Down at the Humber Street Sesh
- kerryevans1
- Aug 7, 2017
- 3 min read
A few back the Evans family parked up in the run down Fruit Market area of Hull for a quiet wander around the pier. It was almost dusk and there was an eerie feel about the place. We could hear people and the faint sound of music in empty parking lots and normally deserted streets. Jacob my then 18 year old son has severe autism and enjoyed wandering around as you could move between acts with ease. He is not good at waiting.
2017 and Humber Street Sesh more of a cultural event than a handful of local performers lurking on street corners. Gone are the derelict buildings transformed into office buildings and an open air theatre shaped like a boat. Gone the old Hotel with blown up black and white photos depicting 1800s street scenes of this once bustling port. The hotel housed immigrants before they headed for America. Gone the cobbled roads and character laden exporters/importers of vegetable based produce. Jacob could not tolerate the noise in Hull’s Special Year. The Strummerville Stage is set in an empty unit, 62-63, and Humber Street is now a sea of people. The flat pavements more free for wheelchairs.Though Princes Quay car park was the nearest disabled parking spot. I am in a wheelchair this year as I am recovering from a heel spur operation and can’t weight bare at the moment.
Hull has a strong music culture. “The best festival for unsigned bands in the UK” as Cane MacNell put it. Thank god local acts have not been forgotten. Old faithfuls who play at The Bear pub on Tuesdays. There was a real time ap to get the low down of what was happening right now. Just as well as Katie lilley reckoned she had paid £4.50 for a burger and the same for a drink. She missed half the acts queing for a drink and the toilet. Others said they heard a lot of bands doing sound checks and not much else. But there was plenty to enjoy.
Some of the highlights for me were Age of Atlas on the Humber Dock Stage around 7.10pm. Alice Simmons after lunch on the Acoustic Stage….And the Hang nails on Fruit 2 at 8 pm. Events continued till 11pm. But there was a lot more than music on offer. Families had plenty to enjoy. A day when music and all kinds of culture came together as well as people. It was a real community event. For the teenagers there were bmx displays skateboarding. The Sesh brought different kinds of people together. There was not time to see anything but a fraction of what was on offer. As Frances Fee put it “A festival for the people. Everyone involved makes it so special”. I even tried my hand at Grafitti wall art.
The market stalls meant the fruit market retained some of the feel of being an event which would always be here for local community groups. Dove House Hospice had it’s usual tombola. You could buy £5 prints that read “Come to Hull it’s not shit anymore”. All proceeds going to non profit making Hub-A. The Dope burger team will still serve burgers in their booth near the Interchange all year round.
You got the idea newcomers would be back next year. As someone tweeted “Humber Street absolutely crammed for @counting coins. Incredible Atmosphere”.
Yeah there were not enough dirty toilets. It maybe needs to be a 2 day event from now on to cram everyting in. But I saw a lot for £10. When you consider one band might be £60 plus expenses.
Jennie Harrison summed it up. “Had a fantastic time. All music genres covered”.And Paul Saripo: “Well organised events. Engaging and community = based”.
I finished off the Sesh with a pint outside the Minerva a pub rich in Maritine history.It had been a real rave at the end of the dock near Hull’s marina.
Victoria Norris carried on the party past 11pm. At 2.30am she tweeted: “Banging weather and a banging day. Loved it”.
The Humber Street Sesh is something that will continue into its 7th year. I hope it brings new talent and participants into Hull for years to come. Well done organiser Mr Page. Y
et I will never forget my first experience Sesh. Raw talent, straggles of people swigging beer from cans as if inviting me to “come back to ours”. I hope we don’t lose sight of the roots of tis great annual event.
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