- 7 October SEA SONGS with DON & DI MORGAN £6
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Bring songs & tunes of the sea - not only shanties, but music inspired by humanity's love, fear & need for the oceans. Don and Di Morgan are your hosts.
Everyone is welcome, especially if you'd like to sing or play. - 14 October JACK RUTTER £12 cash
- Fine young singer of traditional songs, accompanying brilliantly on guitar, bouzouki & duet concertina. Kathryn Tickell writes, 'In the spirit of the old traditional singers, Jack Rutter takes a song, shapes it, lives with it and brings out something unique. This album makes my heart sing.' Jack has played with Seth Lakeman, Sam Sweeney, & Jackie Oates, as well as in the celebrated instrumental trio Moore Moss Rutter.
- 21 October NEW SCORPION BAND £15 cash
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Email to reserve tickets, pay cash on the night
Robin Jeffrey (voice, lute, mandolin, guitars) Brian Gulland (voice, bassoon, shawm, flute, oboe, tuba, crumhorn) Sharon Lindo (voice, violin, viola, guitar, rebec, trombone, whistle, curtal) & Robert White (voice, bagpipes, whistles, flutes. brass, percussion) are distinguished performers of mediaeval & Renaissance music who also have a full-blooded approach to traditional music. Between them they have played with The Sixteen, the King's Consort, The Purcell Quartet, Nigel Kennedy, Musica Reservata, London Pro Musica, Gryphon, & Jimi Hendrix.
NEW SCORPION BAND WORKSHOP: EARLY MUSIC FOR FOLK MUSICIANS
Saturday 21 October 10:45 - 16:45 £45 (2 under-25s £22 Email to reserve places)
Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day
The music will cover the period between Henry VIII and the Restoration. We will represent as many genres of popular music as possible, both vocal & instrumental, discussing the ways in which these interacted. Much of the music will be anonymous, but Court composers such as William Cornish & Thomas Morley will also turn up, when their work touched on popular tradition, & there will of course be an appearance from Thomas Ravenscroft, the great popular composer and arranger. We will also learn a good collection of broadside ballad tunes, & some of their texts.
The music we will be using will all be available as Muse Score files during the month before the workshop, so nobody will have to read any notes. All musical parts will be provided with the melody, a bass line & chord symbols. - 28 October SUNTRAP £10 cash
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Suntrap are an English five-piece folk band specialising in a unique musical experience of folk-inspired traditional, original and contemporary songs featuring entrancing harmonies.
Vocals, Guitar, Accordion, Banjo, Whistle: Sara Byers
Vocals, Violin, Mandolin: Mary Wilson
Vocals, Guitar, Ukulele: Sue Graves
Violin, Viola, Cello, Vocals: John Sandall
Double bass, Accordion, Guitar, Everything: Tom Evans
- 4 November CLOSED FOR LEWES BONFIRE
- 11 November BRYONY GRIFFITH & ALICE JONES £12 cash
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Email to reserve tickets, pay cash on the night
Unusual, powerful traditional songs from Yorkshire with fiddle, guitar & body percussion from Bryony (Witches of Elswick, Demon Barbers, fiddler for Newcastle Kingsmen) & Alice (Pete Coe’s Black Box Band, Ryburn3Step) with huge energy & authenticity.
BRYONY GRIFFITH VOCAL HARMONY WORKSHOP
Saturday 11 November 10:45 - 16:45 £45 (2 under-25s £22 Email to reserve places)
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Bryony is a highly accomplished fiddler & distinctive singer in the English traditional style. Joining acclaimed ceilidh band Bedlam in her teens, she later became musician for Dog Rose Morris & The Newcastle Kingsmen, sang with 4-part female a cappella group The Witches of Elswick & was a key member of The Demon Barbers. She now performs solo, in duos with Will Hampson & Alice Jones, & in The English Fiddle Ensemble. Bryony is a vocal & fiddle tutor on the Folk, Roots & Blues degree at Leeds Conservatoire & runs a cappella folk choir Shepley Singers.
The workshop will cover three of Bryony's 4-part (SATB) a cappella vocal arrangements of Winter/Christmas songs. Teaching will be by ear but dots & lyrics will also be provided. All abilities, no experience needed. - 18 November JAN CREAYE & BRIAN COPE £9 cash
- Two fine unaccompanied singers of mainly traditional songs. Jan specializes in ballads & tales of mystery, Brian in more convivial & humorous songs. Plenty of choruses.
- 25 November JAMES DELARRE & SAUL ROSE £15 cash
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Email to reserve tickets, pay cash on the night
Timeless combination of fiddle & melodeon with a few traditional songs for good measure. James is a fine fiddler, largely self-taught, blending English fiddle styles with his own to produce an exciting, distinctive sound with a great range of moods. He's worked with Jim Moray, Mawkin:Causley, Mawkin, & Topette. Saul is an outstanding melodeon player. He's played in The Kings of Calicutt (with Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr) Waterson:Carthy, Whapweasel, the Jim Moray Band, & Faustus. He has played The Songman in the West End show Warhorse.
JAMES DELARRE FIDDLE WORKSHOP
Saturday 25 November 10:45 - 16:45 £45 (2 under-25s £22 Email to reserve places)
Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day
The Lewes Arms, 1 Mount Place, Lewes, BN7 1YH
James is a fine young fiddler, largely self-taught, blending English fiddle styles with his own to produce an exciting, distinctive sound with a great range of moods. He's been a professional musician since his late teens, working with Jim Moray, Mawkin:Causley, Mawkin, a duo with Saul Rose & Topette (Andy Cutting, Barnaby Stradling, Julien Cartonette & Tania Buisse).The workshop will focus on developing the player's personal style, dissecting tunes to find the elements that make them come alive, use of techniques used to deepen an understanding of the melodies. Some music will be sent in advance.
