Serious

EAST Festival drew to a close yesterday evening. The Serious team were out in force over the weekend, and managed to catch some of the highlights on video.

On Saturday afternoon, Song East (Kami Thompson, Alisdair Roberts and Muntu Valdo) played to a packed crowd at Cafe Oto. Muntu asked everyone in the audience to join him in singing the Cameroonion Sawa blues. It was a sight that would have brought a smile to the saddest of faces, seeing a hundred people (including quite a few of the Serious team!) try to imitate Muntu's sounds...

Also performing was singer/songwriter Kami Thompson. If you've not seen or heard her before, try to catch her live. (She'll be opening for Portico Quartet at Warwick Arts Centre on Sunday 20 March.) Here's a clip of her performing at Cafe Oto.

On Sunday afternoon, in spite of the sunshine, plenty of people steered clear of the parks, and came to the East to catch the London Gyspy Orchestra, Soweto Kinch and Sweet Billy Pilgrim. English alt-folk exemplars Sweet Billy Pilgrim charmed the audience with their amusing anecdotes, and played a charged set featuring songs from their debut album Twice Born Men.