Review by Meg Williams-Dell
- Felix Riebl whips the Woodford crowd into a torch frenzy Photo by Dylan Crawford
From the second The Cat Empire stepped onto the stage and the jazz-funk party band began, with lights and beats pumping the atmosphere at The Amphitheatre, the energy of the band travelled throughout the crowd jammed across the hilltop.
The band’s ability to command the crowd and bring the audience together was truly a sight too see, with Felix Riebl standing on top of speakers calling the crowd en masse to join in with the singing, to a sea of lights created by the audience’s phones. The sense of joy was mesmerising and a contagious part of the high energy performance, bringing all together in a celebration of song and dance.
The high energy sounds of The Cat Empire reverberated throughout those present, with the talents of lead singer Felix Riebl jumping form vocals to percussion and Harry James Angus belting out melodies with his amazing voice and trumpet, all while being accompanied by the skills of the band and DJ Jumps. The resulting performance was clearly just as enjoyable for the band as the audience.
By the end of the show there the air was abuzz with excitement, with final songs such as The Chariot bringing every last member of the crowd to their feet.
The Cat Empire’s older songs were the crowd favourites, with the band riding the tension well between playing the old favourites
- Felix Riebl whips up the crowd at Woodford Folk Festival photo by Meg Williams-Dell @dead_milk_photography
- The crowd sings back en masse with Felix Riebl and The Cat Empire. Photo by Dylan Crawford @seewhatdsees
- Harry James Angus blasts out tunes on his trumpet for The Cat Empire’s Woodford Folk Festival show photo by Dylan Crawford @seewhatdsees
- The Cat Empire takes the stage at Woodford Folk Festival Photo by Meg Williams-Dell @dead_milk_photography
and the new songs from their album coming out in February.