Islanders audition for this summer’s Guernsey Street Festival
Sickness hit auditions for this year’s Guernsey Street Festival as several performers cried off, but that still left nine lining up for the chance to appear around the streets of St Peter Port in the summer.
This is the fourth year since the former Town Carnival was rebranded as the street festival and communications officer Dave Wheeler said that the afternoon would see performers of all ages hoping to find a slot.
The youngest of these was 11-year-old Sofie Le Marquand, who was doing it for the experience since, being under 14, the festival would not be able to employ her to play.
However, she could still get to appear as part of the music Summer School.
She had already earned a busking permit after appearing for the Arts Commission and said she had previously busked with her band, Attica.
‘I’ve been singing my whole life,’ she said. ‘I was even humming before I could talk.’
She chose the Natalie Imbruglia song Torn for her performance.
A technical problem with her phone locking mid-song did not faze her at all and after a bit of IT support from Street Festival talent coordinator Lydia Sullivan-Pugh, Sophie started again and this time made it to the end without a hitch and to warm applause from her small audience.
Beechwood pupil Sofie goes to the School of Popular Music and can play the piano and guitar, and she also writes her own songs, with one already recorded using the Apple GarageBand app, and three more ‘on the go’.
Another first-time auditionee was a bit older than Sofie. At 44 Aaron Tanquerel said he had not performed in public for some time before he entered the Battle of the Bands competition last year.
‘Many, many moons ago I was in a Beatles covers band, but I’ve done nothing for about 15 years,’ he said.
A friend encouraged him to try out for the street festival and after being inspired by Neil Young recently, he performed Heart of Gold.
Mr Tanquerel has been playing the guitar for about 30 years but in recognition of his new-found love of Neil Young he also taught himself the harmonica a few weeks ago.
That left him with the problem of how to play it and the guitar at the same time, but the Guernsey Electricity design engineer came up with a solution by 3D-printing a holder in time for his audition.
