Author: wp-unicornfolkuk

The new feature for Unicorn Folk starting this month is an ‘Album Of The Month’ and the first such accolade goes to Bird In The Belly for their new album Only Dogs As Friends which was released on October 30^th. The aim for the new feature is to name a new album each month that is particularly worthy of a listen and to provide 2 or 3 sample tracks which can be easily listened to on Unicorn Folk by clicking on the album cover. The choice for this first month wasn’t difficult as Bird In The Belly have been a favourite band of mine for a while and I had already written a review of the album, their fourth, which I think is possibly their best yet. Subsequent choices may be more difficult but I will be interested to see where this goes.

Phil Beer was a highly popular attraction at Royston Folk Live last week and delivered an entertaining set which I imagine will be enjoyed by Cambridge Folk Club where he appears on 13^th November. Amongst numerous other attractions coming up in the near future are Bob Fox & Stu Luckley at Hitchin Folk Club on Sunday 8^th followed by Track Dogs on the 22^nd; Granny’s Attic and Blazin’ Fiddles appear on the 12^th & 15^th at The Stables, Milton Keynes, whilst the latter appear at The Apex, Bury St Edmund’s, the following day. On the 18^th you will have to choose between Jackie Oates at Ely Folk Club or The Rheingans Sisters at Cambridge Junction which also hosts Elephant Sessions on the 20^th November. You will find plenty of other gigs in the area in the latest updated version of the Unicorn Diary amongst the Listings (see top menu) on the main Unicorn Folk website.

I also see that tickets are already on sale for Fairport Convention’s Winter Tour starting February 23^rd at The Stables in Milton Keynes and also for their 60^th Anniversary Tour from May 24^th – 27^th covering Perth, Manchester, Birmingham and London venues. Here’s a link to the Gigs and Tours section of the Fairport website where you can purchase tickets.

An interesting album and very appropriate for Remembrance Sunday which is almost upon us is one that was released back in July. The War Is Over by Phil Odgers, the singer and songwriter for the legendary folk-punk band The Men They Couldn’t Hang and John Kettle the guitarist and songwriter for festival folk rock favourites Merry Hell, The album is a tribute to and contains the songs of Phil Ochs, a major singer-songwriter throughout the 60s and into the 70s and appeared briefly in the UK Folk Album charts in September. You can hear two tracks from the album on the new edition of Filby’s Folk, Show 121, which catches up with a lot of new releases, one or two of which have also graced the UK Folk Album Charts.

Pete Nutkins from Watford Folk Club has responded to a comment in my last blog on 27 October on Crookes Folk Club closing down. Pete reported that in speaking to other club organisers and guest artists it seems that singarounds are reasonably well attended while guest nights not so much. He also remarked that there are many excellent young performers playing around the clubs but their peers don’t come to see them despite festivals having excellent attendance from that age group. I agree that there are lots of good young performers around whose music I try and play on Filby’s Folk but it does seem difficult to get younger people into folk clubs. Good to hear though that Watford Folk Club is holding its own and has recently welcomed some new younger members and like Pete I hope that things will improve soon.

I’m also grateful to Pete because his response has highlighted the fact that I had not allowed comments on the main Unicorn Folk website blog and I have now hopefully changed that so please keep those comments coming in or air a view that you think is important. You can also email your views or comments to info@unicornfolk.uk.

Finally, I recently saw the announcement that Sam Harper has been elected as the new Squire of Letchworth Morris and in doing so makes a little bit of history as the first female Squire in the side’s history. Bath City Morris were members of the Morris Ring when I danced with them back in the 70s but rather frowned upon because we had a women’s side trained by the legendary Betty Reynolds. Good to see more women assume their rightful and I believe also their traditional place in Morris circles, so congratulations and good luck Sam!

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 26^th, Wednesday 28^th and Friday 30^th 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 1^st November.

