia", was a good choice in this respect, and the room rang out to massed voices singing "And if I tell you that I love you…" etc. The encore was, appropriately, a going home song "Carry me Home" with actions to join in with too.
It is hard to summarise an evening in which there was so much fantastic material, brilliantly sung, played and spoken. Perhaps it just needs to be said that Farefeld, with Mike and Craig, are a class act that need to be seen and heard more widely.
Songs from the floor before each half were provided by Dan Kittmer and Julally, and Dave Martin did a great job on the sound. Thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a good evening.
