Tag Archives: Traditional songs and tunes

Chris Sherburn and Denny Bartley with Emily Sanders on Friday 27 April

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Chris Sherburn and Denny Bartley have been bringing their unique sound to audiences across Europe and America since the early 1990s, when a chance meeting at a music session created one of folk music’s most enduring partnerships. The duo were founder members of the band Last Night’s Fun, which achieved international fame.

Chris (concertina) grew up surrounded by folk music of all kinds – his home was a regular haunt for passing folk singers and musicians. Denny (guitar and vocals), born in Co. Limerick, is drawn to the inheritance of age-old slides, slow airs, slip jigs and wild reels. The duo are joined by wonderful fiddle-player and singer Emily Sanders.

Let us know if you are planning to come along via the email on our contact page. Tickets £11 (£8 members) can be reserved and paid for on the door. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee are available in the kitchen (50p). Some parking is available immediately outside the Christ Church Centre – please double park to help us get more cars in!

John Kirkpatrick on Friday 3 February

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JK110-hi-resThe special guest on Friday 3 February will be singer and squeezebox king John Kirkpatrick. John is 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.

As songwriter, composer, choreographer and musical director, John has contributed to over sixty plays in the theatre and on radio. And as featured artiste, band member, or session player, his music can be heard on over 200 different commercial recordings.

Tickets £11 (£8 club members) can be reserved by emailing on our contact form. Bring your own drinks – teas and coffee available in the kitchen.

Showcase guests Tin River at the song session on Friday 27 January

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Tin River comp_02The showcase guests at the song session on Friday 27 January will be Norfolk trio Tin River: Skip Shipley (melodeons and vocals), Mim Barnes (whistles and vocals) and Marya Parker (guitar and vocals). Tin River specialise in instrumentals, three-part harmonies and accompanied songs from various traditions and with diverse treatments. The trio has built a solid reputation in the East, having appeared at every FolkEast Festival, as well as folk clubs, fairs and pub music venues.

This is a free event. Bring songs, tunes and your own drinks.

December events

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On Friday 9 December we welcome our favourite supergroup the Zimmers as showcase guests at our song session.  We are fortunate enough to see Peter Coleman and John Mathews at the club most Fridays, and this week they will be joined by fellow long-time performers Mauny Wood, Colin Tait and Roger Gamble. A rare treat indeed! Other singers and musicians will also be welcome to join this song session, so please remember to bring instruments and songs. Free entry, with a raffle.

On Friday 16 December the song session will be in the cosy upstairs lounge. All listeners and performers very welcome. Bring your own drinks.

Our Christmas gathering will be on Friday 23 December, with seasonal and unseasonal songs and tunes, and a grand raffle (extra prizes much appreciated). Bring songs and tunes, bottles and, if you wish, some food to share. Teas and coffee will be available as usual. Christmas jumpers are optional!

6-of-the-bandNo session on Friday 30 December, as we’re meeting on Saturday 31 December from 8 pm till somewhat after midnight to celebrate Old Year’s NIght. As usual, there will be a mix of songs and tunes from the assembled multitude, with a couple of sets of ceilidh dances led by Stookey Blue. Don’t forget to bring instruments, songs and your own drinks, plus, perhaps, some food to share or a prize for the grand raffle. If you would like to reserve tickets: £3 (£5 non-members), please email us via the form on our contact page.

 

Showcase with Sophie Crawford on Friday 20 May

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Sophie2On Friday 20 May the showcase guest at the song session will be New Roots finalist 2016, Sophie Crawford. Accordionist and singer Sophie performs a blend of traditional and original music grounded in the English folk tradition. She spent a year playing the Song Woman in the West End production of War Horse (2015) and writes and performs music for the touring theatre company Troupe. Having collaborated and recorded with a number of musicians, this is her first solo summer. She launches her EP in summer 2016.

Sophie, who was one of our favourite performers at New Roots this year, will perform a couple of sets during the song session. Other singers and musicians are welcome to join the session, as are listeners! There is no charge for song sessions, but there will be a raffle. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee will be available in the kitchen.

The Askew Sisters on Friday 18 March

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2014-duo-01On Friday 18 March the club is very pleased to welcome back Emily and Hazel Askew – winners of Best Traditional Album in the Spiral Earth Awards 2015. The sisters play rhythmic foot-stomping tunes on fiddle and melodeon, and deliver powerful interpretations of songs and ballads, revealing an infectious enjoyment and love of English folk music.