Let’s have a look around the clubs now starting with Phil Beer at Royston Live Folk Club this coming Thursday 29^th 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 1^st November at The Stables, Milton Keynes and also on the 5^th at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. There is an intriguing French Night featuring ‘Bof!’ amongst others at Colchester Arts Centre on Monday 2^nd and Cambridge Junction host The Furrow Collective the following night. Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening are also at The Stables on Tuesday 3^rd November so you will have a difficult choice on that night if you live somewhere between Cambridge and Milton Keynes. On Wednesday 4^th 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 1^st 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 29^th, 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.

Well it has for me though not so much ‘slipped by’ as ‘swept by’ owing to my tenure as Chair of Creative Royston which stages Royston Arts Festival every September with the focus on the final weekend in the month.

Megson hosted their Family Folk Show as part of that and sold out with a 90+ audience in the Old Bull Inn also the home of Royston Live Folk Club on the last Thursday each month. The Club hosted old favourites Thursday’s Band on the 24^th as part of the arts festival and were rewarded with a very good attendance who witnessed a great evening’s music evoking more than a whiff of nostalgia for pre-Covid days at the Club. The next concert is on Thursday 29^th October when Phil Beer will be the star attraction and if you wish to go my advice is to book soon as tickets are limited and demand is strong. You’ll find the link in the Featured Events on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website.

There is also a great concert coming up on Friday 2^nd October, actually the final event in this year’s Royston Arts Festival, when there is a retelling of ‘Fen Song’ based around the poetry of and music inspired by the late Clare Crossman and the area of the country known as the Fens which covers South East Lincolnshire and part of Cambridgeshire. In addition there is a rare appearance by the wonderfully talented 3Folk featuring Jane Ward on piano accordion, Simon Cooper on cello and Bryan Causton on bouzouki and mandolin.

Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman have embarked on their latest tour details of which can be found via the link in the Gigs and Tours Listing on the main Unicorn Folk website. There are two gigs which are definitely within the Unicorn Folk area being Toft Social Club near Comberton on Saturday 3^rd October and Ely Folk on Wednesday 14^th October and both gigs can be found in the latest Unicorn Diary. There are other gigs in the London area and elsewhere so wherever you are do try and see them if you have a chance to hear their wonderful stories and songs as they are based around Dartmoor and don’t often tour over in this part of the country.

Apart from the above there is a wealth of top quality folk music to be found in the Unicorn Folk area in October alone including Honey and the Bear at Baldock Folk Club; Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Breabach and Megson all at Cambridge Junction; Chris While and Julie Matthews and the Urban Folk Quartet both at Hitchin, and Martin Simpson and the Gigspanner Big Band both at St Andrews Church, Hertford. There are many more great gigs listed in the Unicorn Diary Listing on the main Unicorn Folk website from 1st October through to the end of the year – a total of 135 relatively ‘local’ gigs in just 3 months!

Chiltern Folk Association also drew my attention to a Playford Ball on Sunday 4th October 2pm at Yarnton Village Hall, OX5 1TE. Madeleine Smith is calling with Pete and Sue Hall playing and traditional costume is optional. I recall dressing one year as ‘Georgian Man’ (and looking eerily at home in the costume!) and another as a less convincing Cavalier when attending a couple of very enjoyable Playford Balls in Bristol many years ago. They are great fun and you will probably recognise some of the tunes even if you are not a dancer. Cost £12 on the door. Bring a plate of food to share (or for yourself if so inclined!)

Despite the demands of the arts festival I have managed to review two great CDs during the last month. The first being by super folk group Spell Songs, In Thin Air, and the second by one of my favourite bands, Bird In The Belly whose new album is Only Dogs As Friends due for release on 30^th October. Both are excellent albums and you can read the CD Reviews on the main Unicorn Folk website.

Something else that has slipped recently is my attention to Filby’s Folk and I haven’t had a chance, for the reasons stated above, to do any more podcasts since Show 120. I hope to complete the next one over the coming weekend so WATCH THIS SPACE on Unicorn Folk, where, if you are suffering withdrawal symptons, you can find 120 such podcasts to keep you entertained complete with a music index to tell you what is in each show.

Finally, If you are thinking of buying any music, tomorrow October the 2nd is Bandcamp Friday, when the platform waives its fees to send more revenue to the artists.