Events

Fri 12 September Martin Simpson

“In a class of his own: a superb storyteller and a musician of great depth and virtuosity”

The remarkable intimate solo performances Martin Simpson gives go from strength to strength – every gig is a masterclass. He travels the length and breadth of the UK and beyond, giving rapt audiences passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy and majesty through his playing.

Universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, his solo shows bear witness to an artist at the very top of his game.  His own song writing produced the poignant Never Any Good, from Prodigal Son, 2007’s Folk Album of the Year. He has had the most nominations of any performer in the 18 years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, an astonishing 32 times, 13 of those as Musician of the Year, winning that particular accolade twice. Some of his collaborators include Jackson Browne, Martin Taylor, June Tabor, Richard Hawley, Bonnie Raitt, Danny Thompson, David Hidalgo, Danú, Richard Thompson and Dom Flemons.

Martin’s most recent album was released in November last year to the usual critical acclaim.  Home Recordings  was recorded at his home by his regular producer, now neighbour, Andy Bell, and finds Martin singing and playing, literally amongst his beloved guitar and banjo collection and out on his Peak District-facing porch.

“What’s it like being the best guitar player in the world…?” Martin’s modesty and grace prevented him from answering this BBC Radio 4 interviewer’s question recently, but the facts speak for themselves. He is a true master of his art.

£18 earlybird /£20

online tickets booking fee 7.5%

Sun 28 September Eabhal   7.30pm

“Scottish brilliance. High energy and freshness from these rising stars”

To our delight we are able to showcase these rising stars of the Scottish folk scene. For those who love Breabach this will prove an absolute treat. This five-piece line-up features beautiful vocals, guitars, fiddle, bagpipes and accordion.

Eabhal have made a significant impact with their vibrant and energetic folk music. The band’s distinctive West Coast sound and dedication to their craft have earned them a prestigious Folk Band of the Year nomination in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2022 amongst multiple other awards and nominations over the past 10 years.

Eabhal have released two albums to date, the debut This is How The Ladies Dance in 2018 and the second Aisling, released in 2022, showcasing an array of arrangements of Gaelic and English songs. The band’s focus on kinship and connection to people, land, elevation and language are all reflected in their music.

£16 earlybird /£18   online tickets booking fee 7.5%

Fri 10 October The Haar

“Phenomenal. Unbelievable. Irish music as you have never heard it before. Absolute class”

The Haar brings the fresh talent of traditional Irish singer Molly Donnery combined with three of the most exciting instrumentalists on the folk and traditional music circuit: Cormac Byrne (Instrumentalist of the Year 2019, FATEA Magazine Music Awards), Adam Summerhayes (‘a Paganini of the traditional violin’ fROOTS) and Murray Grainger (‘Gorgeous stuff’ BBC Radio 3).

The band has its origins in a chance meeting between Adam, Cormac and Molly at a trad session at Craiceann Bodhrán Festival, Inis Oírr, resulting in an improvised live performance recorded by the shipwreck of the Plassey on the wild Atlantic seafront. It was to become typical of the unique ‘live reactive composition’ that characterises their music. With the addition of master accordionist Grainger, they entered the studio at the end of 2019 to record their debut album ’The Haar’ with no plans or arrangements, guided only by the live musical landscapes they created – the music was recorded as it flowed, often in the first and only take.

“We need more music like this; spontaneous, alive and affecting, The Haar will take you on a journey and have you appreciating the purest of life’s pleasures. Wonderful stuff.” Folk Radio UK.

Featuring not one but two FATEA Instrumentalists of the Year Award winners, The Haar take a familiar tune and turn it into something fresh that mysteriously feels as if you have known it forever.

As the band themselves say: “We let our imaginations run free with these old favourites,” and the result is breathtaking and ambitious.

“This is not a dyed-green-Guinness-and-a-bit-o’-craic Ireland, this is the coast of Connemara Ireland, this is watching the fog roll in around The Skellig Islands Ireland… Devastatingly beautiful” Bristol 24/7

Four musicians, each at the pinnacle of their respective fields, whose spontaneity thrives on the trust they put in each other to create their unique and “splendid balance of swirling instrumental magic and beautifully sung narratives” (Folk Radio UK).

£18 adv /20  online tickets booking fee 7.5%

Fri 31 October Grace will lead us home.

“A powerful, thought-provoking concert to mark Black History month”

John Newton was a bad boy teenager. Pressed-ganged at 17, he was sold as a slave himself to an African Princess; later became a slave ship captain and after being saved from a shipwreck devoted himself to God, writing the song that's become a worldwide symbol against oppression  - Amazing Grace.

