Bob Fox on Friday 1 July

At 7.30 pm on Friday 1 July Norwich Folk Club looks forward to welcoming Bob Fox, a Pitman Poet and the acclaimed Songman in the National Theatre’s West End production of WarHorse. ‘One of the truly great voices from the North East with musicianship second to none’, Vin Garbutt.

Bring your own drinks. Please let us know via the contact form if you would like us to save tickets (£13).

The Churchfitters on Friday 3 June

At 7.30 pm on Friday 3 June we welcome The Churchfitters, a delightfully quirky band that plays a dazzling array of unusual items, from a motorcycle petrol tank to a glass harp, as well as a number of more conventional instruments, including fiddle, banjo, sax and whistle. Singer Rosie Short’s voice has been described as being ‘like Annie Lennox in full flow’ (Fab Nights Productions).

These three flamboyant characters present their uplifting and entertaining show with a unique dynamism and describe their music as ‘Folk Unlimited’. Mike Harding calls it ‘brilliant and beautiful’ while Dave Pegg says they are ‘the most musically inventive group I’ve seen in decades’.

Reserve your tickets (£13 non-members, £10 club members) by emailing via our contact page. Bring your own drinks.

Martin Carthy on Friday 13 May

For more than 50 years Martin Carthy has been one of folk music’s greatest innovators, one of its best loved, most enthusiastic and, at times, most quietly controversial of figures. His skill, stage presence and natural charm have won him many admirers, not only from within the folk scene, but also far beyond it.

Martin is a ballad singer, a ground-breaking acoustic and electric-guitarist and an authoritative interpreter of newly composed material. He always prefers to follow an insatiable musical curiosity rather than cash in on his unrivalled position. Perhaps, most significant of all, are his settings of traditional songs with guitar, which have influenced a generation of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The event starts at 7.30 pm. There are some tickets left (£15 non-members, £12 club members). These can be reserved by emailing us via the contact page. Bring your own drinks.

Miranda Sykes on Friday 22 April

After a postponed event earlier in the year, on Friday 22 April (7.30–10 pm) we are looking forward to welcoming Miranda Sykes, the acclaimed singer and bassist with ‘Show of Hands’, back to Norwich Folk Club. After a career spanning over 20 years, during which time she has played with many of the top musicians and singers within the folk world, Miranda is touring as she started out: one woman, one bass, and one guitar.

Building on the success of her Borrowed Places tour, Miranda Sykes is back with a completely new project: Behind The Wall. Where Borrowed Places opened a window into the past, explaining where she had been, physically & spiritually, Behind The Wall is a Roller Coaster Ride exploring where we are going; Miranda, you, me, all of us. What does it mean to be human today, living in our communities & societies & where will our actions lead us? Powerful and hard-hitting but also poignant & beautiful, this show gives us all a chance to reflect & maybe even empower us.

Please email us via the contact page if you would like tickets (£13). Bring your own drinks.

Lilian Grace and Robbie Sherratt on Friday 9 April

We look forward to welcoming Lilian Grace and Robbie Sherratt, two New Roots Finalists from 2020, to our online song session on Friday 9 April. These young performers show every sign of becoming stars of the British folk scene.

Lilian Grace is a young musician who specialises in unaccompanied traditional English folk song. Her songs are full of haunting rich harmonies, on occasion augmented by her minimalist use of concertina. Lilian graduated from Leeds Conservatoire in 2020, having studied under such well respected musicians as Nancy Kerr, Jim Moray and Bryony Griffith.

Photo by Mikko Malmivaara

Robbie Sherratt is a singer and fiddle player from the Staffordshire Moorlands. His debut album ‘Provenance’ draws from traditional music and melodies in and around his home county. Currently, Robbie’s studying for a Master’s degree in Folk music at Sibelius Academy, Finland where he’s honing his fiddling, teaching, and composing. He performs regularly in concerts and dance events in Finland, England and Estonia with duo Eva Väljaots & Robbie Sherratt and the Helsinki Ceilidh Band.

You can join the Zoom meeting from 7.30 pm for an 8 pm start and we finish at 11 pm. Email us via the form on our contact page to get the link, and let us know if you would like to perform yourself. We will try to fit in as many other performers as possible.

James Findlay at the online session on Friday 26 February

We’re very pleased to be welcoming musician and singer James Findlay to do a couple of sets at our online song session on Friday 26 February. James Findlay first came into the public eye after winning the 2010 BBC Young Folk award. James comes from a family of folk singers and his enthusiasm lies firmly within the English tradition. He is particularly passionate about songs from his home counties of Dorset and Somerset. James has an extensive repertoire and love for song. This really shows in his knowledge and understanding of the material.

Among a number of recent projects, James recorded and toured an album of ‘The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs’ with Lucy Ward, Bella Hardy, Brian Peters and Jacki Oates. James was also Composer, Musical Director and Actor in Birdsong – Lockdown 2020, an award-winning online adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’ novel.

The session is free, with the option to contribute to James’s tip jar (suggested contribution £5). You can join the Zoom meeting from 7.30 pm for an 8 pm start and we finish at 11 pm. Email us via the form on our contact page to get the link, and let us know if you would like to perform yourself. We will try to fit in as many other performers as possible.

Martin Carthy on Friday 20 March

For more than 50 years Martin Carthy has been one of folk music’s greatest innovators, one of its best loved, most enthusiastic and, at times, most quietly controversial of figures. His skill, stage presence and natural charm have won him many admirers, not only from within the folk scene, but also far beyond it.

Martin is a ballad singer, a ground-breaking acoustic and electric-guitarist and an authoritative interpreter of newly composed material. He always prefers to follow an insatiable musical curiosity rather than cash in on his unrivalled position. Perhaps, most significant of all, are his settings of traditional songs with guitar, which have influenced a generation of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Due to the current national situation THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED TO EARLY 2021.

Tony Hall and The Vonn Krapp Family Band on Friday 14 February

Legendary melodeon-player Tony Hall brings his talented band to Norwich Folk Club – an opportunity to hear these local stars in a folk club concert setting. Self-taught, Tony has a unique, ground-breaking style of playing. This stalwart of the Norfolk folk scene appeared on the Silly Sisters album and accompanied Maddy Prior and June Tabor on their tour, as well as being part of Nic Jones’ Penguin Eggs album.

Tickets £8 (£11 non-members), available on the door, can also be reserved by emailing via our contact page. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffees available in the kitchen.

The Norfolk Broads on Friday 24 January

The Norfolk Broads are a four-piece female ensemble who enjoy singing low-pitched folk songs about love, despair and dastardly boyfriends.

The Broads supply their repertoire of traditional stories with a very contemporary verve and energy, using old songs to fuel new takes on the lives of women both past and present.

‘Young female quartet the Norfolk Broads are strong story-tellers … Their close harmonies brought a witty feminist take to a well-curated set of tales of impotence, greedy landlords, and the joys of a single life.’ The Guardian

Tickets £13 (£10 members) can be saved by emailing via the contact page. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee available in the kitchen.

Julie Felix on Friday 13 December

International star of the 60s and 70s, Julie Felix will be our guest on Friday 13 December. Four years after her arrival in the UK from California, Julie was given her own BBC series, with an array of guests, including Spike Milligan, Richard Harris, Leonard Cohen, Dusty Springfield, Donovan and Jimmy Page. What began for Julie as simple home entertainment, as her father and his friends played Mariachi music into the small hours of the morning, has become this remarkable woman’s vocation for half a century.

Tickets £13 (£10 members) can be reserved by email via our contact page. Please do let us know if you are planning to come along to be sure of getting a seat. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee available in the kitchen.