James Blunt closes day one of Cornbury at a beautiful new site
Cornbury Music Festival 2011 review
Tuesday 12th July 2011
A new site for the Cornbury festival, Great Tew Estate near Chipping Norton, provided incredible surroundings for the independent music festival which is nicknamed as "Poshstock" and has famous faces as regular attendees including Jeremy Clarkson, Noel Edmonds and David Cameron. A line up which consisted of such artists as the new rising stars of Eliza Doolittle, Imelda May, and Olly Murs, to the veterans of music Status Quo and The Faces. The festival welcomed families and provided a Children's Area with fun, games and entertainment for the younger festival-goers while a Comedy Tent was opened to those looking for a laugh. With rolling countryside and glorious sunshine, the weekend started on an immediate high. After a self confessed "difficult year", with having to change the location of the festival and a financial meltdown, Cornbury Festival provided something for everyone with 4 stages providing an eclectic mix of music. For the first time since the festival began, the event would be a 3 day extravaganza.
Opening the festival, and the main stage, the 'Pleasant Valley Stage', Ben Montague took to the stage on Friday afternoon and was a fantastic opening act. Having had airtime on Radio 2, Montague's music delighted all with his enchanting voice. He delivered with each song and showed his passion for the music he was playing and the lyrics he was singing. This was echoed in his performance and Cornbury presented Montague with a fantastic platform to present his music to a wider audience.
The quirky Eliza Doolittle then took control of the Pleasant Valley Stage as the temperatures increased on the first day. With a huge gathering of admiring fans awaiting the singer, we were not let down. A set to demonstrate her talents and charm her audience, Doolittle eased through with a permanent smile across her face, lapping in the enjoyment felt from the growing crowd. Playing her hits such as 'Mr Medicine', 'Pack Up' and 'Rollerblades', Doolittle also covered Bruno Mars's 'Grenade' in her own unique style, bringing the tempo down and enticing her audience closer in. The great thing about Doolittle is that she is just herself. She does not need to put on a show to impress her audience as they are automatically impressed by her voice and stage presence.
Another stage at the Cornbury Festival was seen with the smaller 'Song Bird' stage which saw artists such as Buffy Sainte-Marie play on. While many people admired her voice, I could not connect with her at all. Rather than each part of the act coming together, it felt rather disorientating and as though each part did not fit correctly. I stood through 5 songs and had to leave simply because I felt overwhelmed and confused by the whole experience. Maybe it would have been worth staying for the entire set but I wasn't getting anything out of it.
The first day of the Cornbury festival was to be headlined by James Blunt. Known for his emotional, self confessed "miserable" songs, there was no denying that James Blunt's voice is unbelievable and such a great way to end the first day of the festival. His set included newer songs off his recent album 'Some Kind Of Trouble' and he performed huge hits such as 'Your Beautiful' and 'Three Wise Men', the size of his audience was amazing. The acoustic singer-songwriter appeared in the middle of the audience for the opening of his set and quickly, the audience began singing and dancing along as the night drew in. Blunt commented on the festival's location by stated that, he had, "never played anywhere so beautiful" - a simple sentence which summed up the emotions of everybody in attendance and a wonderful way to end the first day.
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