To mark Newton’s 300th birthday, Angeline Morrison; Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne; Jon Bickley and John Palmer explore his life; the inextricable link between Amazing Grace and the slave trade; its iconic status as a protest against oppression and its relevance today.

Many of those singing it don’t know the story of the man who wrote it. Many more cannot reconcile his early life with the sentiments of the song.

Grace Will Lead Us Home uses traditional and new songs, linked by extracts  from Newton's and Wilberforce's diaries and writings alongside other contemporary commentaries, to highlight all aspects of his life, how Amazing Grace became such an iconic statement of protest and what it means in the modern world.

It’s the latest chapter in a three-year Arts Council-funded project that's already produced a series of exhibitions, podcasts, videos, lectures, seminars and an album (currently being revised for the tour).

The Guardian: Stirring and Imaginative 
Mojo Magazine: Echoes of Peter Bellamy’s The Transports – the sounds here are sweet indeed ****
Songlines: Powerful compositions, gorgeous arrangements  
Folking: Heady Stuff
Roots Magazine: A truly triumphal experience 
KLOF Magazine: A fine album with themes remarkably relevant to today

Angeline was born in Birmingham to a Jamaican mother and a father from the Outer Hebrides Her album Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience was The Guardian Folk Album of the Year in 2022.

Cohen is of Barbadian heritage and he was brought up in Birmingham and Worcester. Twice nominated as BBC Radio Two's Folk Artist of the Year, his trio Granny's Attic are currently celebrating their 15th anniversary with a nationwide tour. 
 

Jon is a poet, singer, songwriter and broadcaster, who is the director of the John Newton Project. He has also recorded an album on John Newton and William Cowper’s Olney Hymns
 

John is a narrator, writer and producer who created Ghosts, Werewolves and Countryfolk – Songs and Stories of Sabine Baring-Gould with Jim Causley and Miranda Sykes and the Vaughan Williams 150th anniversary Cathedral tour From Pub to Pulpit with Paul Hutchinson and Anna Tam’s Coracle and acapella Broomdasher

£16 earlybird/ £18

 online tickets booking fee 7.5%

Saturday 29 Nov Opa Rosa

“Fast paced, mesmerising Balkan and eastern European music to get you pulse going”

Fast gaining a reputation as one of Bristol’s most dynamic and virtuosic bands, Opa Rosa are an energetic acoustic ensemble sharing music from the Klezmer, Balkan, Greek & Roma traditions. With several combined decades of study and experience, all five musicians are well-versed in the musical traditions’ syntax and significance, capturing all the joy and sorrow that these traditions are so renowned for expressing.

Deeply rooted in Balkan traditions, Opa Rosa’s music aims to explore and reinvent the motifs of Eastern Europe by subtly drawing from other musical influences such as Post-Rock, Classical and Jazz. With their line-up of violin, clarinet, accordion, double bass and percussion, their unique and refined sound consists of an explosive and grooving rhythm section combined with intricate melodies soaring over rich and nuanced harmonic structures.

Following the release of their debut album ‘A Feast from the East’ they have toured internationally and captivated audiences with their high-energy and engaging performances. Recent gigs include a sold-out performance headlining Bristol Beacon, Green Note (London), Trinity Centre (Bristol), The Cornish Bank (Falmouth), Jamboree (London) and various festivals, including Smuggler’s Festival, Secret Garden Party, Valley Fest and Buddhafield.

£16  online tickets booking fee 7.5%

Fri 19 Dec Celebrating Christmas with Jon Doran and Janice Burns

“A beautiful, traditional start to Christmas”

Janice Burns & Jon Doran are an award-winning Anglo-Scottish duo who came together after discovering a shared love of traditional music and songs that tell vivid stories about the nature of life and our place in the world. Their album Great Joy to the New

 released in 2024 is a beautiful and collection of Christmas carols and winter tunes 

Janice & Jon’s ‘clever and uncluttered musical storytelling’ comes alive through tight vocal harmonies and sensitive interplay between mandolin, bouzouki, and guitar. Their arrangements have a spellbinding presence and an understated energy that transports their songs from the pages of books and manuscripts into the imagination of the listener.

They play lovely strings, they have gorgeous harmony arrangements. Really well crafted, intimate, beautifully understated. – Karine Polwart
 

Janice and Jon are both delightful singers with wonderfully musical voices. Their performances of traditional folk songs have a pleasing authenticity and they make delicious harmonies. They are also both fine instrumentalists of great skill and talent. Any appearance of theirs in a folk club or on the concert platform will guarantee you an experience you’ll remember.

– Sandra Kerr     £14/£16 online tickets booking fee 7.5%