Spinndrift

Norwich Folk Club is pleased to welcome two groups as guests on Friday 10 September.

Spinndrift are a young folk ensemble formed when all the members met at Newcastle on the university’s Folk and Traditional Music Degree.

Finalists at the New Roots Competition at St Albans in both 2009 and 2010, they take their material mostly from the British Isles, but they also enjoy playing songs and tunes from Europe.

Spinndrift are Isla Hughes on vocals, flute and whistle, Jennie Page on fiddle and oboe, Seth Tinsley on guitar and vocals, Fynn Titford-Mock on cello and vocals and NIck Wiseman-Ellis on melodeon and fiddle.

Jaywalkers

Jaywalkers, a young duo who were also finalists at New Roots this year, having previously reached the final at BBC Young Folk Award 2008/9, will be in support on 10 September.

The full blooded power and soulful quality of Jay Bradberry’s voice and Michael Giverin’s virtuoso mandolin playing are particular features of their music.

Tickets can be reserved by emailing via the box on the ‘About the club’ page. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

Singarounds every Friday, and on Friday 17 September Norwich Folk Club will hold a CEILIDH with live music. Everyone welcome. Tickets on the door. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

Tania Opland and Mike Freeman have been touring the world since 1995 with a unique and eclectic

mix of songs in several languages and acoustic music played on a variety of instruments, including hammered dulcimer, guitar, recorders, cittern, violin, Native American flute and percussion.

Their shows feature both traditional and contemporary material from many cultures as well as original compositions, all presented with wit and style – guaranteed to provide an evening of great music and entertainment for all, especially those seeking something just a little off the beaten track. Mike’s irreverent sense of humor and Tania’s stunning vocals provide the springboard for a rollercoaster ride across several continents and back again. Check availability of tickets by email through the link on ‘About the club’ page. Bring your own refreshments. For a clip of Tania on youtube: Dona Nobis Pacem

Sinagrounds every Friday, as usual, throughout the summer, with two spots from local band Showcase guests LongShore Drift on Friday 2 July. Free entry. Bring your own refreshments.

Martyn Wyndham-Read has been involved with folk music for over forty years. As a teenager in the 1960s he set off to work on a sheep station in Australia and became part of the folk song revival there, later returning to England with a wealth of traditional songs and stories.

Martyn is the instigator of the much acclaimed Folk Links Project, a celebration of English Traditional Songs and their Australian and North American variants and has worked with the cream of singers specialising in traditional songs from their own countries. He is accompanied by Iris Bishop, regarded by many as one of the finest players of the Duet concertina. Where Ravens Feed

In support will be Marianne Neary a young singer-songwriter who was one of the finalists in the 2010 New Roots competition. Check availability of tickets by email through the link on ‘About the club’ page. Bring your own refreshments.

Showcase guests at the singaround on Friday 28 May will be Faith and Taka Masendu. Free entry. Bring your own refreshments.

Roger and Chris Gamble will be the showcase guests at Norwich Folk Club singaround on Friday 30 April.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Roger has been a stalwart of folk and acoustic sessions in Norfolk and Suffolk for over 45 years, drawing on a wide range of material, from English traditional to influences  as diverse as Randy Newman and Mark Knopfler. The trademark harmony singing of Chris and Roger has long been a feature of their local gigs.

Since moving to South-West Norfolk  their appearances in Norwich in recent years have sadly been limited, but their return promises to be a treat, with much of Roger’s ‘back-catalogue’ expected, together with some recent additions.

Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

We have singarounds every Friday at the Christ Church Centre on Magdalen Road with guest performers roughly once a month.

Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts

On Friday 2 April at the Christ Church Centre, Magdalen Road, Norwich Folk Club welcomes Katriona Gilmore (Rosie Doonan & the Snapdragons, ex-Tiny Tin Lady) and Jamie Roberts (Kerfuffle), who have been performing together on the folk scene since 2006. Their self-penned material ranges from blazing instrumentals to ‘heart-wrenching’ songs, to contemporary arrangements of traditional songs.

Jamie’s dextrous percussive and lap-style guitar work is a visual as well as a sonic delight, while Katriona’s intricate fiddle playing shifts seamlessly from sensitive to fiery and back again in the blink of an eye.

Shadows & Half Light, the duo’s first full length recording, has made waves in the national music press, being described as ‘inspired’ by fRoots and awarded five stars by Rock’n'Reel . The album makes the most of Katriona and Jamie’s multi-instrumental skills – mandolin, banjo, and even trombone can be heard alongside the usual fiddle and guitar, as well as guest vocals and piano from Jamie’s sister Kathryn Roberts.

In 2009, the duo brought their unique sound to more than ten festivals and supported, among others, LAU, Dave Swarbrick, Bellowhead, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan and Spiers & Boden. Tickets can be reserved in advance by email or at the club. Bring your own refreshments.

As usual, all are welcome at the singarounds at the Christ Church Centre on Friday 19 and 26 March. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

On 5 March the singaround ‘In Celebration of Women’ will be at the new main hall at Sewell Park College, starting at 8 pm, as we must finish by 10.30 pm. Entrance is from St Clement’s Hill. Everyone is welcome. Drinks can be bought in the Sports Centre Bar or you may bring your own.

On 12 March we will be back at the Christ Church Centre, but tickets are SOLD OUT for Dave Swarbrick.

Watch this space for the location of  the singaround on 5 March ’In Celebration of Women’ (either CCC or school hall). We shall definitely be back at the Christ Church Centre on 12 March with Dave Swarbrick. Tickets are sold out for this event.

Bill Whaley and Dave Fletcher

Well known throughout their native county, Lincolnshire, both for their club work as a duo and as members of the Higgledy Piggledy band, Bill Whaley and Dave Fletcher present a fine blend of voices mellowed by nigh on thirty years of singing together.

Accompanied in traditional style on English and duet concertina, harmonium, and melodeon, their songs, both ancient and modern, have enough choruses to please everyone.

The pleasure they get from singing is obvious and since the release of their debut album ‘… Their Fine Array’ they have taken their music further afield in clubs from Cornwall to Lancashire and the North East and festivals countrywide.

They have been involved with Martyn Wyndham-Read’s ‘Songlinks’, appearing on the CDs and at the premiere concerts at Sidmouth festival and the CD launch concerts at Cecil Sharp House. Their fourth album ‘Fit For Reclining’ received enthusiastic reviews and album number five ‘Acorn to Oak’ is now available.

There will be a singaround in the upstairs room at the Christ Church Centre on Friday 29 January. All welcome, as usual. Please bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

The Annual General Meeting of Norwich Folk Club will take place at 8 pm on Friday 19 February at the Christ Church Centre on Magdalen Road, Norwich. The main business will be the election of a committee to serve for the coming year. This is a chance for members to show their support for the club by voting for a committee to run events and by giving opinions on club matters.

Any current members who have not already received the agenda and the minutes of the previous AGM are asked to contact the club secretary by email though the form on the ‘About the Club’ page.

The meeting will be followed by a singaround, starting at around 9 pm. All welcome, as usual. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee will be available.