Rugfest organiser Guy Hewitt tells TIM HUGHES Wally is going Bolly this year

THE heady rhythms of Indian pop may not be the first thing you’d expect to hear in the sedate riverside Wallingford. After all, the town is better known for antiques and Agatha Christie than bhangra and Bollywood.

But this weekend the place will be bouncing to the exotic sounds of the Subcontinent.

“Wally is going Bolly!” says Guy Hewitt, a music-lover and member of the town’s rugby club. “And people better get ready to dance.”

For five years now Guy and his friends have staged one of the county’s liveliest, and certainly most family-friendly, festivals. Called, appropriately enough, Rugfest, it was dreamt up as a way to boost funds for Wallingford Rugby Club. And the side’s efforts in the music business are proving as successful as their achievements on the pitch, with the event growing in reputation.

From tomorrow evening through to the final whistle on Saturday, the event, on the Saxon market town’s Hithercroft Sports Park, will feature a truly eclectic bill of music, workshops and side shows. But it is the prospect of a massed band of musicians in flowing sherwani robes playing banging bhangra that is set to be the highlight.

RSVP have been perfecting their craft over 25 years and combine strings, brass and drums into a massala of dance beats and classical harmonies. They will be joined by The Bollywoodette dancers – who will steer festival-goers through the moves.

“It’s going to be very special,” says Guy, a formidable hooker, who also coaches the club’s colts. “It will be great fun and The Bollywoodettes are going to teach everyone how to dance bhangra style – doing all the moves like ‘screwing in the light bulb’, ‘picking up a tenner’ and ‘milking the cow’. People will love it.”

RSVP, who have played with some of the biggest names in bhangra – such as Gurdas Maan, Malkit Singh, the Dhol Foundation and Transglobal Underground as well as the likes of Lethal Bizzle, Fun-da-mental and Peter Gabriel – will be joined by artists including Afro-math-rock band Nairobi, ska band Quadrophobe, Madness and Specials tribute band Hope & Glory, dance pop act Kitten and the Hip, Americana band The Lucky Strikes, The Fallows, Lem and The White Fire, Felix Fables, The Unusual Suspects, and The Police Academy, who faithfully replicate the music of Sting et al.

“Dance is this year’s theme,” says Guy. “And even if electro, ska, Americana, folk, rock, soul and pop are not your thing, we will have something to suit.”

And the highlights? “Nairobi are great, as are Quadrophobia who play their own take on ska, and who reform every year just to be here. Kitten and the Hip are great and play 1920s electro-swing pop, which you just have to hear. The Lucky Strikes also absolutely rock with tremendous harmonies, squeeze box, harmonica and fiddles.”

For children, there are trampolines, zorb balls, an arts and crafts tent, bouncy castle, bungee run, blow up boxing, facepainting and a two-hour kids’ disco.

Food also features strongly, with local and artisan pizza, salt beef, Thai food, posh burgers and an ice cream parlour. For the thirsty, there will be cocktails shaken and stirred by the mixologists of Wallingford’s Old Post Office, as well as real ale, lager and cider.

“The festival has come a long way since we came up with the idea in the rugby club,” says Guy. “First we were going to have a beer festival, then decided to have some music, and eventually – after another beer – came up with the idea of a stage. And it has really taken off.

“Wallingford has got a good music thing going on, with the Beer and Blues and Bunkfest festivals, but we wanted to put something on with a really good variety of music; after all, there’s only so much twiddly-diddly music you can take! We have shied away from the idea of getting a big name, though, and concentrated on local bands.

“It has always done really well – and this year’s festival is going to be a monster!”

Rugfest takes place tomorrow and Saturday at Hithercroft Sports Park, Wallingford. Tickets are £5 for Friday night, £10 for Saturday and £12.50 for the weekend. Under 16s go free. Visit rugfest.co.uk
Above left, Kitten and The Hip; above right, RSVP; above, The Lucky Strikes