‘The breezy robustness of their musicianship is demonstrated in the joyous way the two parts switch around, colluding and colliding during the course of a tune set, adeptly maintaining listener interest while keeping feet tapping … infectious pumping energy characterises their performance’, fRoots magazine.

Tickets £10 (£7 club members) can be reserved by emailing via our contact page. Bring your own drinks. Coffee and tea available in the kitchen. Please note the start time will be 8 pm and end time 11 pm, as with all future club events and regular song sessions.

 

Pete Coe and Alice Jones on Friday 10 July

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PeteAlicePete Coe has been a professional musician since 1971. He has performed at festivals, concerts, folk clubs, dances and schools throughout Britain, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and the USA. Multi-instrumentalist Alice Jones first learned folk songs from her mother and was the singer with The John Dipper Band.

Together, Pete and Alice present ‘The Search for Five Finger Frank’, which features new arrangements of both classic and rare folk songs unearthed from the treasure trove that is the Frank Kidson collection. The show celebrates and commemorates the incredible legacy of a man widely regarded as ‘a pioneer of the folk song revival’. Many of the songs now popular in the folk repertoire of today were initially collected and published by this founder member of the Folk Song Society and key figure in the folk movement of the early 1900s. Check out Sprig of Thyme and One Summer’s Morning.

Tickets: £7 members (£10 non-members), can be reserved by email via the form on the ‘Contact us’ page. Bring a bottle or enjoy a tea of coffee from the kitchen.

Song Session Showcase with Hannah Cumming on 5 June

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Promo Pic Hannah CThe showcase guest at the song session on Friday 5 June will be New Roots finalist 2015, Hannah Cumming. Hannah is 23, has been fiddling for 12 years and within the last two years has started singing along to her fiddle accompaniment. She has a passion for traditional English folk songs as well as acoustic and popular music. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Seth Lakeman, Nancy Kerr and Jackie Oates, Hannah creates unique arrangements to suit each song, embracing the original in her own sweetly haunting style.

Singers and musicians are invited to join the song session, and listeners are equally welcome. Entry is free. Bring a bottle, or enjoy a tea or coffee from the kitchen.

The regular Friday song sessions are currently being held downstairs in the main hall. There is no charge and all are welcome, whether to sing, play or listen.

 

Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar on Friday 15 May

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Russell AlgarTwo-time BBC Folk Award winners Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar released their debut album, The Queen’s Lover with Fellside in 2012. Numerous tours followed, as the duo developed and honed their stagecraft, becoming one of the most sought-after young acts on the English folk scene. ‘The press coverage and folk club reports have been glowing and rightly so’ (R2 Magazine). In January 2013, the pair picked up the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk award.

After recording their second album in the November of 2013, again with Fellside, Russell and Algar received the Horizon Award for best breakthrough act at the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. The second album, The Call, was then released in July, receiving 5 Stars in fRoots, 4 Stars in both R2 Magazine and The Telegraph and a host of other brilliant reviews, Bright Young Folk describing it as an ‘outstanding show of maturity’ with ‘enormous promise’. In the last year, both Greg and Ciaran have been touring with Mick Ryan’s folk opera, A Day’s Work. They were also nominated in the Best Duo category in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2015. YouTube clip: Davy

Tickets £10 (£7 members) can be reserved by emailing us via the contact page. Bring a bottle or two, or enjoy a cuppa from the kitchen.

 

Christmas and Old Year’s Night

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Norwich Folk Club welcomes club members and visitors to our Christmas Party song session on Friday 19 December. All singers, tune-players and listeners are very welcome and seasonal party pieces will be particularly appreciated. Please bring your own drinks and a little food to share at the pot luck buffet. This a free event and there will be a grand raffle – prizes of all kinds also very welcome!

FezziwigWe meet to celebrate Old Year’s Night at 8.30 pm on Wednesday 31 December. There will be lots of songs and tunes, as well as a couple of sets of dances with Fezziwig Ceilidh Band. All singers, tune-players and listeners are welcome to join us at this extended session. Bring your own drinks, some food to share and maybe a small quirky prize for the raffle. Tickets are £4 (non-members) and £2 (members).

Free song sessions will be held as usual on Friday 26 December (Boxing Day) and Friday 2 January. Bring your own drinks – teas and coffee available in the kitchen.