Estuary songs on Southend Pier

October 3, 2016 by Ray Morgan

Estuary songs on Southend Pier

On Saturday night, Southend Pier was buzzing. During the day, it had been host to a wealth of speakers and panellists on the music of the Thames Delta for the Estuary Festival, and the evening was dedicated to the Estuary Songwriting Project.

This is a project very much steeped in Leigh-on-Sea. Organised by the Leigh Folk Festival to celebrate their 25th anniversary, the project has commissioned 8 folk musicians (two Leigh-on-Sea residents and the rest from around the UK) to write original music about the Thames Estuary.

The Thames Estuary is a great source of inspiration; from Joseph Conrad and John Constable to Dr Feelgood, and it was the perfect venue to perform these news songs. Even if the pier trains were out of service...

The 1.3mile trip out to sea on Southend Pier is always a fascinating one. You think the end of it is nearer than it is. The walk is long, with churning sea below you, and wind. Oh, the WIND! Your eyes water, your fringe goes to hell, and your legs ache, but it's totally worth it. When you get to the end, the views are stunning and it feels like you could reach out and touch the ships that slink by.

I don't know why I'm going into this much detail; I zipped along the pier on a golf buggy. The perks of having a pass that has 'Press' written on it! Anyway, the 8 musicians and their trolleys full of gear (which included a HARP, guys) made it to the end of the pier, under a gloomy pink sky which suddenly got gobbled up by an enormous storm cloud. The rain hit the deck of the pier and I scrambled inside, feeling very much like I was on board a ship myself.

The musicians gratefully ordered coffee, set up their instruments, soundchecked, and a very wet and bedraggled audience made their way into the 'Royal Pavilion' venue. I'll be really honest and say I've never really been a fan of this venue; it's a bit of a blank, corporate box and doesn't seem to be a creative space. But with good lighting, atmospheric shots of the estuary projected above the stage and the twinkly shore of Southend seafront blinking in the distance as it got dark, it became magical.

The body of music penned by these 8 artists - written in a week's residency in Chalkwell Hall - is highly impressive. I was lucky enough to see a sneak preview of it during the residency, and was bowled over by the quality given it had been written in such a short space of time. But now, weeks later, it was rehearsed, tight, and actually quite an emotional experience. They sang of Dunkirk, Amy Johnson, pioneering aviator in the 1940s who crashed in the estuary, the wildlife that lives in our hometown where the Thames meets the sea.

Below us, under the carpet and layers of wooden deck, the estuary swished around, the very thing that inspired them all to put pens to paper and bows to strings. Ships passed the pier, as they sang songs about the contents of containers. Birds flew over as they dedicated music to the Brent Geese that squawk and gabble on our mud. It felt very special indeed.

You can see clips of the gig on the Leigh Folk Festival Instagram @leighfolkfestival, and photos from the event at www.facebook.com/leighfolkfestival. You can also follow the project on Twitter @estuarysong

The 8 musicians will be performing a concert of their Thames Estuary material in London in March 2017; tickets go on sale on 14 October at http://www.cecilsharphouse.org/

To read all of Ray's previous fabulous blogs please click the link https://www.leigh-on-sea.com/blog/tag/ray-morgan-.html