We are delighted to be able to tell you that Martin Carthy MBE has agreed to become our patron. Despite his well earned fame, he continues to champion folk clubs and this link to him emphasises our commitment to promoting live folk song and music and to try and bring the best acts we can to as wide an audience as possible.
Our Song & Ale Weekend this year will take place 25-27 June 2010, starting 7.30 pm on the Friday evening and running through to 5 pm Sunday afternoon. Held in the Village Hall and Social Club at North Boarhunt, there is camping available just down the lane from the hall, on the village recreation ground. There will be a charge of £12 per pitch for caravan, motor-home or family tent for the weekend. Please email us now to book your pitch. Sessions will be free with a jug collection. Last year was a great success and we are looking forward to seeing you all again and to making this year’s Song & Ale the best ever!
And if camping is not your thing, we can arrange b&b at a hotel close by at a very reasonable rate. Similarly, for our guest nights if the journey home is too long.
PDF leaflet for March-October 2010 (front)
PDF leaflet for March-October 2010 (back)
Our programme of guest nights for 2010 –
Monday 18 January 2010 - Steve Knightley
tickets £12 non members, £10 members SOLD OUT
Steve Knightley is the songwriting force behind Show of Hands, widely acclaimed as the finest acoustic roots duo in England and with three Royal Albert Hall sell-outs to their name. The Exeter-based singer-songwriter writes the majority of material for the band, which also features multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer, and together they won the Best Live Act title in the 2004 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – the only category voted for by the public. Steve is renowned for his strong, trademark narrative songs which reflect the escapades, hopes and fears not only of people in his native West Country but beyond and he pulls no punches when writing highly literate songs about bigger, global issues.
Monday 15 February 2010 - Mawkin:Causley
tickets £14 non members, £12 members
Those wicked Essex rascals, Mawkin, have joined forces with the honey-voiced Jim Causley to form one hell of a boy band! One of the best instrumental outfits to emerge in recent years, Mawkin have a string of festival and concert appearances under their belt. Bringing Jim Causley on board is a masterstroke, as his gorgeous baritone voice is the perfect foil for their cleverly textured tunes and energetic performances. Their critically acclaimed debut E.P “Cold Ruin” gained them national radio play and a nomination for “Best Group” in the 2009 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. “Our Favourite new folk act…an inspired alliance” – TIME OUT MAGAZINE.
Monday 15 March 2010 - Richard Digance
tickets £12 non members, £10 members
Richard Digance gained a BAFTA Nomination for TV Entertainer Of The Year in the late 1980s and in 2003 received the Gold Award from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters for his services to live music. He is one of Britain's top comedy and music attractions, a rare performer in that he's respected by comedians for his original material and by musicians for being an accomplished acoustic guitarist. His loyal following confirms his wide appeal, from the younger generation attracted by both his guitar playing and the fact he has inspired many modern-day performers, to the super-loyal who have followed Richard since the time he had his own ITV series and even further when he started out in folk clubs.
Monday 19 April The Men They Couldn’t Hang
tickets £12 members, £14 non members
The Men They Couldn’t Hang appeared at a number of alternative country music festivals in the early 80’s. Their first big hit was their cover version of Eric Bogle’s Green Fields of France, which ended up in John Peel’s Festive Fifties two years running! They went on to take Europe by storm but then disbanded in 1990. Much to the delight of their fans, Phil Odgers, Paul Simmonds, Stefan Cush and Ricky McGuire reunited in 1996 and returned with a new power and excitement to their music. Still going strong and with an enviable live reputation, a TMTCH gig is not to be missed.
Support: Hamish Currie
Monday 17 May Chris Wood
tickets £10 members, £12 non members
Chris received the 'Folk Singer of the Year' award, and Trespasser was named 'Album of the Year' at the BBC Folk Awards 2009. The Irish Times heralded Chris Wood as "the renaissance man of English folk" when on his own R.U.F Records label he released The Lark Descending which included the BBC Folk Award winning song One In A Million in 2005. Chris Wood is an uncompromising writer whose music reveals his love for the un-official history of the English speaking people. With gentle intelligence he weaves the tradition with his own contemporary parables, his writing has been said to share the same timeless quality as Richard Thompson at his best.
Monday 21 June The Martin Simpson Trio with Andy Cutting & Andy Seward
tickets £12 members, £14 non members
Martin is over the moon to have been nominated a record SIX times in the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards! Widely acknowledged as one of the finest acoustic and slide guitar players in the world, his interpretations of traditional songs are masterpieces of storytelling. His solo shows are intense, eclectic, spellbinding and deeply moving. Whether playing American old-time music, blues, a Dylan song or his own material, Martin Simpson is unpredictable, individual and a guitarist of immense subtlety. Accompanied on this occasion by ace melodian player Andy Cutting and bass player Andy Seward, both outstanding musicians in their own right.
