Beer and Folk Music – A Tale as Old as Time

My love of beer and folk music has gone hand in hand for over 30 years.  My friend’s Dad used to take us to Fairport Convention’s Cropredy Festival in the early ‘90s where Wadworths used to supply the beer. The festival goers used to get through so much of their flagship beer, 6X, over the weekend they’d deliver it by tanker straight to the handpulls!

And of course a lot of the music being played there referenced drinking, and beer more specifically. The story of beer and traditional music is a long one, Morris sides dancing at your local, a spontaneous music session in a Dublin pub, concerts in beer gardens all spring to mind.

One of the most famous beer-y folk songs is John Barleycorn (below is Fairport’s version from 1987).  John Barleycorn is the personification of the barley used to make beer and it tells of his trials and tribulations from field to glass.

Many songs tell of folks gone astray, being press ganged or abandoning their loves all because of a delicious pint.  One even tells of how a group of locals refuse to leave their pub even when it was on fire! It’s called The Old Dun Cow – listen to folk supergroup Bellowhead’s version here.

Looking at the line up for Moseley Folk and Arts Festival, it’s good to see this tradition continuing.  I immediately thought of Frank Turner’s song ‘Dan’s Song’, all about meeting your friends in the park to drink beers – just what we’ll all be doing at the festival!  Frank’s connection with beer goes beyond just this song – he’s collaborated with breweries in the past to release beers linked to his songs.

Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle are stalwarts of the British folk scene and have their own versions of many beer related songs including John Barleycorn mentioned above.  I wonder if they’ll include any in their set on Sunday?

I’ve always been a big Wonder Stuff fan (from my days at Uni) and I read recently that frontman Miles Hunt was a drayman (that’s a person who delivers beer) for a few years between tours so to that end I’m adding Dizzy to my beer playlist as I’m sure we’ve all felt a bit dizzy after a few too many pints!

Whatever beer you’re drinking and whatever you’re listening to at the festival know you’re joining a long history of enjoying a pint with great music!

Not got a ticket?  Get one here – but be quick they’re flying out!