In spite of the rain

Story: James Heath

Hundreds of people ignored the weather and came to enjoy Abbeyfield Multicultural Festival Part 2. A fantastic musical line up of local and national talent performed to a somewhat damp but certainly enthusiastic audience.

First up was rap outfit The Collaboration Crew from the NonStop Foundation: Bulletz, Kezzo and 1,2 1,2 kicked off proceedings nicely with their numbers: Shout Out, Never love you, It’s alright and Pump up the vibe.

The Jiggy Squad followed with an impressive dance display. The group regularly meet at SADACCA and are on the lookout for new members.

DJs DC and CB kept the crowd going with some smooth rap and reggae choices during the changeovers.

Zwalakafrica – BongoLove were next. The group includes musicians from Zimbabwe, Congo, Zambia and Uganda. They soon got the audience moving with their infectious mixture of drumming, dance and song.

The crowd were delighted that Celloman had come all the way up from London to play on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Ivan Hussey, as the taxman knows him, is an incredible player and his band performed a fascinating mixture of jazz, middle-eastern and classical music. The quintet consists of Ross Hughes on Fender bass, Kosimo Keita on drums, Samy Bashai on electric violin, and ‘Shanks’ on percussion.

The Baghdaddies finished up, taking everyone on a musical journey from Newcastle through Eastern Europe to the Middle East. This group play an eclectic fusion of Balkan gypsy songs and irresistible dance rhythms. Throw a little punk, jazz, reggae and ska into the mix and you get one of the most danceable bands on the circuit – Abbeyfield Festivalgoers certainly did them justice…