By Magx

Although Songbirds has taken part in L Fest (a UK Lesbian Music, Art and Comedy Festival) several times in previous years, this year was the first time for me. In a car full of Songbirds and camping gear, we set off across Wales, for a proper “road trip” just like “To Wong Fu Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar” (in spirit, if not glamour).

Camping with the choir was such good, wholesome fun. It is rare that we all get to just chat and enjoy each other’s company. Even when we have time to go to the pub (which is rare), everyone has only a short while to finish a drink and have a chin wag before rushing home to rest up for a busy tomorrow. Once we’d all pitched up, we had hours just to sit and natter, take part in L Fest events, or (my favourite) go for a swim at Llandudno’s famous beach (we found the water to be less cold, but more jellyfishy than we anticipated).

L Fest itself was cracking. It was very much an “L with the T Fest”, with an atmosphere welcoming not just Lesbians, but also Trans women trans men, nonbinary and bisexual peeps, families, and, most importantly, a lot of very cute dogs. There were lots of fun and varied things to do like a Drag King show, morning yoga, musical performances, and a dog show (did I mention there were a lot of cute dogs?).

Practicing in the open air in our little camp circle had such a spontaneous, informal feeling, and it was just lovely to hear the hush from neighbouring campsites as people wandered over or stopped their chatting to listen. I particularly enjoyed cramming all the second sopranos into a Volkswagon in order to practice together as a section; very cozy. And our performance itself was exhilarating; we’ve had enthusiastic audiences before, but there, as we sang “Calon Lan”, someone stood and waved the Rainbow Welsh flag. We might have been 150 miles from Cardiff, but we were very much at home at L Fest.