Category Archives: Guest

Sandy Brechin and Ewan Wilkinson on 22 June

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Sandy Brechin and Ewan Wilkinson

Sandy Brechin is regarded as one of the most innovative exponents of the Scottish accordion. He has toured the world extensively with “Seelyhoo”, “Burach”, “The Sandy Brechin Band” and his ever popular ceilidh band “The Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience”. Sandy was nominated in the best instrumentalist category at the 2011 Scottish Trad Awards.

Ewan Wilkinson was brought up the Scottish Borders, and has a strong grounding in the Scottish song tradition as well as a unique insight into the music south of the border. He is both an emotive singer and an articulate guitarist. Ewan has been hailed as an important new young talent of the folk scene. His debut album ‘Lost in the Day’ was released in 2009.

Ewan and Sandy have been touring together for eight years playing in folk clubs, festivals and acoustic venues throughout the UK as well as in the Middle East and Australia. The duo plays a mixture of Scottish, Irish and English traditional songs and tunes, together with contemporary folk songs, and original compositions.

Jessica Lamb

Support is from Jessica Lamb, a young Northumbrian Piper and singer who was a finalist at New Roots 2012. Tutored by Kathryn Tickell, Jessica was also a semi-finalist at the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2011 and 2012 and in 2012 played and taught at Towersey Festival. This summer Jessica will be representing folk music by playing with Folkestra at the opening of the Olympics in Trafalgar Square.

Tickets (£8) can be reserved by emailing the club via the link on the ‘About the club’ page. Bring your own refreshments. Please park tidily to allow everyone to get in!

Jez Lowe on 11 May

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Jez Lowe

Recently returned from a successful Australian tour, Jez Lowe has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world, both solo and with the Bad Pennies. His songs are sung by many other well-known folk performers, including Fairport Convention, the Dubliners, Liam Clancy and Bob Fox. Jez took part in The Darwin Project and, having contributed nearly forty songs to the BBC Radio Ballads series, is currently working on the upcoming series to be broadcast during the Olympic Games.

Tickets £8 (£5 members). Please check availability by email via the ‘About the club’ page. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

The Trio Threlfall on 13 April

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Sisters Jane and Amanda Threlfall are joined by musician Roger Edwards in fresh and vibrant interpretations of traditional English folk songs: ‘Sometimes delicate, sometimes bold, sometimes beguiling, sometimes refined but always with an ear to the nature of the song’ (English Song and Dance). Their harmonies have been described as ‘faultless’ (Cheltenham Folk Festival). Accompaniment is on bouzouki, fiddle and guitar, augmented by the skillful concertina playing of Roger Edwards.

The trio’s latest album ‘Sweet Nightingale’ was hailed by Mike Harding as being ‘absolutely beautiful. Terrific songs and playing and really tight, unfussy arrangements.’ Tickets £10, book by email via the ‘About the club’ page. Please check availability. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

Nancy Kerr and James Fagan on 9 March

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James Fagan and Nancy Kerr

We are very pleased to welcome back Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, one of the most established  and respected duos on the folk scene. About to celebrate their fifteenth year of touring, Nancy and James were winners of the Best Duo in the BBC Radio 2  Folk Awards 2011.

As well as being great exponents of their instruments (fiddle, viola and guitar-bouzouki) both are regarded as fine and influential singers. Nancy and James’s version of ‘Dance to Your Daddy’ was recently chosen by choirmaster Gareth Malone as one of his inheritance tracks on Radio 4’s Saturday Live and their new CD, Twice Reflected Sun, is much acclaimed.

Rosie Eade

In support will be a popular regular from the White Horse days, the talented young singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rosie Eade. Hailed as ‘one of the finest new voices on the acoustic scene’ (Burnham-on-Sea Folk Festival), Rosie also sings and plays sax/whistles with Cambridge-based folk-rock band Hedgepig.

Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee is available. Please check availability of tickets £10 (members £7) by emailing via the contact on the ‘About the club’ page.

Damien Barber and Mike Wilson on 10 February

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Mike and Damien

Damien Barber and Mike Wilson are each well known in other contexts. Damien is the driving force behind the Demon Barbers, whose Time Gentlemen Please recently captured the admiration of a packed Norwich Playhouse crowd, and Mike is part of the Wilson Family, who took part in the Percy-Grainger-themed late-night prom at the Albert Hall last summer.

