The first day of the Appledore Music Festival, Thursday 29 May, was a fabulous start to the festivities.
New for 2025, Song Box buskers performed hour-long sets in front of the Seagate to the customers sitting outside and passers-by. Later, at 7pm, Steve Ruffé did a set inside the Seagate under the guise of Wild Man of Folk. Followed by Vidris Coda who played wonderful covers till late.
At the Champ, Richard Malfait sneaked in an open mic session before taking to the stage at the other end of that enormous pub to perform with Bushpig, who were on fine form. As well as originals, they covered Walk on the Wild Side and Johnny Guitar Watson’s A Real Mother For Ya.
And to top it all, Lauren Calcourt played her flute inside the Appledore Gallery on Market Street in the afternoon, accompanied by Russell Bave. Russ organised the whole festival and dyed his hair bright blue to mark the occasion. Thanks Russ!
What an amazing beginning to the 2025 festival! To see what’s in store for the rest of the festival, head to the What’s On page.
