Breabach

Two very different festivals due to entertain the masses this weekend

Thousands of people look set to descend on two of Kent’s seaside towns this weekend as two very different music festivals get under way.

It will be Doc Martens and Ben Sherman shirts at the ready in Folkestone as stompers return for the popular three-day Skabour festival, an annual music event devised by John Sims, aka Teflon, the man behind the black and white imagery of the famous 2Tone record label, which represented 1970s bands including Madness and The Specials.

Just along the coast in Broadstairs, however, it couldn’t be more different, with the return of one of the country’s biggest and most celebrated folk festivals, with morris dancers taking to the streets, a huge torch procession and hundreds of live musical performances throughout the week from August 10-17.

The packed programme for this year’s Broadstairs Folk Week includes Eddi Reader, the Scottish singer who has performed with the likes of Eurythmics and Alison Moyet, reggae poet Benjamin Zephaniah with his interactive poetry, and folk stalwarts Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick with winner of the BBC2 folk awards Lucy Ward.

Festival favourites including Clarence the dragon and a host of different morris dancing groups will be making appearances all week.

The fun will start on Friday with ticketed music events at the Pavilion, Upton School and the concert marquee, and the popular torch procession is due to take place Saturday night to really get the festival going.

But while people in Broadstairs are tapping their toes to folk music, revellers in Folkestone will be stomping to ska favourites with the return of the Skabour festival.

Launched three years ago by John Sims, the event has grown in size due to its popularity and this year boasts favourites Bad Manners and The Duallers.

Set in the harbour area and at the Quarterhouse in Tontine Street, the festival has become a go-to destination for legions of 2Tone and ska fans.

Reel Big Fish is another of the big names performing, promising another of their hyperactive stage shows with juvenile humour and ironic covers of new wave pop ska.

Pop-up Skabour shops selling retro vinyl, CDs, T-shirts and other ska memorabilia will be located in the harbour area along with music and entertainment.

Skabour first launched in 2010, when graphic designer Sims, who lives in Hawkinge, came up with the idea of having bands at Folkestone harbour as part of his Teflon ‘This Art 2 Tone’ exhibition.

For a full programme of Skabour events see www.folkestoneskabourfestival.co.uk.

For the Broadstairs Folk Week programme see www.broadstairsfolkweek.org.uk