Richard Hawley and the teddy boy’s picnic

The only melody you normally hear in the sleepy Peak village of Little Hucklow, is the excited chatter of skylarks, but on Saturday night, it was all riffs, quiffs and petticoats down at Bushey Heath Farm for Richard Hawley’s Teddy Boy’s Picnic.

As a true anti-establishment rocker, the Sheffield musician prefers to stage his gigs in unexpected places – Castleton’s Blue John Cavern played host to just such a treat at Christmas. So who else would create a festival around a cow shed! The challenge of reaching the venue and the dedication of fans to get there, only served to heighten the sense of romance as we rocked up to this rural idyll on a balmy afternoon.

We arrived in time to catch Pete Molinari, a musician from Kent who sang in a drawl that was more deep south Alabama than southern counties. Nevertheless his country guitar with traces of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash had the audience captivated.

Smoke Fairies, a female duo with husky, low-slung voices played a set woven with acoustic magic, followed by godfather of folk Martin Carthy and his wife Norma Waterson.

Hawley’s hallmark authenticity, local pride and retro cool infiltrated everything. Not only could you hear it in the music but also in the simple and careful selection of food and ale. With coq au vin and portobello mushrooms on the menu, Greengages burger van dished up the poshest festival fayre I’ve ever tucked in to. All this was washed down with a selection of real ales from Thornbridge Brewery, brewed round the corner in Bakewell.

Then just as the sun began to set over yonder, Hawley and his band took to the stage. Acoustic landscapes filled the space, at times intensely tender and intimate and at others massive and earth-shaking. This was due in no small part to the quality of his band – his drummer used everything from sticks, brushes and beaters to bare hands. The keyboard player helped create cinematic washes with strings and piano, the bass rooted the sound and a second guitar played an easy slide.

Ever the hopeless romantic, Hawley, like his music, connected straight to the heart. When he stared into the crowd through those rockabilly specs and declared, ‘I love every one of you,’ it was a shaven-headed bruiser in front me who shouted ‘We love you too!’

The man also has more guitars than I have pairs of platform heels. A new, gleaming guitar appeared for almost every song, and from twanging 50’s rock to screaming distortion, we were reminded just what an accomplished guitarist he is.Richard Hawley

Hawley’s spellbinding rendition of Dick Van Dyke’s Hushabye Mountain would have been an enchanting end to this enchanting experience, but our Sheffield rebel almost blew the roof off our trusty cow shed as he culminated with an epic rendition of The Ocean that must have left the skylarks quivering in the hedgerows.

I’m looking forward to seeking out the venue for his next teddy boy’s adventure already.