PDF Flyer for Song & Ale weekend 25-27 June
Monday 19 July Double Bill featuring Roy Bailey & David Ferrard
tickets £10 members, £12 non members
One of the Folk World’s finest voices, Roy Bailey has been performing for more than 40 years both in the UK and abroad, in folk clubs, arts centres and in front of huge festival audiences at home and abroad. His warmth and humour create a unique atmosphere of humanity and comradeship and as Billy Bragg once said of him, "(Roy’s voice is) as powerful and moving as anything I’d heard by The Clash".
David Ferrard is a young Scottish American singer-songwriter whose songs tell stories about his and others’ lives, and are marked by a strong commitment to social justice and peace. An ability to get under the skin of different characters has won him songwriting competitions, and a unique performance style has made him one of the most popular local performers selling out shows at Edinburgh’s 2006 International Festival Fringe.
Monday 20 September 2010 - Peter Donegan with the Lonnie Donegan Band
Tickets £14 non members, £12 members
The Lonnie Donegan Band is the band that toured with the skiffle legend for the last 30 years, fronted by Lonnie’s son Peter Donegan on lead vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, keyboards and harmonica. Their performance includes some of Lonnie’s classics as well as delving into some of Lonnie’s lesser-known recorded songs and some original songs written by Peter. The band are - Paul Henry (Lead Guitar), Chris Hunt (Drums), Sticky Wicket (Percussion), Eddie Masters (Bass), Peter Donegan (Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica, Mandolin) Lead Vocals.
Monday 18 October 2010 - Otis Gibbs
Tickets £12 non members, £10 members
Otis Gibbs is a man in search of an honest experience. Some people refer to him as a folk artist, but that is a simplistic way to describe a man who has planted over 7,000 trees, slept in hobo jungles, walked with nomadic shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains, been strip-searched by dirty cops in Detroit, and has an FBI file. Otis has played everywhere from labor rallies in Wisconsin, to anti-war protests in Texas, Austria and the Czech Republic, Feed & Seed Stores in the Midwestern U.S. and in countless, theaters, festivals, bars and living rooms. Otis has spent the last fifteen years traveling across America and abroad documenting this world, and has a story to share about each stop along the way.
Our young photographer John Shillitoe has been busy with his new video business so do follow the links for a reminder of our events:
For photos of the Richard Digance concert in March please follow the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJ3ZxnaEHg. With many thanks to John Shillitoe for all his help and hard work. Please follow the links for photos of Kerfuffle from the concert in December. It can be found here...(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnkG2lqxYWo), then for the Peggy Seeger/Watersons evening at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u2qHvn_fxs, then Folgazán http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7z2R5EJk6A, and Little Johnny England http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXgea0wL1NQ.
Singarounds free with jug collection
For further information on FOREST FOLK and to book tickets, please ring Charles on 01329 833625, Janet on 023 9226 4288, or email info@forestfolk.co.uk. To purchase tickets, please send cheque payable to FOREST FOLK (together with sae) to Forest Folk, 12A Ashling Gardens, Denmead PO7 6PR and we’ll send tickets by return. Membership costs £7 per person for 2009 but does give really good value.
Why not email us at info@forestfolk.co.uk and join our email-out to receive regular updates of Forest Folk news and events.
To find us, take the B2177 from Wickham to Southwick. Trampers Lane is second left (at North Boarhunt), Forest Folk is held in the Village Hall and Social Club, about half a mile down the road on the right, opposite the bottle bank sign. There is some parking behind the hall – please use it if there is space.
If coming from further afield, from the East, leave the M27 at Junction 10, take the A32 Alton road and fork right at the Shell Garage in Wickham. Turn right by St Nicholas Church onto B2177 to North Boarhunt, and after approx 1½ miles take second left into Trampers Lane, Forest Folk is at the Social Club and Village Hall half a mile down the lane on the right. From the West, double back along M27 from Junction 11 to Junction 10, then follow directions above. For anyone reliant on their sat nav, the venue post code is PO17 6DQ.
.pdf versions of our leaflets are available for downland in case you would like to print off a copy of our programme and the Song & Ale leaflet.
PDF leaflet for March-October 2010 (front)
PDF leaflet for March-October 2010 (back)
PDF Flyer for Song & Ale weekend 25-27 June
Thank you for all your support, and we hope to see you in 2009/2010!
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Trevor Gilson, SCoFF Webmaster
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