STOCKTON FOLK CLUB

July - Dec. 2011
Were you there, or did you miss a good night?

4th July Anna Shannon from Scarborough won BBC Radio Yorkshire's Songwriter of the Year award in 2006 and ever since then her singing and songs have been gaining recognition nationwide. "She's a truly fine multi instrumentalist, a great singer and as far as I'm concerned, a major song writing talent. The clubs and festivals are yearning for what she has to offer”-- VIN GARBUTT-----
6th July

First Wednesday: tune night

11th July Singaround
18th July Singaround
25th July New Roots Night: Jessica Lamb is a brilliant young piper and singer from Bellingham in Northumberland. A product of the Sage teaching programme, she's learnt from the likes of Kathryn Tickell and Kat Davidson: she won the open piping competition at Rothbury three years running before she was sixteen!
1st August Loose Connection - George Armstrong and Bob Tuddenham have entertained us with a number of floor spots over the last year or three. Their combination of vocals and guitar have been reinforced by the addition of Roly Hindmarsh on bass to form a strong local trio with a repertore covering a good selection of American , Irish and British songs.
3rd Aug First Wednesday: tune night
8th Aug Singaround
15th Aug Reg Meuross hails from Somerset although he was actually, or perhaps that should be accidentally, born in Stockton! He has been acclaimed (by Mike Harding amongst others) as one of the very best songwriters on the scene, a very accomplished performer who should be better known. Great songs like “And Jesus Wept” and, my favourite, “Lizzie Loved a Highwayman” tell their stories in an original, memorable way.
22nd Aug Singaround
29th Aug Singaround
5th Sept Ed Pickford describes himself as "just a person who for some reason wants to write songs". Thank goodness he does when those songs have included "Ah Could Hew"; "Farewell Johnny Miner" and "Strange Lover is a Coalmine" which have entered the fabric of North-East folk and travelled round the world. Then there's great comic songs like "Tommy Lie Down" and "The Oldest Swinger in Town". The passion for writing songs is still there and he's back in great form after a life-threatening illness. The style ranges from Country and North-Eastern, through Music Hall to hard-edged Protest. Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear Ed on Teesside.
6th Sept First Tuesday: tune night
12th Sept Singaround
19th Sept Brian Peters always gives us an excellent night. He's a compelling singer, master of concertina and melodeon, and an excellent guitarist. Deeply rooted in the English folk tradition, his sets are always varied and can include, for example, music hall, topical songs and some wonderful tunes of his own. One of the great all-rounders!
26th Sept Alan Reid & Rob van Sante Battlefield Band's founder member, keyboardist and vocalist Alan Reid joins forces with the band's sound engineer, Rob van Sante who emerges for behind the mixing board revealing himself a gifted singer/guitarist in his own right. Together they present a seamless fusion of both the old and the new traditions, featuring Alan's compositions, Battlefield Band favourites and Rob's own songs.
3rd Oct Singaround
4th Oct First Tuesday: tune night
10th Oct Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell visited the Club separately in 2008 while still students. I was further impressed when I heard them as a duo in 2009 and since then they have made a name for themselves supporting big acts like The Unthanks and Bellowhead in big venues like The Sage. Jonny has written some smashing songs, often very droll, while Lucy is a lovely singer who brings a fiddle and some more traditional material to the mix.
17th Oct Singaround
24th Oct Andy Clarke – First visit to Stockton for a long established singer from Devon who has been described as a “passionate interpreter of traditional song” and “a sublime guitar player”. He puts across a great selection of traditional songs (and a few contemporary ones) with authority and good humour.
31st Oct Will Duke, Alun Howkins & Vic Gammon Will is one of the best Anglo concertina players around, having inherited many of his instruments and much of his playing style from Scan Tester; he also has an excellent repertoire of traditional and comic songs. Alun is a great singer who started his working life as an agricultural apprentice and is now Emeritus Professor of Social History at the University of Sussex! Vic is well known to us as a singer and academic, our link to the young performers on the Newcastle degree course in folk and traditional music.
1st Nov. First Tuesday: tune night
7th Nov Singaround
14th Nov Singaround
21st Nov Martyn Wyndham-Read Although his roots are in Sussex, Martyn's years in Australia in the 60s led to his becoming a noted collector and singer of Australian songs. His interests and repertoire range beyond that, though, including seasonal and contemporary songs: one of his favourite songwriters is local Graeme Miles. Martyn was our first guest in the Sun Inn in 1970. "... a tremendously warm and hypnotic performer"
28th Nov Singaround
5th Dec Mick Sheehan is all too infrequent a visitor to the Club these days but is always welcome and thoroughly at home there. He has written some memorable songs, both humorous and serious, but also draws on his Irish family roots, all accompanied by some "delicately mercurial guitar work" and a great line in chat.
6th Dec First Tuesday: tune night
12th Dec Broadband are Angie Archer, Martin Bradburn and Phil Summers. The band's name represents the broad range of music they perform, blending some stunning vocals, lots of instrumental skills and plenty of humour. And it's all presented with a sense of fun which we look forward to sharing.
19th Dec Christmas Party: free if you come in fancy dress &/or bring some food. If not, you can still get in for only £1.
26th Dec Boxing Day Singaround – last minute cancellation. Sorry. Much liquor had been taken by the local populace and things were getting a trifle rowdy!