SAUL ROSE MELODEON WORKSHOP
Saturday 25 November 10:45 - 16:45 £45 (2 under-25s £22 Email to reserve places)
Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day
Elephant & Castle, White Hill, Lewes BN7 2DJ
Saul is a fine melodeon player. A professional since his late teens, he came to traditional music through Morris dancing. He's played in The Kings of Calicutt (with Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr) Waterson:Carthy, Whapweasel, the Jim Moray Band, Faustus, and in a duo with James Delarre. He has played The Songman in the West End show Warhorse.
The workshop will focus on getting the most out of your melodeon. 2 rows and 8 basses can be quite versatile. Using common tunes we'll free up the left and right hands and play some great accompaniments.
- 2 December JIM CAUSLEY: A CAUSLEY CHRISTMAS £9 cash
- Jim's glorious voice, accordion, charm & humour bring the traditional songs of Devon to life. He also writes his own excellent songs & makes tunes for the poems of his ancestor Charles Causley. A delightful seasonal performance.
- 9 December SHEPHERDS ARISE £8 cash
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Email to reserve tickets, pay cash on the night - numbers are limited because there are so many people in the performance
Old Sussex carols from church manuscript books & oral tradition, tunes & readings from Sussex sources, Sussex Mummers' Play. Voices, flute, clarinet, concertina, bassoon, whistles, serpent. - 16 December ROBB JOHNSON: BAH HUMBUG £10 cash
- Robb is one of the most powerful & prolific songwriters of his generation & a dynamic guitarist. His songs have warmth, passion, humanity & humour. They're both political & personal.
- 23 December CHRISTMAS PARTY £6 cash
- We light the open fire & a blaze of candles & serve home-made mince pies. Bring a Christmas party piece of any kind or choose a carol from our book for everyone to sing. Ball gowns & vintage evening dress encouraged.
- 30 December TO DRIVE THE COLD WINTER AWAY £5 cash
- Bring winter songs & tunes, unexploded carols, Christmas cracker jokes, complaints about your family, or anything remotely seasonal. A good night to try performing in public for the first time. Instrumental & vocal groups welcome.
- 6 January COPPER FAMILY £15 cash
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The Copper Family of Rottingdean in Sussex sing the songs their family has loved and preserved for at least seven generations - songs of farming, sailing, love, drink, war, sport, drama and comedy. They use the vocal harmonies handed down through the generations as well. They are as Sussex as chalk paths, flint walls and Harveys beer. - 13 January WASSAIL by fire & candlelight £6 cash
- We light the log fire and the candles tonight. Bring songs and tunes for winter and wassailing. Bring a long twig from your own apple tree for our indoor wassailing ceremony to share in any blessing it might give. We'll be serving Twelfth Cake, (orange peel, crystallised ginger, honey, spices, rum) and a wassail bowl of hot spiced old ale.
- 20 January SUSSEX ALL-DAY SINGAROUND Free with modest collection
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The open fire will burn all day & we'll light candles for the last couple of hours. Ballads & the occasional instrumental party piece are very welcome.
11:00 - noon Join-in tunes
6.00 - 7.00 p.m. Break.
Final generous hour of glorious choruses, ending at 23:00.
Food is on sale until 7:30 p.m.Last year the room got so full towards the end of the afternoon session. between about 4:30 & 6:00 p.m., that we should really have asked people to wait until it cleared a bit before letting them in. This is likely to happen again and we will have to keep the numbers in the room down to what the fire service allows. Do bear this in mind when thinking about what time you will arrive. There was no problem during the rest of the day.
Tea & coffee will be available in the clubroom through the day & evening with an honesty pot (£1.50 per cup) so you might like to bring change. - SUNDAY 21 JANUARY
- Tunes session at the Elephant & Castle, noon - 3:00 p.m.
- 27 January SEB STONE £9 cash
- Young traditional singer and uilleann piper from the Peak District. In 2022 he won the Future of Folk Award and the Shantyman of the Year Award at Bromyard Folk Festival, since when he has played at a multitude of festivals in the summer of 2023, appearing alongside Martin Carthy, Jim Mageean and The Wilson Family.
The workshops mostly last a full Saturday or Sunday & the tutor performs at the Elephant & Castle, White Hill, Lewes BN7 2DJ, on the Saturday evening. Email for places, pay cash on the day.
- 9 March Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne Melodeon
- 6 April Tom Kitching Fiddle
- 20 April Daoiri Farrell Bouzouki
- 18 May Coracle (Paul Hutchinson, Karen Wimhurst, Anna Tam) Early Music for Folk Musicians
- 8 June Carolyn Robson & Moira Craig Vocal harmony
- 15 June Dave Townsend & Ian Giles Village Band
- 7 or 8 Sept Pete Shepheard & Arthur Watson Ballad forum
- 21 Sept Tom McConville Fiddle
- 12 Oct Crows Song arrangement & accompaniment
- 10 Nov (Sunday) Bruce Molsky US Old-Time fiddle
- 16 Nov Doc Rowe & Jill Pidd 'Seasons & Songs'