Eastbourne Accordion Festival 2006

It was 10am when I set off from Leyland in Lancashire, heading ‘down south’ to attend the fourth Eastbourne Accordion Festival organised by John and Jackie Romero. Although I had a 300 mile trip ahead of me, I knew that it would be worth it if John’s previous events were anything to go by. After navigating the M6, M40, M25 and the M23, Eastbourne was in sight, I arrived just in time for the complimentary ‘Welcome cup of coffee’. There were two acts to welcome arrivals, Genarro Fiondella and Alan Young. The food at The Cumberland Hotel is always excellent and tonight’s was no exception. After filling ourselves with food and meeting lots of old friends, we headed to attend the evening concerts. This opened with Pearl Fawcett-Adriano playing some spectacular pieces, showing a very nice style and a great rapport with the audience, which went down well. After a break, David Lukins entertained us with a great selection of music, which was followed first by the organiser John Romero then Harry Hussey. The final part of the night from 11.30pm was Guest Busking lead by Harry Hussey and Alan Young. I finally fell in to bed about 1am leaving some people having a session in the bar area, which lasted until about 3am (from what I heard at breakfast the next day). Saturday was a glorious sunny day but there was no time to waste. The first orchestra session started at 9am with Genaro Fiondella, this was followed by Alastair Cameron giving Scottish tuition and David Lukins running a Left Hand Control & Rhythm workshop. Sue Bennett was leading an Absolute Beginners session in the upstairs bar, then it was time to choose between a Trevani workshop in the ballroom or a Harry Hussey Jazz workshop in the bar. During lunchtime, Alan Young entertained the diners in the bar area. During the weekend, I visited Charlie Watkins trade stand to play with wires and ‘all things MIDI’, browsed the music in the room occupied by Trevani and had a look through ‘Electronic Accordions’ display of accordions and accessories. The town is only ten minutes walk away from the hotel so, after a short shopping trip, it was back to the ballroom to hear Harry Hussey doing his thing. This was followed by a Guests Concert where we mere mortals were allowed to annoy the audience - this was well attended and well received. After a complimentary cup of coffee/tea and cakes we had time for a rest before Dinner at 6pm. The Saturday evening concert featured entertaining performances from Charlie Watkins, Romano Viazzani, Pearl Adriano, and David Lukins. This was followed by Dancing with Alastair Cameron and, finally, to end the evening, Gennaro Fiondella playing in the bar until the early hours. Sunday saw workshops on Folk and Barn Dance, Orchestra Playing, Left Hand Control & Rhythm, Absolute Beginners and Jazz. In the afternoon the Guests Concert saw two hours of amateurs strutting our stuff. The evenings concerts featured Pearl Adriano, Gennaro Fiondella, The Lukins Family, John Romero and Harry Hussey, followed by a Pro-Jam session with all the above players taking part. The evening ended with a Guests Session led by Harry Hussey and Alan Young. The following morning, after a farewell concert, I pointed the car ‘up north’ and reflected on a great weekend away. This had been the first October concert at Eastbourne in a departure from its annual February only spot, but there was no doubt it was a great success. Due to demand, last February the hotel was packed to capacity, with no room for the guest artists who stayed in the hotel opposite. Suffice to say, my room is already booked for this coming February as this is one festival I don’t want to miss.

David Batty (Leyland Accordion Club)