6 Jan
Damien Barber & Mike Wilson
As two of the finest exponents of traditional song in the U.K, it is difficult to accept that these relatively young men, have a combined 40+ years experience of performing at folk venues. Damien is a stylish and distinctive singer, either unaccompanied or using guitar or concertina. Though he has lived for a long time in West Yorkshire, he retains a strong East Anglian identity.
Mike is the youngest member of the Wilson Family, the powerful Teesside singing siblings who have raised the rafters at many a festival or folk club event. His musical heritage is emphatically that of the North East; rural and industrial folk song both traditional and modern.
20 Jan
Jess and Richard Arrowsmith
Jess and Richard Arrowsmith are traditional musicians and singers who specialise
in English music and song. They perform as a duo using voices, melodeon and fiddle, and also play with ceilidh band Hekety and concert band Melrose Quartet (with James Fagan and Nancy Kerr).
Powerful voices, subtle accompaniments and lively tunes that will have audiences laughing, weeping and tapping their feet to join-in choruses.
3 Feb
Bob Wood
Bob hails originally from the west coast of Scotland but has long been based in London. An engaging solo singer and performer with an easy going sense of humour, he’s known also as an accomplished finger-style guitarist.
Exploring a range of open tunings, his playing and song interpretations have been described as displaying a rare sensitivity, lightness of touch and great technique. Bob’s repertoire nowadays retains firm links with the tradition, but includes an array of contemporary songs as well as a smattering of pipe, harp and other tunes on guitar.
Flossie Malavialle
Flossie loves songs full of “vavavoom” such as Bonnie Raitt’s “Road’s my middle name”, Kris Kristofferson’s “Bobby McGee” (Janis Joplin way), Marylin Middleton’s “Wild women” etc… but also gentle ballads such as Keith Pearson’s “More hills to climb” or Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the night” as well as jazzy tunes like “Let’s fall in love”, “Misty” and “Fly me to the moon”.
French-born but with an accent of her adopted Yorkshire!, Flossie is a great singer with a voice as clear as a lark and a repertoire to satisfy all tastes.
Broom Bezzums
Based on Anglo – Celtic traditions, Broom Bezzums’ music is flavoured by Andrew’s Northumbrian homeland and the formidable rock heritage of Mark’s Black Country roots. Andrew’s Northumbrian pipes are the most obvious local reference, while his fiddle playing is heavily influenced by neighbouring Scottish styles. Mark, a seasoned drummer, learned to play the guitar and mandola in his years as a stalwart of the Cork session scene. Live, the rhythmical element is expanded on more dynamic numbers with guitar-slapping, tambourine-stamping and a pulsating foot drum.
17 Mar
Kim Lowings and the Greenwood
Inspired by the folk tradition, Kim Lowings and The Greenwood perform their songs with a contemporary twist. Their live shows are an energetic blend of original compositions and traditional songs. Kim Lowings, Andrew Lowings, Tim Rogers and Dave Sutherland bring together their multi-instrumental skill and individual experience resulting in an innovative and sensitive approach to arrangements. The motivation is to keep the tradition alive and to share their own tales.
31 Mar
Donal Maguire
While Dónal has been primarily associated with unaccompanied singing, he has significant other ‘strings to his bow’. Dónal is a fine interpreter of contemporary material, as well as an excellent singer of traditional material, and can accompany himself on a range of stringed instruments. He is universally recognised as one of the finest players of Irish dance music on mandolin and tenor banjo.
14 Apr
Caffrey, McGurk and Madge
This popular trio continues to explore the delights of traditional and contemporary folksong. With their good humour and informed understanding of the song subjects, they instil their particular flare for harmony and enthusiastic performance making each song a joy to hear. Nick, Ed and Robin are solo singers in their own right adding variety and pleasure to each performance.
“True English Folk singing, in my humble opinion, doesn’t come much better than this… Keith Kendrick”
28 Apr
Dan Walsh
Touted as one of the finest banjo players in the UK as well as being a superb singer, songwriter and guitarist, Dan has two critically acclaimed solo albums with another on the way and many tours of the UK and recent successful trips to Canada, Germany , India and New Zealand to his credit. Having made his name with duo Walsh and Pound and now a member of the award winning Urban Folk Quartet, as well as guest appearances on stage and on record with the Levellers and Seth Lakeman, this unique musician has stunned audiences across the world.
His eclectic and innovative approach has led to many exciting collaborations including tours with Northeast concertina legend Alistair Anderson and recent work with sensational Indian sarangi player Suhail Yusuf Khan as well as Canadian country singer Meaghan Blanchard.
