I’m still absolutely buzzing from playing at BunkFest earlier this month and I find myself humming Britney and Metallica tunes at strange times of the day!
I’ve been playing alto sax with Sax Bandits for about 6 years and have seen it grow from a small band rehearsing at the Wallingford Scout Hut, to six individual bands meeting throughout Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey.
This was my fifth time playing alongside my fellow Sax Bandits at a live gig, and it doesn’t get any less exciting! With all six bands coming together to form a 100+ saxophone band, we were accompanied by a live rhythm section (Shaun Longueira – Bass, Nick Bowley – Guitar, Mark Franklin – Drums) and even a sousaphone (Ian Barlow). The sound on the BunkFest main stage was truly tremendous this year!
Our amazing leader, Rob Digweed (aka the “Sorcerer of Sax)“, organised everything impeccably. Herding over 100 saxophonists was a tremendous feat but, with a list of instructions, appointed section captains, and a WhatsApp alert system, we were able to congregate and prepare so we could file on and off stage seamlessly.
We performed six songs, representing a range of musical styles. The set opened with Baby One More Time, the ultimate toe tapper, and was delivered by some of the players wearing blonde Britney wigs!
This Girl and Supermassive Black Hole followed, both funky tunes which I hadn’t heard before they were introduced to the band earlier this year, but which have since turned into real ear-worms.
Jump (Medley) and Sad But True took us back to the 80s and 90s respectively. These two couldn’t have been more different but were equally fun to play. When I started playing saxophone 10 years ago, I never thought I’d be playing a Metallica song at a festival alongside a hundred other saxophonists! Just brilliant.
We finished the set with one of our older favourites, Ghostbusters, which of course featured chanting from the audience!
Hearing the cheer from the crowd at the end of each song felt amazing, and many of them were dancing along and videoing us on their phones. As for the bandits, we were all grinning from ear to ear as we filed off stage.
BunkFest is a unique and heartwarming weekend event, with live music and entertainment throughout the town of Wallingford in Oxfordshire. Food and drink stalls are plentiful and an open-topped shuttle bus runs between the town centre and car parks. The festival is completely free, relying instead on donations. It’s definitely worth making a day or weekend visit and we all look forward to returning next year!
You can see all the photos from the day on our facebook page here:
Well said Liz. I wasn’t at Bunkfest but am very happy to hear that it was a massive success. We are very lucky to have an amazing leader in Rob Digweed
Great write-up! Captured the spirit of the whole day – which was IMMENSE!
Couldn’t have put it better. It was indeed a wonderful event. A lot of my family came along and they thought so too.
Thanks for such a lovely post, it was so enjoyable and amazing to play with so many other saxes. Looking forward to our Christmas gig in Henley now.