The Ciderhouse Rebellion at Boysun Bahori Festival: News

By At The Barrier on 4th May 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

The Ciderhouse Rebellion: Bringing Folk-Improv Mastery to the Global Stage

Uzbekistan, May 2-7 2024. The dynamic folk-improv duo The Ciderhouse rebellion is currently representing Great Britain at the prestigious Boysun Bahori Festival in Uzbekistan. The festival, a celebration of folklore, culture and art, has welcomed the duo with open arms, marking their journey with red carpets, a fanfare and an overwhelming outpouring of hospitality.  On day two of the festival the duo was awarded the ‘most skilled performers of folk instruments’ award of Boysun Bahori festival 2024.

Their unexpected journey to the festival began with a chance encounter with Fariborz Kiani, an Iranian percussionist, at a gig at Greennote in London. What started as a casual conversation about music has now led them to the mountains of Uzbekistan, where they find themselves surrounded by the sights and sounds of a vibrant cultural extravaganza.  

Adam Summerhayes (fiddle) reflects: “after a little talk about playing in a 17/8 rhythm we laughed that we should play together sometime. I got a laconic text a few months ago asking if we would like to join him to play at a festival in Uzbekistan. We agreed, who wouldn’t? “

 “We are now in the mountains, at the Boysun Bahori festival, having been welcomed to the country down a red carpet and a corridor of women in national costumes and men with drums and huge trumpets. We’ve been escorted everywhere by police escort and have minders, are starting to collapse under the amount of hospitality heaped on us (it’s only day one), and have had our photos taken many, many times with many, many people, as we look with some bewilderment into their camera, wondering how we became celebrities. This festival seems to be enormously important to the Uzbek government, and it turns out that we have, in some mysterious way, been selected to represent Great Britain in a competition with entries from countries from all over the place: Azerbaijani, Tajikistan, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Belarus, Japan, Afghanistan, Romania … we genuinely do not know how or why this has happened, but we have been told that we were given a ‘perfect score’., whatever that means. We haven’t played in 17/8 yet, because Murray gives me a very hard stare every time I mention it.” 

Despite their initial bewilderment at being chosen to represent Great Britain in a competition featuring artists from around the world, The Ciderhouse Rebellion has already made a significant impact with their electrifying performances. Their first show earned them a ‘perfect score,’ a testament to their exceptional talent and the universal appeal of their music. 

Known as the originators of folk-improv, The Ciderhouse Rebellion has gained critical acclaim for their spontaneous and captivating approach to music-making. Drawing from deep folk roots, classical backgrounds and a shared love for experimentation, Adam and his musical partner Murray Grainger (accordion) have crafted a sound that is both innovative and deeply rooted in tradition.

As they continue to captivate audiences around the world, The Ciderhouse Rebellion remains committed to their ethos of creative freedom and uninhibited expression. 

In addition to their performances at the Boysun Bahori Festival, The Ciderhouse Rebellion has exciting plans for the future. On June 7th, they will release not one, but three new albums, each showcasing a different facet of their musical prowess and spirit of collaboration. A folk triptych comprising three wholly contrasting albums along with accompanying books, featuring two of their now regular collaborators: poet Jessie Summerhayes and Irish singer Molly Donnery.

As they navigate the whirlwind of fame and acclaim in Uzbekistan, The Ciderhouse Rebellion remains true to their roots, embodying the rebellious spirit of folk music while forging new paths in the world of improvisation. 

Just as there was initial scepticism about their idea to create music in the moment, now their innovative and spontaneous performance style has sparked a trend that has seen other artists within the folk scene adopting a similar no-safety-net approach to music-making.

Ultimately they have a fervent belief that there should be no constraints on making art. As Summerhayes explains: “I strongly believe in creativity for and of itself… creativity without boundaries. You know how there’s always an internal critic that’s sitting on your shoulder saying ‘oh is this good enough? Is that what you want to do?’ The whole thing about The Ciderhouse Rebellion is rebellion against that internal critic; it’s just saying ‘let’s just do and create and make’.”

In defiance of critics and convention, and as a way to show audiences the breadth and depth of their creativity, these works celebrate the incredible talent and synergy between two musicians who are beginning to gain the recognition they deserve.