Top bands and activities as festival hits high note

More than 4,000 visitors flocked to the 2016 Holy Island Festival at the weekend for an extravaganza of music, dance, circus and traditional crafts.
Acrobats Moses Opiyo and Francis Odongo show off their skills to Let's Circus visitors during the festival. Picture by Dave FosterAcrobats Moses Opiyo and Francis Odongo show off their skills to Let's Circus visitors during the festival. Picture by Dave Foster
Acrobats Moses Opiyo and Francis Odongo show off their skills to Let's Circus visitors during the festival. Picture by Dave Foster

The music programme had a distinctly North-East theme with folk, jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass and country played by local musicians.

The two headline acts – the Lindisfarne Story Band and The Unthanks – played to packed houses in the island’s new £1million village hall and St Mary’s Church respectively.

Three-year-old holidaymaker Poppy Maeer, from Leeds, gets the tiger treatment from face-painter Julie Charlton. Picture by Dave FosterThree-year-old holidaymaker Poppy Maeer, from Leeds, gets the tiger treatment from face-painter Julie Charlton. Picture by Dave Foster
Three-year-old holidaymaker Poppy Maeer, from Leeds, gets the tiger treatment from face-painter Julie Charlton. Picture by Dave Foster
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The Lindisfarne Story Band featured original Lindisfarne drummer Ray Laidlaw as well as Billy Mitchell who joined the band later. They played the whole of Lindisfarne’s number-one album Fog on the Tyne as well as other big hits, rounding off with a resounding Run for Home.

Their show christened the new Crossman Hall which has replaced the old village hall the band used to rehearse in back in the early 1970s.

They never played professionally on the island until now, although they did an informal gig to celebrate the ninth birthday of islander Debbie Luke back and the festival saw Ray Laidlaw meet up with her and her brother Kyle again.

Ray said: “Fog on the Tyne was born on Holy Island so it was fantastic to bring it back home and complete the circle.”

The Unthanks after the show. From left, Becky Unthank, Tracy Whitwell, Rachel Unthank, Ray Jackson and Don Gilet.The Unthanks after the show. From left, Becky Unthank, Tracy Whitwell, Rachel Unthank, Ray Jackson and Don Gilet.
The Unthanks after the show. From left, Becky Unthank, Tracy Whitwell, Rachel Unthank, Ray Jackson and Don Gilet.
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The Unthanks, who earlier on Sunday gave a singing workshop to delighted island visitors and residents, enthralled the audience with their distinctive vocals, performing traditional songs and numbers written by the band before rounding off with a spirited clog dance.

In the audience were former Lindisfarne member Ray Jackson, actor Don Gilet, who starred in the Newcastle-set detective series 55 Degrees North, and his partner, Tyneside actress and writer Tracy Whitwell, who caught up with sisters Becky and Rachel Unthank (originally from Ryton) after the show.

Rachel said: “It was wonderful performing in that beautiful building on Holy Island which is such a magic place.”

During Saturday and Sunday, youngsters had a ball at workshops run by Newcastle-based Let’s Circus and enjoyed face-painting and kite-making.

Traditional crafts such as spoon-whittling were held next to the harbour courtesy of the Peregrini Lindisfarne Landscape Partnership.