Together Damien and Mike have a rich shared repertoire of traditional songs plus the work of modern folk writers such as Bellamy, Ewan MacColl and Mike Waterson, delivering their songs in full-throated harmony. The pair were nominated for Best Duo in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2010.

Tickets are currently available (£8 for non-members). Please check availability via the form on the ‘About the club’ page. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

In the meantime, singarounds continue every Friday, and the showcase guests at the singaround on Friday 20 January will be local favourites Skip and Friends. Free entry. Bring refreshments, as well as songs and tunes of your own.

Tony Hall on 6 January

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Tony Hall at Norwich Folk Club, 9 January 2009

Norfolk singer and melodeon player Tony Hall is bound to bring good cheer to a chilly winter evening. A review in Living Tradition describes Tony as being ‘the master of playing distinctive, quintessentially English style two-row melodeon’, pointing out that he ‘has been heard on Maddy Prior and June Tabor’s Silly Sisters album, and Nic Jones’ superb Penguin Eggs‘, and concluding that he is ‘a man of rare talent’.

Tickets on the door (£5 for non-members). Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.

Steve Tilston on 9 December

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Steve Tilston

Steve Tilston, currently celebrating 40 years as a professional musician, is described in Living Tradition as an ‘absurdly accomplished singer/songwriter and guitarist’. Steve’s songs are considered to be modern folk-song classics and have been covered by many well known names, including Peter Bellamy, Dolores Keane and Fairport Convention. It is even rumoured that ‘Here’s to Tom Paine’ has featured in Bruce Springsteen’s live set.

Steve has recently appeared on Later with Jules Holland and the title track of his most recent CD, The Reckoning, has just been nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2012 in the “Best Original Song” category. Bring your own refreshments. Hot drinks available. TICKETS SOLD OUT.

Showcase guests at the singaround on Friday 25 November are popular local performers, Glynn and Emily West. All welcome. Free entry.

Steve Turner on 11 November

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Steve Turner

Steve Turner arrived back on the folk scene in 2004 after a twelve year absence, having been a professional singer for eleven years through the ’80s. His singing and concertina playing are now widely acclaimed, with great reviews, magazine interviews and national radio plays for the fifth album, ‘The Whirligig of Time’ which was also short-listed for the 2008 BBC folk awards.

Tickets can be reserved by email through the contact on the ‘About the club’ page. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee also available.

Peta Webb and Ken Hall on 21 October

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Peta Webb and Ken Hall

Peta Webb, a Londoner with an Irish background, formed her highly-acclaimed individual vocal style through the influence of Irish traditional singers, especially Margaret Barry, Sarah Makem and Sarah and Rita Keane. Peta believes firmly in the importance of learning directly from traditional singers wherever possible and has taken part in many collecting trips. Ken Hall, originally from Liverpool, started singing at the Islington Folk Club and was much influenced by Bob Davenport, Reg Hall and the traditional singers he heard there. He later developed an interest in the Northern Irish singing style of Joe Holmes and Len Graham, Kevin Mitchell and Roisin White as well as the satirical and humorous songs of Sean Mone.

In a review of their CD ‘As Close As Can Be’ (Fellside) in Living Tradition, Roy Harris comments: ‘Peta and Ken … sound natural and at home with everything they sing whether solo or in duet … each [has] a fine voice … Every track is a gem.’

Owen Woods

In support is New Roots finalist 2011 Owen Woods, a solo melodeon player, who performs traditional music from all over the world. Schooled in classical piano from an early age, he rediscovered folk music and picked up the melodeon some 9 years ago. Now playing for ceilidhs regularly, Owen has developed a personal style of performance, marrying tunes from different cultures and different periods. Prepare for strange time signatures, fluctuating rhythms and lush harmonies.

Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available. Reserve tickets via the contact box on the ‘About the club’ page.

Singaround showcase with Akabella on 7 October

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Akabella

Singarounds continue every Friday at Norwich Folk Club, with a special showcase on 7 October featuring local all-women acapella group ‘Akabella’ with a diverse repertoire, including songs from Georgia, Namibia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and South Africa, as well as Britain. All welcome, entry free. Bring your own refreshments. Tea and coffee available.