The Audience

We asked some people out and about at the festival to share their experiences and memorable moments. This portrait is in video format, but below are some excerpts.

‘I come to the MJF every year. What do I like about the festival… It’s very friendly. I love the music, especially the Bad Back Blues Band. The beer is fantastic. It’s so great to come every year and I’m glad that it is on. ‘
Steve

‘Keep on with the good work and keep encouraging young musicians. There’s a lot of talk about live music being dead. Well, for a period in the early 1960’s the big bands in particular virtually disappeared from the music scene. Well, they’re back here with a vengeance and I think we need to encourage that quality of musicianship. ‘
Mike

‘We really love the artisan market in the park. Just the really good atmosphere in Marsden. It’s been a really good weekend. ‘
Sarah and Beth

‘It’s nice to see everybody turn out for something that they don’t know. An original band that they don’t know and enjoy it. It’s a really comfortable vibe.’
‘Great location, plenty of beer, lovely people, a really warm reception. What more could you ask for?’
‘We quite liked how people came into the tents when it rained. Getting people to stick around was a good thing.’
‘Really good crowd, really fun venue. Pretty chilled out atmosphere. ‘
Tom, Nick, Gabriel and Jack

‘I’ve been in Marsden for 28 years. I came to the first jazz festival with my mum and dad, who were over from Cheshire. My dad has been a lifelong fan of jazz, a member of Ronnie Scott’s jazz club, so to come to the first MJF and see all that going on in the village that we had just moved to was fantastic. We have been coming every year. ‘
Mark
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‘When I first saw Extra-curricular perform, this was at a little club just outside of the village. It was a late booking up at the club. They were absolutely outstanding. They were a young band, we didn’t know what to expect. The room was absolutely packed. The sound was absolutely fantastic. They went on to do the late night spot a couple of years later at the Mechanics and they were just fantastic then. ‘_
Louise

“I’ve been interested in jazz and particularly Big Band music since the 1950’s. I’ve been coming to the MJF for something like 15 years. It’s always a wonderful experience and one of the outstanding features of the festival here is the emphasis on young people. The local Musica operation is something… I’m just amazed by the quality of the musicians that are coming out and especially the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra, that I’ve just finished hearing.

‘Yesterday afternoon, at the battle of the bands, we had one of the biggest crowds in the middle of Peel Street and there were four bands that were competing with each other and competing with the crowd. There was dancing and laughing and people were dancing and jumping up and down and being extremely merry. ‘
Naeem

‘I’m a trad jazz person really, so I enjoy the people like Kenny Ball. We’ve had some notable people at the festival, so obviously he was a nice one for me. We’ve had Tommy Burton, Acker Bilk was absolutely fantastic. So those are my favourite moments, but the whole festival is amazing. The atmosphere, the buzz of it all, it’s just really nice to be part of.’
Tina