From the organisers of Musicport festival comes Musicport on the Moors for four days of music, storytelling and discovery this month.
While the original Musicport festival takes place within Whitby Town Centre, Musicport on the Moors takes the show outside of the coastal town to the beautifully picturesque North Yorkshire Moors, at The Hut in Goathland village.
The line-up consists of musicians and performers from across the world with (so far) seventeen performances and workshops certain to inspire and entertain festival-goers. As well as this, the festival will have the award-winning food stall, Yakumama, to serve up the finest South American street food around. And, as the sun sets on the moors over the Bank Holiday weekend, Musicport invites guest DJs from the Hub Collective to keep the party vibe going.
The Ukrainians are one of the many bands that will be playing at the Musicport on the Moors festival, with the seven-piece set to bring their distinct Western punk sound mixed with traditional Ukrainian music.
Joining them at the festival will be Alexander D Great and Musicport describes the performer’s musical storytelling workshops as: “energetic and inspirational”. He has previously performed at Cambridge Folk Festival and Notting Hill Carnival.
Innovative musician Muntu Valdo, from Cameroon, takes his inspiration from classic central-African sounds and uses his guitar, harmonica and loop-pedal to create captivating blues and jazz sounds.
Moving away from music and into the heart of the Yorkshire countryside, Rachel Howfield Massey has created a performance based around her love of walking and nature; ‘Other Ways to Walk’ is a show dedicated to teaching its viewers about forest immersion, natural navigation and is aimed at encouraging people to explore the countryside with a healthy imagination.
Musicport describes storytellers Anna and Elizabeth’s performance as a show like no other. Along with Benjamin Lazar Davis, the duo seeks to share old stories and songs in a visionary way with 21st Century Audiences through experimental and bold interpretations.
Visual artist, James Brunt, will work with the landscape, volunteers and musicians over the weekend at the Mallyan Spout waterfall just outside of Goathland to create an art installation to complement the mystic surroundings.
No two acts on the festival’s line-up are the same and none of the acts performing are like anything you’ve seen before and demand to be witnessed.
The festival is centred around The Hut, a new community venue in Goathland with onsite camping.
Musicport hopes to translate the same high-quality but laid-back and casual atmosphere of their original festival into their new festival with more opportunities for festival-goers to develop new skills and as organiser, Jim McLaughlin, says: “To let people explore some of [the village’s] hidden treasures”. He adds that they plan on: “Using other venues over the weekend including St Mary’s Church for afternoon concerts. We’ll also be looking to develop things during the weekend which will feed into the October festival in Whitby”.
What the festival may lack in capacity it makes up for in intimacy; festival attendance is limited to 150 but Musicport emphasise that the festival will have: “a very intimate atmosphere and that, combined with a line-up that encompasses many different music and other art forms, will make it a unique way to spend a bank holiday weekend”.
Musicport on the Moors will take place from the 4th to the 7th of May over the Spring Bank Holiday. The festival will take place at The Hut, Goathland. Tickets can be bought from musicportfestival.com or by calling 01947 603475. Tickets for the festival are priced at £100.00 for four days which includes camping.
