Sap, Rugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Thetford Forest, Suffolk, June & July 2009

Somerset may have Glastonbury but here in East Anglia we have the Thetford Forest Tours.

From a little acorn that began as a mini orchestra on the back of a truck playing to a small but appreciative audience of just 500, it is now a giant oak in its 13th year attracting crowds in excess of 32,000.

If it’s music, picnic and entertainment with friends and family you’re after on a lovely summers evening in England then you could do considerably worse than popping along to magnificent Thetford Forest on the Norfolk/Suffolk boarder to catch one of the six outside concerts run every year.

Roger Woods, Marketing & Communications Manager at the Forestry Commission East, explained about the purpose of the events:”It’s all about getting people to Thetford Forest to experience some fabulous live music in this unique environment.  The whole thing has grown significantly over time from this one concert in East Anglia to 23 concerts across the whole of the UK at seven different venues.”

And the location is what makes these events so spectacularly different.  If you’re into the beautiful calming energy of nature, love the evening sun (fingers crossed!) setting over majestic pines, picnicking with a glass of wine with friends and maybe your youngsters too, but also want a taste of rock ‘n’ roll, then this is the gig for you.

Boasting music for all ages and tastes, over the years Thetford Forest has staged concerts by many high-profile artists including Status Quo, KT Tunstall, The Zutons and Travis.  And this year it was no different.

The three nights in June opened with James Morrison who wowed the crowd with his raw bluesy, soulful voice, the ‘Modfather of Rock’ Paul Weller, selling out to a capacity crowd of 5,000 and, the most prolific touring artist in the UK, Jools Holland, with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra performing with ex-Squeeze drummer Gilson Lavis and special guest star Dave Edmunds.

If that wasn’t enough, a further three nights entertainment in July featured 80’s electro-pop superstars Human League, especially for those wanting to re-capture their youth, David Gray whose stage presence and charisma was a total delight and concluded with a performance by the Sugababes, especially for the younger contingent.

Roger Woods summed it all up superbly: “Just looking around now, the customers have got smiles on their faces, they’ve come for a good evening’s entertainment and that’s exactly what they’ll get.”

With next year’s artists already in the process of being booked we can all look forward to the 2010 Tours with anticipation.  Hope to see you there!

All words © CAT 2009
All photos © Nick Elliott at www.nickelliottpictures.com
Written for Norfolk On My Mind