Folklife Quarterly FQ 40: Jan 2014 Folklife Quarterly, web version | Page 17

v FQ 40, Jan 2014 p15 v Clubs & Venues, England Ü West Country Ü West Midlands Ü Other Areas ENGLAND Ü WEST MIDLANDS L-R: Tom Paxton & Janis Ian; Fairport Convention; Geoff Higginbottom; Ashley Hutchings & Blair Dunlop; Bill Bates; Malc Gurnham & Gill Gilsennan COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE AREA Malc Gurnham, Correspondent for Coventry & Warwickshire Our magazines are now available at Bedworth Folk Club. Malc is the organiser of Bedworth Folk Festival, and of Bedworth Folk Club (2nd & 4th Wednesdays); performs in the duo Malc Gurnham & Gill Gilsenan and in the Glorishears Ceilidh Band, provides the Folkfax website (news, gossip and information about a lot o f aspects of folk music, especially in the UK and particularly in the Midlands), the Fat Sam Music Studio, and Folkfax Web Design. ® = for details of our Folklife Members (underlined) see Listings or Festival Diary Firstly, of course, New Year Greetings to everyone - and don’t forget to get out there and support your local folk events - You know it makes sense! As always the Coventry and Warwickshire area is busy with a whole host of folk events, and next time I want to try and cover some of the more obscure sessions of music and song that are going on in the area so if you know of any please let me know, pub sings, music sessions and the like, all info gratefully received! So what of the regular diary events in the area? The main regular Monday happening is The Warwick Folk Club, at the very comfortable Warwick Arms, right in the centre of Warwick, and a really busy programme opens the New Year, highlight being - 13th Jan - Bill Bates & Friends, 27th Jan, the wonderful Tindalls from Banbury, Feb 24th the excellent singing and harmonies of Dave Webber and Annie Fentiman (try and keep me away!) yet more of the Banbury connection on 10th March when Scarecrow are guests, and then on 24th March Johnny Coppin - something for just about every taste there I reckon. Whilst on the subject of Warwick Folk Club, one of their organisers has recently started a fine on-line radio show “Gentlefolk2”. This is a project by former radio presenter Norman Wheatley, and he has loads of interesting archive material and will keep you up with all the Midlands latest folk news, just go to www.gentlefolk2.co.uk to tune in, there is a new show lasting about an hour posted on the first of each month - give it a try! On to Tuesday and folk activity moves to the far south of the county with Julie Neal hosting The Green Man Folk Club, meeting at the pub of the same name in Long Itchington, first Tuesday a singers session and guests featured on the 2nd Tuesday, 14th January it is Bill Bates and Three Men in a Boat. On the last Tuesday of each month Three Men in a Boat host their own session at The Crown at Stockton, just along the road from Long Itchington, that is always a well supported and friendly session. Wednesdays and we are up to the North of the county, each Wednesday sees a different style of folk event, and to start the month off a new venture hosted by ® Atherstone Folk Club, it is a really friendly and informal afternoon session at “The Larder” (50 Long St, Atherstone) 2:30 - 4pm, the inaugural session in December went really well, and will now be a regular 1st Wednesday event (except for January that is when it will be 2nd Wednesday!) Also on the 1st Wednesday the Hinckley Act host their monthly “Club Night” at Watling Close, just off the A5, usually hosted by one of the better known local performers and always featuring a pretty strong line up of floor spots. 2nd Wednesday is the ever-popular ® Bedworth Folk Club at The Old Black Bank on the Coventry Road just outside of the town centre, a free admission club with guests each month coming up are Chris Tobin (Jan 8th), Linda Watkins Band (Feb 12th) and Geoff Higginbottom (April 9th) - each evening is hosted by ® Malc Gurnham & Gill Gilsennan and the club is really fortunate in having a very strong lineup of quality floor singers every month - more details on the clubs website www.bedworthfolkclub.co.uk 3rd Wednesday and it is the turn of Atherstone to host the folk event when the ® Atherstone Folk Club meets at The Church End Brewery, early signs are that this will be quite a successful venture (I’m sure having real ale “on tap” contributes to that!) and coming up they have The Robinson-Stone Brothers, and excellent Rugby-based young duo (16th Jan), Bedworth’s own Brian & Marie Phillips (Feb 15th), A Musicians Night on 19th March and Green Fortune on 16th April. 4th Wednesday it is back to ® Bedworth where the monthly meet at Bedworth Rugby Club is in aid of fundraising for Bedworth Folk Festival, the format there being a first half of floor spots and a featured act in the second half, featured acts coming up include (22nd Jan) Malc Gurnham & Gill Gilsennan, (26th Feb) John Kearney and (26th March) The Thrup’nny Bits. On Thursday it is the turn of Coventry to host the folk activities as The Tump Folk Club, meets weekly at The Humber Pub in Humber Road, mainly singarounds with the occasional guests, keep unto date by visiting their Facebook page, similarly with The Sty Folk Club on Sundays at Green Lane Social Club in Coventry, again mainly singarounds with the occasional guest. As always there are plenty of good concerts within easy striking distance, in Atherstone at Owen Street Community Arts Centre the inimitable Ashley Hutchings along with son Blair Dunlop, are in concert on 25th January (Tickets just £8 from 01827713634), not as many “folk flavoured” concerts at Warwick Arts Centre this time, in fact “Barb Jungr: Hard Rain” the songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen (16th Feb) being the only offering. By comparison a lot of really interesting concerts in Birmingham include Suzanne Vega (Town Hall 3rd Feb), Transatlantic Sessions (Symphony Hall 6th Feb), The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (Symphony Hall 19th Feb), Fairport Convention (Town Hall 4th March), Salsa Celtica (Town Hall 6th March), Clannad and Mary Black (Symphony Hall 17th March), Tom Paxton & Janis Ian (Town Hall - also 17th March), Runrig (Symphony Hall 29th March). Finally I am really looking forward to visiting the “Costa Del Folk” 14th-19th March in Benalmadena, Spain - five days of sun and folk music is just what I need writing this on a cold, wet and windy December afternoon! Keep safe. Malc. Malc Malc Gurnham ✆ 024 7634 5568 8 [email protected] MORE WARWICKSHIRE NEWS OVER PAGE