It’s the 16th of December. The kids (and teachers) have broken up. Advent services have been sung. Shepherds in tea towels have been seen cantering across this very altar. And yet…and yet…it still doesn’t feel REALLY Christmas-y. Maybe it’s because it’s warm and wet, not cold and crisp. Maybe it’s because this year has beenContinue reading “Belshazzar’s Feast – December 2016”
Author Archives: tallfolk
Lady Maisery – November 2016
It’s cold in here. Drizzle cold. Rain black night cold. Even 180 expectant bodies can’t warm it. That’s how cold. It’s cold enough for three folk goddesses to don, variously, gloves, jumpers and a drape. Lady Maisery feel the cold yet blow on the embers of the very finest folk that you have ever heard.Continue reading “Lady Maisery – November 2016”
Leveret – September 2016
There are no words to describe just how beautiful this evening was. No words that express the perfect, harmonious relationship between musicians. No words that could possibly tell you why Leveret are one of the “must see” folk acts of 2016. Fitting really, as this instrumental trio don’t really need words at all. Sam Sweeney,Continue reading “Leveret – September 2016”
Sunjay – July 2016
Before the main act the MC for the evening sits on a low chair. A small man with a slow, soft, drowsy Bristol burr; he starts to reminisce. Slowly. Carefully. He tells of the “best time of my life”. Of The Troubadour in Clifton, the home of Bristol’s folk and blues, and seeing some theContinue reading “Sunjay – July 2016”
Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith – May 2016
If a folk club is about anything then it’s about community, friendships and trust. It’s a place to gather every month to chat, share a beer and listen. A place where friends old and new are always welcome. Jimmy and Sid have played here before, of course. About a year ago. They were supporting thenContinue reading “Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith – May 2016”
Mairearad and Anna – April 2016
“What’s the difference between an onion and a set of bagpipes? No one cries when…” at that the Folk Club’s Ant Miles is drowned out by the sound of proper Scottish bagpipes filling the tittering church. This is how the astonishing multi-instrumentalists Mairearad and Anna started the second half of their Downend set. To furtherContinue reading “Mairearad and Anna – April 2016”
Gilmore and Roberts – February 2016
Just as the set was ending the tiny, elfin girl peered out into the packed Frenchay audience; “That was about an eight a half”, she said encouraging the faithful to sing, “You guys look like an eleven to me.” We sang. She was right. We were an eleven. The girl was Katriona Gilmore, the femaleContinue reading “Gilmore and Roberts – February 2016”
Tobias Ben Jacobs and Lukas Drinkwater – January 2016
“O.K. What happens now? The first words out of the mouth of Double bassist Lukas Drinkwater as he, and singer-guitarist Tobias Ben Jacob, took the stage. It was a question that several of the audience were asking too. This month Downend Folk Club were, once again, showcasing up and coming talent rather than an establishedContinue reading “Tobias Ben Jacobs and Lukas Drinkwater – January 2016”
Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker – December 2015
What a year it’s been for the Folk Club. It was only last December when we were all sitting in these very pews proclaiming the genius of Jim Moray and now we have to do the same for this year’s Christmas guests. In between we have been royally entertained by troubadours and story tellers, fiddlersContinue reading “Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker – December 2015”
Ewan McLennan – October 2015
It happens as regular as clockwork. Someone, somewhere (normally a journalist from The Guardian or Billy Bragg) can be heard to mutter that there “just aren’t any political singers anymore”. They complain that no one cares, that there is no one to tell the stories or stoke the fires. They haven’t heard the latest visitorContinue reading “Ewan McLennan – October 2015”
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