Such a pity to see Crookes Folk Club closing down which was actually announced a few weeks ago so this may not be news to some. I am a bit surprised that Sheffield, with such an apparent wealth of folk talent, should suffer such a loss but I guess that is a warning that no venue is immune to closure, in this case owing largely to dwindling audiences. Another reason was perhaps that the club had been run by the same people for 15 years so there are perhaps two lessons here. First, if you like folk music then support your local club. Secondly, everyone gets tired of doing the same things and maybe being taken for granted, so try helping in some way to spread the burden.
In more sad news I hear that Donal Lunny has died of cancer at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, on 23rd October 2026 at the age of 79. I expect that a lot of us have different memories of Donal as he was involved with so many artists and projects at various stages of his career. My main memory goes back to the brilliant Bothy Band who were in their prime in early 1976 when I saw them play Dingwalls in Camden Lock and I’m sure that many others have equally vivid memories of some great musical evenings with Donal at the centre of things.
On a happier note let’s salute the efforts of the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust which are running a folk holiday club consisting of workshops with a variety of folk activities aimed at 8 -12 year olds. The workshops run on Monday 26th, Wednesday 28th and Friday 30th October in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex respectively. Details can be found on the poster in the Featured Events on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website where you will also find details of EATMT’s ‘Afternoon of music, song and dance’ which is a FREE event being held at The Coddenham Centre near Needham Market, north of Ipswich on Sunday 1st November.
Let’s have a look around the clubs now starting with Phil Beer at Royston Live Folk Club this coming Thursday 29th October. Phil Beer needs no introduction to the folk fraternity and tickets are selling out fast so if you want to be there best use the link in the Featured Events on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website where you can also find a host of other upcoming gigs amongst the Listings (see top menu) in the Unicorn Diary.
To take just a small selection of upcoming gigs you can see Lindisfarne on Sunday 1st November at The Stables, Milton Keynes and also on the 5th at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. There is an intriguing French Night featuring ‘Bof!’ amongst others at Colchester Arts Centre on Monday 2nd and Cambridge Junction host The Furrow Collective the following night. Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening are also at The Stables on Tuesday 3rd November so you will have a difficult choice on that night if you live somewhere between Cambridge and Milton Keynes. On Wednesday 4th things are more clear cut when you can go and see Chris Fox at Redbourn Folk Club and you will find plenty of other gigs in the latest updated version of the Unicorn Diary amongst the Listings (see top menu) on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website.
A new feature on Unicorn Folk starting in November will be an ‘Album Of The Month’ which is likely to be by a lesser known artist rather than one of the big guns whose music shoots to the top of the UK Folk Album Charts as soon as it is released. Exactly how the albums will be featured will depend on permissions received from the artists concerned but it is hoped that there will be at least a sample of the music available on Unicorn Folk itself with a link to a purchase point. With only a matter of days to go before we hit November the album of that month has already been chosen so check the website on the 1st November and possibly discover an exciting new band to follow.
Finally, another edition of Filby’s Folk is set to appear in the next day or two, most probably on Thursday 29th, and will include lots of new music that has surfaced between that show and the previous one. Also, best wishes for a speedy recovery to Stu Hanna of Megson whose tour was interrupted by throat problems but hopefully will be back on course for the shows in Barnard Castle and York on Thursday and Friday of this week.