1st September
Granny’s Attic
Granny’s Attic – Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (Melodeon, Concertina, Vocals), George Sansome (Guitar, Vocals) and Lewis Wood (Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals) – are a folk trio who play the tradition with verve, energy and their own inimitable style. These three young men are all exceptional musicians, fine singers and play a range of English, Irish and Scottish traditional music as well as their own compositions.
Formed in 2009, they have since played at clubs and festivals up and down the country, and have been heralded for their lively performances and maturity beyond their years in their delivery and selection of traditional songs.
29th September
Real Time
Kenny Spiers was one of the founder members of the John Wright Band and is a fine singer of Scottish and contemporary songs and well known to audiences throughout Europe as an excellent guitarist.
Born in Glasgow to a west coast mother and a north east father, Eilidh Grant has been in and around folk clubs all her life. Eilidh’s stunning voice beautifully renders both classic folk songs and original material. In 2011 Eilidh won a Scottish New Music Award for best Folk/Traditional recording of year, when she finally brought out her long awaited debut album “Masks and Smiles”.
Danny Hart is an accomplished fiddle and mandolin player from Carlisle. He plays with a number of bands including Blueflint and Southern Tenant Folk Union.
John Conolly
John is an acclaimed singer/songwriter with guitar and melodeon accompaniment and writer of classic songs such as ” Fiddlers’ Green”, “The Trawling Trade”,” Punch and Judy Man” and many more.
Many of his early songs, written in conjunction with his old friend and song writing partner Bill Meek, tell heart warming stories of the lives and labours of the East Coast fishing community, and these songs in particular have earned John a welcome at Folk and Maritime Festivals worldwide.
More recently, John has broadened the subject-matter of his writing and has written tender love songs, hard-hitting political protests, and outrageously funny ditties which he describes as his “Saucy Postcard Collection”.
A typical John Conolly performance will include a finely-judged mixture of these genres for, above all, John likes to entertain, and to send an audience home happy!
Ewan McLennan
Ewan McLennan has come to be known as a guitarist at the very forefront of his generation; a troubadour, balladeer and storyteller cut in the old style; a singer that can move audiences with his passion and pathos; and a songwriter for whom social justice is still a burning issue.
From a BBC Horizon Award for his debut album to his recent performances on the acclaimed Transatlantic Sessions, recent years have been marked by numerous awards and accolades for his music.
BBC Radio 2’s Mike Harding has said of Ewan,”‘he sings beautifully, with great sincerity and great empathy, he’s terrific!”.
Travelling People
Travelling People must be one of the longest running folk groups in the country for, as a trio, they have been together for over 40 years!
The band (Dave Perkins and Pete and Richard Stevenson) perform a wide variety of music (3-part harmonies, ballads, chorus singing, comedy and monologues). on instruments including double bass, guitars, mandolin, ukulele and washboard
They were highly popular at the Club in the past and we are really looking forward to their return. Chuckles a-plenty!!
The Rumblestrutters
The Swansea-based acoustic three-piece band vividly evoke the blues, jazz and jug band music of the 1920s.
Debut album ‘Prohibition Blues’ has been greeted with international radio play and universal critical acclaim. The album has confirmed the band’s reputation as one of the UK’s premier roots bands, with stellar performances at top festivals across the land.
Equally adept at classic material and original compositions, the Rumblestrutters’ performances have to be seen to be believed !. Luscious harmonies and virtuosity combine in songs of bootleg liquor, late night parties, and even the odd hubbly bubbly pipe.
The Rumblestrutters are the authentic sound of the Prohibition era.
The rich sound provided by button accordion, powerful rhythm guitar, bodhran, banjo, whistles and uillean pipes give a fullness of sound that belies the number of people on stage. With a repertoire that encompasses fast and furious Celtic songs and tunes, gentle ballads, quality contemporary numbers as well as some original material, this Nottingham-based band are one of the most sought after on the circuit.
John Kirkpatrick
John Kirkpatrick has become one of the most prolific figures on the English folk scene, performing solo, in duos, acoustic groups and electric bands, and has established an enviable reputation as an instrumental virtuoso and session musician, as well as a leading interpreter of English folk music.
He has been a member of the Albion Country Band, Magic Lantern, The Richard Thompson Band, Umps and Dumps, Steeleye Span, Brass Monkey, Trans-Europe Diatonique, and Band of Hope, as well as numerous ceilidh bands. 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards “Musician of the Year”.
