Unicorn Folk News

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.

August is a quiet month in some respects as many folk clubs close for a month or two with some notable local exceptions including the Acoustic Club at Bishop’s Stortford, the Four Rivers Folk Club at Hertford and Redbourn Folk Club. Of course there have been numerous folk festivals to attend during the summer with plenty more to come throughout September and even into October as already listed in the Unicorn Folk Festival Finder. The other mainListings can also be found on the top menu on the Unicorn Folk website and include the Unicorn Diary and the Gigs & Tours listing both of which have been updated prior to this blog.

Coming up on the local club scene, if you are quick, tonight (Tuesday 1^st September) St Neots Folk Club will be entertained by Vicki Swann & Jonny Dyer and tomorrow night Redbourn Folk Club host a solo gig by Jon Doran prior to a September tour with his usual singing partner Janice Burns. Later in the month on Tuesday 15^th St Neots host Cohen Braithwaite Kilcoyne whilst the legendary John Tams makes one of his rare appearances at Hitchin Folk Club on Sunday 13^th followed exactly two weeks later by another legend in Steve Knightley.

East Anglian Traditional Music Trust hold their annual Traditional Music Day on Saturday September 19^th in Stowmarket and this year it features Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith, Nick Hart and ‘Flowers and Frolics’ the last of whom I remember fondly from my student days at Bath, which I mainly spent Morris dancing!

Megson are playing St Andrews Church in Hertford on Saturday 26^th and the following day are hosting their Family Folk Show as part of Royston Arts Festival. Royston Live are also part of the festival once again and this year on Thursday 24^th will see Thursday’s Band make a welcome reappearance at the Old Bull Inn. Ticketing details for both these events can be found in Featured Events on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website along with those for another wonderful concert at Royston Museum on Friday 2^nd October when there is a retelling of ‘Fen Song’ and a rare appearance by the wonderfully talented 3Folk.

I guess that I might as well give Royston Arts Festival a plug at this point for anyone who is interested in the arts and crafts, or music and drama, with exhibitions, workshops and talks aplenty and a final weekend with a fun family day and book fair, both with FREE entry. It runs throughout September with the main weekend being the final one and you will find more details on the festival website.

Also, a quick plug here for the new album by Spell Songs a folk supergroup coming together for the third in a series of albums based on The Book Of Birds a collaboration between conservationist Robert MacFarlane and artist Jackie Morris. The members of Spell Songs are Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Kris Drever, Seckou Keita, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux. The new album is called ‘In Thin Air‘ and is released on Friday 4th September, the same night as a concert date at Cambridge Corn Exchange when Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane will give a pre-show talk. Tickets HERE.

If you missed the broadcast of Filby’s Folk shows on Sunday 2^nd August and Sunday 9^th August on the new Meridian1 radio station that covers South Cambs, North Herts and beyond, you can now listen to podcasts of the shows (119 & 120) HERE on Unicorn Folk. It is hoped that the Meridian1 radiostation will reappear after a full review of the 2-week trial and then continue to broadcast on a more permanent basis.

Finally, several of my favourite artists are out on tour or playing gigs in September so check out the Gigs and Tours Listing on the main Unicorn Folk website as well as the Unicorn Diary. (The Listings are mainly pdf files so the link address, or url, changes with each update which is why I don’t provide a direct link.) Fairport Convention’s Autumn Acoustic Tour starts further ahead on 6^th October but you may be well advised to start checking out ticket availability now.

My aim of writing a blog once a fortnight seems to have crumbled into the dust that is now becoming a more familiar sight in this region as temperatures soar and greenery is replaced by ‘brownery’ if that is indeed a word – perhaps one for the future!

I’m grappling with being Chair of Royston Arts Festival once again and with printing deadlines looming some things, blogs in particular, have had to take a back seat. However, I did want to quickly rush out a blog to highlight the Baldock and Letchworth Folk and Roots Festival which is taking place this very weekend starting in earnest today, with a couple of sessions last night as well, truth be told!

There is a long line-up of artists including many folk club favourites and best of all it is FREE but donations are requested for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) which is no doubt connected with the fact that the event will be held at Letchworth Rugby Club. Several well-known rugby players, and no doubt some less well-known have contracted MND in recent years so this is a very good cause to donate to. Links to their website are in Featured Events on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website where you can also find a host of other events going on around the region, and some of them with FREE entry.

The Baldock and Letchworth Folk and Roots Festival builds on a similar event last year which was held in response to the demise of the Cambridge Folk Festival and this year is, I think, intended to provide an alternative to what some see as a watered down event. There are some good things going on at Cambridge Folk Festival next weekend the links to which which you can find in the Festival Finder in the Listings on the front page of Unicorn Folk though it does seem to be sold out!

Just a note here for any organisers of festivals, Unicorn Folk is especially keen to support FREE folk festivals and especially those where donations go to such good causes as MNDA, so do please send in details of your event with an accompanying poster which I can feature on Unicorn Folk with links to the festival site.

As this is supposed to be just a quick blog I will only mention that the latest version of Filby’s Folk (Show 119) is lined up for broadcast on Sunday 2^nd August between 5 and 7pm on the new Meridian1 radio station that covers South Cambs and North Herts and beyond. Filby’s Folk (Show 120) is lined up for the following Sunday 9^th August at a similar time. Meridian1 itself is set to broadcast for 2 weeks starting 1^st August. There will then be a review and it is hoped that the station will continue to broadcast on a more permanent basis after a short break.

Royston Live Folk Club has their final event, a singer’s night on Thursday 30^th July. If you want to book a slot as a performer please email roystonfolkclub@outlook.com, otherwise it is FREE entry with donations collected to go towards future bookings.