Instead of having an Acoustic Stage at the main event this year, we've decided to hold a separate event dedicated purely to acoustic acts. StowFest: The Acoustic Sessions will take place at Chilton Fields on Saturday 5th June 2010 between 2pm and 11pm and will feature all sorts of great acoustic music from foot stomping blues and rock to mellow folk. We're extremely grateful to Chilton Fields Sports and Social Club for not only allowing us to hold the event there but also for helping to organise it. Particular thanks to Darryl Chapman.

The provisional line up for StowFest: The Acoustic Sessions (sponsored by Birse Civils) on Saturday June 5th at Chilton Fields is:

2.00pm: Amplitude acts inclduding One Good Memory, Jaz Bullen and Callum Macbean

3.00pm: Howling for Heaven (feat. Michelle Nichols)
'Howling for Heaven is currently a three piece band from Suffolk, forged out of earlier work from Michelle Nichols and the collaboration of Paul Cochrane and Richard Gunn. With such colourful music histories, Howling for Heaven is not a completely new sound but bigger and louder. Bursting on to the gigging scene, loyal fans of earlier work continue to support and grow as the band release their rockier but eerily seductive ballads.

3.25pm: Nibler
Nibler - where did it come from, well former members of North London
indie band, "The Inside" regrouping to do something Organic, and
wholesome like a funky turtles egg left to hatch in the warm nurturing
nest of mother roots. When musicians gel like this it just won't go
away! We are Blazing Saddles in a band, hold the beans. But we're wild
like a ferret on red bull.

4.05pm: Dave Collins
Dave Collins is a talented Stowmarket based singer/songwriter who recently wowed the crowd at The Regal Gala Re-opening Celebration with an excellent performance of original material. The set may have only been two songs long but he managed to get the crowd enthusiastically clapping along by the end of his mini-set! If that performance is anything to go by, Dave's performance here is not to be missed!

4.30pm: The Folk Collective
The Folk Collective are a folk rock band who perform fast punk style folk rock including their own compositions and a few covers. They have been playing together for four years and three members are ongoing music students and teachers. This year they will be headlining on the jungle stage at Gig in the Park, Halesworth (Saturday night).

5.10pm: The Ouse Valley Singles Club
Heralding from Bedford, The Ouse Valley Singles club are a New Wave
Skiffle band with comedy edges. Imagine that, tapping your foot and
laughing at the same time. Featuring Andy on Tenor Ukulele and Bird on
Tea Chest Bass, these guys will make you laugh, make you cry - you might
even find local love.......Ladies and Gentlemen The Ouse valley
Singles Club!!!

5.50pm: The Willows
The band have just formed, bringing members of Lightning Jack, Jade Rhiannon, The Winter Kings and Black Flowers (who played at StowFest in 2008) together to create The Willows.The music is influenced by our love of folk, country, bluegrass and Americana, creating a unique sound with Jade Rhiannon’s voice and song writing.

6.30pm: Dumbfoundus
Dumbfoundus Hail from the shores of Gorleston on sea, norfolk.The acoustic, skiffely, reggae sound represents the laid back sea side living that this two piece are proud to have been a part of.Promoting self awareness and love,they come armed with smiles and big hair.With a diary full of festival dates, this is two thousand and zen.

7.10pm: Songs From The Blue House
This motley gathering of musicians from Essex and Suffolk tend to lurch from one gig to the next, shedding and aquiring members according to circumstances. An eclectic collection of Americana, country and nu-folk provides heart-filled homeliness rather than hopeless histrionics. "Fantastic - I would recommend them to anybody" - Mark Ellen, Editor - The Word magazine.

8.10pm: Ady Johnson
Ex-FuzzFace frontman Ady Johnson has established himself among Colchester's most enjoyable performers and his vivid songs benefit from his band's unique and classy sound with its distant echoes of Neil Young or Nick Drake's Bryter Later. Avoiding strum and self-pity, Ady writes pithy songs about love and his life that enthrall without descending to cliche. Melody can be found in every component of songs like Caroline and Pink Flamingos, from the soulful vocal lines, to the carefully crafted guitar parts. Johnson lacks the bluster that gets people noticed, but it's his warmth that keeps his audience transfixed. Neil D'Arcy-Jones. Colchester Evening Gazette. 09/09/09

8.35pm: The Back Porch Band
The Back Porch Band’s unique variety of foot-stomping acoustic-ish good time blues with a dash of skiffle and a smidgeon of rockabilly has seen them build a strong following over the past few years. Their music regularly features on local radio and they are well-known in the thriving East Anglian live music scene. The unusual line up features the strong, melodic vocals of Mike Rushmore, (with his right foot on bass drum anchoring the band), world class lead guitarist Jonny Miller, the extraordinarily powerful mouth harp of Steve Graham, with 12-string Tony and the incredible Washboard Dik providing the rhythm.A normal set features classics (eg Crossroads, Bottom of the Sea, As the Crow Flies, Messin’ with the Kid) alongside sparkling originals by vocalist Mike Rushmore (More Beer than Gear, Cult Figure, Hole in the Head) plus intriguing reworkings of more unlikely numbers (Hey Joe, White Room). The band’s two recordings (live album Sounds like a train to me and their second, studio album More Beer than Gear) capture all the humour and sheer toe-tapping power of their live performances.

9.20pm: Ady Johnson

9.45pm: The Back Porch Band