These are just a few of the comments from festival goers celebrating the tenth anniversary Burton Agnes Jazz & Blues Festival, which took place this July in the grounds of this stunning East Yorkshire stately home.
This year saw jazz and blues enthusiasts celebrating Caribbean style in partnership with the island of Saint Lucia, home to the internationally renowned Saint Lucia Jazz Festival. Saint Lucian bands flew over including the vibrant saxophone led quartet, Dynamix and Rupert Lay's guitar and steel pan jazz quartet.
Claire Martin and saxophone legend Ray Gelato's 'Swingin' Affair' brought classi c jazz to the festival while Kaz Hawkins blasted out the blues on Saturday evening; and Mississippi native Lisa Mills saw Sunday in with her mix of blues, country and soul, to name just a few of the memorable performances and all this while being immersed in the beauty of Burton Agnes Hall and its gardens.
Festival goers enjoyed main stage acts while luxuriating on the lawns surrounding the Hall; they were also treated to live sessions inside the Great Hall and late night music sessions in the Bar Tent, where the Alligators raised the crowd to their feet!
Burton Agnes Hall teamed up with their neighbours Field and Forage, who carried on the Saint Lucian theme to supply festival goers with the tastiest of local fayre. The Wold Top bitter and home-baked cakes were also much enjoyed, as were the free-flowing Saint Lucian rum cocktails!
A campsite in the field adjacent to the Hall offered hot showers and panoramic views of the stunning Yorkshire Wolds for those wishing to pitch a tent for a night or the whole weekend.
Perhaps thanks to a combination of the awesome acts, perfect setting and great food, visitors left the festival eager to come back for more.
"Past Burton Agnes events have won high praise. The event has been named by the Daily Telegraph as one of the best 15 festivals for the over-50s. The Independent reviewer went further, described it as "...the most enjoyable jazz concert I've ever attended". That goes for me, too". John Robert Brown - Jazz Journal
Next year’s festival dates are the 13th, 14th and 15th July 2018 and festival goers can enjoy mega early bird discount on weekend tickets for a very limited time only. Full weekend tickets - £65 until the end of August.
Published on 23 July 2017 by Ben Robinson
