PLUS ONE MAGAZINE

The weekend saw the return of Wakefield's hugely popular Long Division festival. Over 115 performances stretched over three days and marked the event as the biggest and best to date. Our writer Angi Strafford was at the heart of the event on Saturday.... With it fast becoming the top slice to a summer festival sandwich that starts way back in May with Live at Leeds, this weekend we made the surprisingly short journey to Wakefield for the fourth annual Long Division festival. Comparisons to Live at Leeds, with multiple venues, garish maps and wristband arrangements are easy to draw, but it was time to see how the reputedly more raucous relation of West Yorkshire likes to do things.

One of the biggest growth areas in the post-millennial music scene has been in the folk-rock genre. So many musicians from these shores have taken the lead from their stateside alt-country counterparts, increasingly influenced by the earthier side of their homeland’s recent musical history, culminating in a journey to a more back to basics sound initially pioneered by the likes of Nick Drake. Trouble is, these days you’ve really got to be on the money to stand out from the crowd, as to the uninitiated, you can’t see the wood for the trees….or the acoustic guitars…..or the beards.

Serendipitous fortune has been the basis of many a beautiful musical friendship. Immigrant Union are the fruit of a chance encounter in 2004 between former Dandy Warhol drummer Brent DeBoer and singer Bob Harrow, ex of Lazy Sons, in a bar while both were touring with their then bands. The meeting led to a beer fuelled all night jam session which, after the spontaneous trip to the country that followed evolved slowly over the years into fully formed songs. The two added keyboardist Peter Lubulwa to solidify their sound and latterly have been joined by Ben Street and Paddy McGrath-Lester, as well as at various points Courtney Barnett and her Barnetts. The journey culminated in their self titled 2012 debut, a hidden treasure awash with alt-country leanings.