'The line up is simply amazing'

George Luke reviews the acts that will be performing at the 2008 Greenbelt festival

Use the picture or text links to buy the albums from amazon.co.uk and Christian Aid will receive part of the sale price

The music booking team at Greenbelt have certainly outdone themselves this year.

The line up is simply amazing – a diverse mix of welcome returnees and intriguing first-timers, covering just about every genre imaginable.

Of all the artists who played Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday gig in June, only one did so at Mandela’s personal request. That honour went to Emmanuel Jal, the Sudanese child soldier turned rapper. Emmanuel rocked the mainstage at Greenbelt 2005, and it’s great to have him back this year.

Mainstage

You can catch Emmanuel on the mainstage on Friday night (before Michael Franti & Spearhead – another welcome return), performing material from his new album Warchild – a moving, often harrowing, account of his lost childhood on the war front.

On Saturday there’s a folkie takeover of the Mainstage, led by the chart-topping Seth Lakeman, and featuring Julie Lee, Howe Gelb & Giant Sand, and Jose Gonzalez. If jazz is more your thing, you can catch Helen J Hicks in the Performance Café instead.

Aradhna are back this year, leading worship together with Birmingham’s Sanctuary ministry in the Centaur all weekend. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a worship experience that’s different, or even if you’re just interested in Indian music.

World music fans might also be interested to learn about a new venue at Greenbelt this year. Ethel’s Tent is run by St. Ethelburga’s, with a programme focusing on reconciliation issues. Each evening, it rounds things up with chilled out live music from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Of course, there’s plenty of good old guitar rock in its many guises. You can hit the mosh pit with American punk trio MxPx on Monday, or catch Canadian rockers Starfield on the Mainstage on Friday.

Ex-Busted singer Charlie Simpson shows his heavier side as he and his band Fightstar make their Greenbelt debut on Monday.

And expect lots of complete daftness from Coventry-based rockers [dweeb] on Saturday. I wonder if the band’s fifth member, King Windsor III (a duck) will make an appearance?

Drama

Sunday’s Mainstage highlight has to be Roll Jordan Roll, a musical drama about the original Gospel music stars, the legendary Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Jazz trumpeter Abram Wilson has collaborated with Nicky Brown (one of the most – if not the most – prolific record producers in British Gospel) and the author Viv Broughton to bring the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ story to the stage. For this performance, Abram and his band The Delta Blues Project are joined by the Kingdom Choir.

The tributes to classic Gospel music continue on Monday afternoon with the Great Gospel Song Sing. Obviously I’m biased (I did draw up the shortlist, after all), but if you miss it, you will regret it!

In addition to performing the top five songs, Muyiwa and Riversongz will also treat us to songs from their latest album, Declaring His Love.

It’s a lively celebration of the British black church experience – all the way from Lagos to London, with a brief detour through the Indian reservations of America.

Amazon links

• Muyiwa & Riversongz – Declaring His Love

• Starfield – I Will Go

• Aradhna – Amrit Vani

• MxPx – Ultimate Collection

• Emmanuel Jal – Warchild

• Abram Wilson – Ride! Ferris Wheel to the Modern-day Delta

• Helen J Hicks – Helen J Hicks

• [dweeb] – It Came from Outer Space

Use the picture or text links to buy the albums from amazon.co.uk and Christian Aid will receive part of the sale price

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