In 2012 Priddy Folk Festival wanted to do something special to mark its 21st birthday. The Festival decided to create a collaborative music education project called Priddy Rising, working with students from Wells Blue School – Priddy’s local secondary school.
Under the mentorship of British musician, composer and producer Will Lang. Each year the students have explored their traditions through a theme chosen by Will and Priddy Folk Festival.
This year’s theme is very close to the heart of the Festival and you will find these words on the back of the Swildons stage at Priddy: ‘Something attempted, something achieved’.
This is the motto of the Priddy Friendly Society, an organisation established in 1883 for the benefit of the community – many of whom were agricultural workers, and which has been at the heart of Priddy’s village community for over a century.
Twenty-five years ago Priddy village attempted to put on an event – the Priddy Folk Festival – that brings everyone together. Twenty-five years on and it’s clear to see that the village achieved it.
Will says: “In a world where the normal person is so far removed from the change-makers of today it’s sometimes hard to feel like we’re being listened to; that we can make a difference.
“We can make a difference by supporting and listening to one another.
“I’m reminded of Joe Hill’s Power in a Union written in 1913 – I’m not saying I knew it first time ’round – and from further afield, From Little Things Big Things Grow, by Australian folkies Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody, speaking of the Gurindji strike which sparked the indigenous Australian claim for land rights.
“Although a theme very close to home it’s definitely a sentiment that Priddy Rising can use to relate to many – from local stories to worldwide issues.
“The Priddy Friendly Society and Priddy Folk Festival has it right. . . ‘We are stronger together.’”