Little John's Farm, August 24: naysayers may think of him as 'The Dark Fruits Dylan', but you can't deny what he can do with a few essential ingredients “Take care,” offers Gerry Cinnamon to a lairy Reading Friday night crowd – his second headline slot in these hallowed fields. “That’s what it’s all about. Get home in one piece, with all your clothes and shoes on.
” That’s not gonna happen. Not only is this audience built for taking this party as far it can go, but the sweet sing-along of “ shoo-la-la-la ” during ‘Fortune Favours The Bold’ sees a shitload of footwear flying through the air. There’s gonna be a lot of kids hopping back to their tents tonight.
It’s a sight to behold: the size of the audience the Scottish troubadour has pulled, the fervour with which they holler back every word, and the vibe of being on the winning team at the footie – and Cinnamon’s done it all without pandering to the industry, the attention of the media at large or the mainstream trying to make him a thing. His rabble-rousing Britpop and Merseybeat-tinged campfire folk has found a place in the hearts of so many – particularly the young buckethatted masses. Classist naysayers may snarl at him as ‘The Dark Fruits Dylan ’, but there’s a lot more going on here.
He’s beckoned on stage by ABBA ’s ‘Waterloo’, John Denver ’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’, KC And The Sunshine Bands’ ‘Give It Up’ and the inevitable ‘Sweet Caroline’, before h.