REVIEW: STRUMMER OF LOVE 2012
It has been 10 years since the death of Joe Strummer, but these four days in the beautiful countryside near Taunton makes you totally forget that he’s gone. The festival totally encapsulates the morals and ideas of Joe Strummer perfectly.
The idea for the festival grew from very humble beginnings, with Joe Strummer’s infamous campfire at Glastonbury, every year, punters could see him at his campfire talking, meeting people and generally having a great time. It grew in stature and eventually took on the name Strummerville, which has now been adopted by the charity which has organised this festival. The charity, which has been running for 9 years, supports young and undervalued musicians have their chance at getting into the music world, by building music studios and rehearsal spaces for bands to use all around the world. What a great idea eh? That aside, lets delve into the wonders of the festival.
With only 3 stages and fewer than 5,000 people, it is obvious that it is relatively small festival, but that definitely added to the beauty of the weekend, it was so much more intimate than the giant festivals that sell 100,000+ tickets a year. In a group of 5,000 strangers, there was a such a comfortable vibe that made you feel at home, with people you have known for years. One of the stages, The Campfire Stage was placed near a constantly fuelled campfire, as the name suggests. The campfire was surrounded by a collection of old furniture which made it perfect to meet near enough anyone you can imagine and there were always people there, telling stories, playing music, and meeting new lifelong friends. There was no limit to the crazy variation of people you could meet. With interludes of live music and occasional silences broken by the crackling of the fire, it brought people together to talk, to listen and to sing. Which is unbelievably valuable in our ever-growing technological society to keep in touch with our human nature.
The music for the weekend was absolutely fantastic as well, with names such as The Pogues, Mick Jones with The Justice Tonight band and Seasick Steve topping the bill you will find it hard to go wrong. The music not only represented the music that so massively influenced Joe Strummer, but represented the culture of Joe and the festival. With reggae, dub, punk, rock n roll, rockabilly music all making appearances it definitely represented the attitude that everyone is accepted and should be treated as equals and if you disagree then we will show you where you can stick it.
Highlights of the music over the weekend included The Pogues, bringing their Irish charm on the Saturday night and bringing a fantastic show despite the slightly underwhelming weather. Jim Jones Revue definitely brought the rock on the Friday night directly after Seasick Steve’s headline set on the main stage. There were also times to relax with some dub or reggae which added another beautiful, homely feel to the weekend. With such a big roster of classic and legendary artists there was always something to grab your attention, get you moving and skanking, and maybe even introducing you to something you have never experienced before.
Overall the festival was definitely a beautiful, relaxed, emotional display of the culture that festivalgoers are a part of. The kind of culture that is accepting, a place where you are with thousqands of your favourite strangers and where you can learn so much about people, love and friendship. This is exactly what Joe would have wanted and would have been proud of and as a group of music lovers we need to keep that strong in our lives.
Words: Luke Ford
