Places Stories

Over the years Sheep Music had become something of a fixture on the festival circuit, as it prided itself on being large enough to attract a rich variety of quality acts, and yet homely enough so as not to lose the quirkiness that set it apart from similar events.

It certainly had a profound effect on the small border town of Presteigne, as Sheep Music led to the population of the town more than doubling for the duration of festival weekend.

2007 was to prove something of a landmark festival as it coincided with a weekend when the country was hit by the heaviest rain that many of us could remember.

Underwater

Mark Williams is in charge of ticketing and marketing for Sheep Music 2009 and he still winces when reminded of that Friday evening of two years ago:

"It couldn't have been worse as, while it didn't rain for the whole weekend, we got such heavy rain on the Friday that by the middle of the evening the Lugg was threatening to burst its banks on to the lower campsite.

"At that point we went into emergency mode as we had to move the entire lower campsite up the hill and very quickly the whole festival developed into a bit of a quagmire.

Sheep Music 2007: a quagmire

"But the interesting thing was that it didn't ruin the festival, it just made it a very different festival - almost an underwater festival."

Went's Meadow that is the site for Sheep Music was quickly reduced to a swamp, with clinging mud becoming the enduring memory of the weekend.

Given the stress levels involved in salvaging something out of the potential disaster, it was perhaps understandable that the organisers opted to take a year out from organising the event in 2008.

Mark Williams told BBC Hereford and Worcester they used the break to both recharge the batteries and to revamp the committee:

"Because it's run completely by volunteers we do rely on the goodwill of people doing the administration, so I think people just needed a break.

"But we have got a new team this year and it will be a slightly different festival, in that there will be a wider variety of entertainment.

"It will be a bit more family-friendly than in previous years, but still with some fantastic bands and all the things that Sheep Music is famous for."

"Sheep Music has got a very loyal audience and it is quite a localised audience.

"We don't advertise nationally like most of the festivals and what is interesting is that, because we have been going since 1992, people who came here as the children of young adults. when it started. are now bringing their children.

"So it has got a continuam which is rather nice."

Comedy

The main selling point of any festival is the quality of the bands they are able to attract and, despite their year out, Sheep Music officials insist this has not been a problem for 2009.

Mark Williams is delighted with both the quality and the range of performers they have lined up:

"The one that is causing the most excitement with the organisers is 17 Hippies, who are a Berlin-based band.

"They have never appeared in Wales and I think they have only ever done one gig in England - they do a mixture of cajun and balkan music.

"We've got the Dub Pistols, who are a great reggae band - sharp-suited reggae-meisters as they are referred to - then we have The Destroyers who we have had here before.

"We also have a bit of a coup in Matt Harvey who is a performance poet - he does very few festivals, in fact this is possibly only one of two festivals he is doing this year."

Sheep Music will be held in Presteigne from 17-19 July 2009 and, while festival-goers are advised to buy them in advance, there will be some tickets available on the gate.