Category Archives: Guest

The James Brothers on Friday 13 October

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Photo: Elly Lucas

The James Brothers come from the lands down under – Australia and New Zealand to be precise; lands in which the traditional songs and tunes of the British Isles have evolved their own unique characteristics. And it’s these songs and tunes, and several of their own making, that The James Brothers have united to play.

Sydney-born James Fagan is best known as one half of Nancy Kerr & James Fagan (musically and maritally), but also spotted playing guitar and bouzouki in The Cara Dillon Band, the live circus that is Bellowhead and with his parents and sister as The Fagans, where his folk career began.

Jamie McClennan is a Kiwi who found himself in a duo with Scotland’s BBC-award-winning Emily Smith (whom he also married) having chosen not to follow his first bandmates to Ireland, where they formed the much celebrated Gráda.Jamie has been sighted on fiddle, whistle and guitar next to the likes of Sharon Shannon, Beth Nielson Chapman, Jerry Douglas and his mum.

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

Flossie Malavialle on Friday 22 September

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Our guest on Friday 22 September, Flossie Malavialle, is a French-born singer and guitarist who has been based in the North East of England since 2002. Flossie sings and plays a wide variety of songs in French, English and Spanish interspersed with a touch of humorous Geordie-French banter which gives her performances a certain ‘je ne sais quoi‘.

Flossie has played throughout the UK and far beyond and has so far recorded 12 albums. Her repertoire extends from well established folk songs to jazz standards, from blues numbers to Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel’s classics.

Tickets £11 (£8 club members), can be reserved by emailing via our contact page. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee available in the kitchen.

The theme at the song session on Friday 15 September will be Harvest. All welcome to come along, whether to listen, sing or play. Free entry.

 

Risky Business on Friday 7 July

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On Friday 7 July we welcome the much loved trio Risky Business, who have come together again for a special tour this summer. Ruth Fuga, Ken Powell and Dave Walmsley first formed the band over 20 years ago, after they had each had successful individual music careers. The group toured together for ten years and made four great albums.

Both Ken Powell and Dave Walmsley are skilled multi-instrumentalists and provide the harmonies supporting Ruth Fuga’s clear lead vocals. The Risky Business repertoire is eclectic and includes many of Dave’s own carefully crafted songs. Mendocino

In the intervening years, Dave Walmsley has carved a new career with the band Other Roads and tours throughout the year, both at home and abroad. Ken Powell has spent the last eight years developing his business as a luthier, creating new guitars, gasoukis and mandolas, and Ruth Fuga has continued to sing alongside Ken. Now married, Ruth and Ken live in Wales and put on the Llanwddyn Folk and Acoustic Festival every September.

Please let us know via the contact page if you would like us to put you on the list for tickets (£11, £8 members). Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee in the kitchen.

Granny’s Attic on Friday 9 June

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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, Granny’s Attic 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. Videos
Granny’s Attic will be our guests at the gig on Friday 9 June at 8 pm. Tickets (£11 or £8 for club members) can be reserved by emailing us via our contact page. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee will be available in the kitchen.

Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith on Friday 12 May

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Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith-6Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith are a highly acclaimed folk duo who play traditional and original music of the British Isles.

Over the last three years they have built a reputation on the UK folk scene for arresting and moving performances. The songs themselves are always given centre stage but they are brought to life with sensitive musical arrangements and stunning vocals. There is an integrity that shines through their performances and a common thread of political struggle, resistance and justice.

Jimmy and Sid have been heavily influenced by the songs and singers of East Anglia, where they both grew up, but their music also reflects the diversity of voices within the folk world. Shallow Brown/Jackie Tar

Tickets £11 (£8 members) will be available on the door. All our events start at 8 pm. Bring your own drinks – teas and coffee available in the kitchen.

Julie Felix on Friday 7 April

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Julie Felix smallThe special guest on Friday 7 April is star of the folk revival Julie Felix. Julie recently appeared at a tribute to Leonard Cohen in London, singing some of his songs and speaking of their friendship. Her best-known tracks include ’That’s No Way to Say Goodbye’, ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘El condor pasa’ (‘If I could’). Julie’s latest album In the Spotlight is the first for fifteen years to feature live performances.

Tickets SOLD OUT. Bring your own drinks – teas and coffee available in the kitchen.

Wizz Jones on Friday 10 March

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tearooms140The guest on Friday 10 March will be folk and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Wizz Jones. Admired by many well known folk musicians, including Ralph McTell and Martin Carthy, and top guitarists, such as Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, Wizz Jones has been touring since the 1960s. His best known song, ‘When I leave Berlin’, has been performed by Bruce Springsteen and Wizz himself has been described as ‘one of the finest guitarists you are ever likely to see’ (review of performance at the Green Note, Mark Harrison).

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.

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.

Moore Moss Rutter on Friday 13 January

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mmrOn Friday 13 January we welcome the first guests of 2017, Moore Moss Rutter. A series of remarkable gigs has heightened the sense of anticipation around the reunion of Jack Rutter (Seth Lakeman Band), Tom Moore (False Lights) and Archie Churchill-Moss (Beyond the Marches) in the trio that won them the 2011 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. The intervening years have seen them play with some of the biggest and best acts in English folk music, and now they reconvene to release the follow-up to their much acclaimed debut album.

Widely regarded as three of the best players of traditional folk amongst a precociously gifted generation, their music features ancient traditional material from Britain as well as newly composed tunes and songs, and focuses on their own movements from the countryside to large cities, and the contrasts that come into play.

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

Jim Moray on Friday 25 November

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jim-morayFor 15 years Jim Moray has been at the forefront of a new movement in English traditional music. His debut album Sweet England changed the sound of folk song and won a brace of awards for its innovative melding of orchestration and electronica. Subsequent albums embraced everything from grime to Johnny Marr-esque guitar pop, but at their heart was always Jim’s unmistakeable soulful and yearning voice; singing old songs in a new way.

Moray’s sixth album Upcetera heralds a new chapter and has received the best reviews of his career, including five stars from Mojo, fRoots and R2 magazines: ‘Jim Moray’s masterpiece … very much an album of our times‘, Mojo. He has also found the time to contribute three new songs to BBC Dr Who spin-off show Class, and launched his own Low Culture Podcast. This solo performance will be acoustic. Fair Margaret and Sweet William

Reserve tickets £11 (£8 members) by emailing us via the box on the ‘Contact us’ page. Bring your own drinks. Teas and coffee available in the kitchen.