“When we make music, we make kin” – celebrating the power of the arts to create community
Nestled amongst the woodland in the wild beauty of West Cumbria, bell tents and marquees have appeared, and bunting adorns the trees. The Rivendell site is about to play host to a brand new festival, welcoming artists and storytellers in a celebration of the history, the heritage and the community that call this place home.
Cumberlandia is the brainchild of Dave Camlin, a prolific community musician and fierce champion for the culture and art of Cumbria.
“I’ve spent the last five years trying to revive projects that inspire everyday creativity. It’s about building and developing the cultural ecology of musical opportunities in West Cumbria.”
Historically an area that has been a part of many different counties – even countries – Cumbria’s cultural narrative is an ever-changing mass of influences.
“Cumbria suffers from being a cultural backwater,” says Camlin. “It has a disparate heritage which means there’s a lack of preserved icons, legends and stories like you would see in Scotland and Wales.”
Despite these challenges, Cumbria’s arts scene is alive and well, something Camlin is keen to showcase at the inaugural Cumberlandia festival.
“There are so many artists here who are passionate about establishing and building culture. I really believe you can make culture from the ground up, you just have to have the vision and trust that people will come.”
Bringing together a host of musicians, performers and storytellers from across the region and further afield, Cumberlandia offers festival-goers a colourful, diverse line-up of performances and interactive workshops in an intimate setting.
“We wanted to choose a space where the festival has to stay small, no matter how popular it becomes. The site has limited capacity with a maximum of 500 people including all performers, volunteers and tech crew, so it’s never going to grow into a mass commercial event.
“It’s really about inspiring local pride. We want to create a model for a boutique community arts festival that will inspire others to do the same where they live – it would be unique every time because it would reflect the community that built it.”
Kendal-based musician Anne-Marie Sanderson agrees that festivals have a particular kind of magic.
“Festivals are really lovely for the open-mindedness that people bring to discovering music that they hadn’t heard of before, and performing at small festivals like Cumberlandia you can really connect with the audience.
“The community in Cumbria is very special, and incredibly resilient. We’re pretty good at keeping on keeping on! The geographic challenges of the county mean people find their own creative niches, and there’s a flourishing ecosystem of musicians and artists if you know where to look for them (hint hint… Cumberlandia!).”
Alongside local artists like Sanderson, the line-up offers something for everyone, from sea shanties and close harmony acapella, to Balkan dance music and acoustic folk.
As well as celebrating homegrown artists, the festival aims to shine a light on the wealth of talent across the UK folk scene, with headliners including North East folk legend Kathryn Tickell and the Darkening.
“Kathryn is a figurehead and champion for the North, and really embodies the ethos of the festival,” says Camlin.
“We’re also excited to welcome Stick in the Wheel, who are really subverting the genre and reinventing the folk tradition.”
It’s clear that Camlin’s vision goes beyond the traditional polite performer-audience dynamics of the concert hall: this event is designed to be a collaboration, a community creation shaped by the audience themselves.
The weekend will offer everyone a chance to express their creativity through open mic spots, campfire singing and even a community musical created over the course of the festival.
Undoubtedly a labour of love for Camlin, his idea has had the support of Cumberland Council’s Community Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, brought to life by a committee of volunteers.
This focus on community and shared creative experiences burns like a pilot light under everything Camlin touches, coupled with a fierce passion for the power of music.
“Music and dance are at the heart of social life of every human society that has ever been found, it taps into our neurobiology and reminds us we are connected, we belong.”
In the face of increasingly challenging global news, the potential for forging connections and bridging divides is exactly why Camlin believes we need events like Cumberlandia.
“When we make music we have to reveal something of ourselves, really listen and tune in to other people. It has an incredible power to remind us that we exist. When we make music, we make kin.”
Camlin has enlisted a group of artists who believe just as vehemently in the importance of the arts, particularly in the face of funding cuts and political agendas.
Headliners Stick in the Wheel said: “Music is an intrinsic part of being alive, people don’t need it so much as they’re drawn to it instinctively, it’s a part of us.
“The UK needs more affordable facilities for artists, so that making art doesn’t become the preserve of the rich. There are loads of grassroots things happening but they need money to flourish. People are doing it for the love, but it’s not sustainable indefinitely.”
Keswick-based JP Worsfold says the impact of Covid-19 and a dependence on streaming services is also presenting challenges for artists.
“It's becoming increasingly hard to get people to come to these gigs. Home entertainment has got to such a quality that people are opting for a stream and chill over a genuinely life affirming event on their doorstep.
“I'm hoping that as the world around us becomes increasingly digitised there will be more of a call for human-to-human events, and people like Dave and I will be there waiting for that time to come.”
Though some might be overawed by the weight of this responsibility, Camlin’s response is characteristically brimming with hope:
“The dream is strengthening and building on our cultural community. I’m hoping Cumberlandia will be an opportunity to explore the landscape and take the audience on a journey”.
Worsfold agrees: “I'd like people to take away a message of hope, in their own lives and in the world around them. So many of my songs are tied to this landscape, written mostly through my experience as a ranger, and elude to what this place can do for you if you let it into your heart.”
Cumberlandia takes place 16-18th August, tickets are available here.