LEWES SATURDAY FOLK CLUB PROGRAMME

7 September PETE SHEPHEARD & ARTHUR WATSON £12 Cash

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Pete plays melodeon & sings. He is a renowned collector of songs & tunes from travellers in Scotland & Gloucestershire. Arthur sings, especially the ballads of North-East Scotland, & plays whistles big & small. They bring together a wealth of songs gleaned directly from the many traditional singers they have known, & unaccompanied song is at the heart of their enthusiasm.

SUNDAY 8TH. September PETE SHEPHEARD & ARTHUR WATSON BALLAD FORUM

10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22)
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Pete & Arthur will each sing some ballads & facilitate a discussion drawn from aspects of ballad singing that interest the group (history, performance, varying versions, magic, folklore & so on). You are invited to bring along at least one traditional ballad of your choice to sing & talk about. To avoid clashes with other contributors. please state your preferred ballad in advance. If your choice has already been taken, we will let you know so that you can choose another. If you're not sure what counts as a ballad, email or ring 01273 476757 for a friendly chat about it.

14 September HARVEST SUPPER £6 Cash

Bring songs, tunes, poems & readings for the season. We serve home-made harvest loaves, English cheeses & English apples.

21 September TOM McCONVILLE £12 Cash

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Stylish, exciting Newcastle fiddler & outstanding singer performing with blistering skill, grace & plenty of humour.
TOM McCONVILLE FIDDLE WORKSHOP
10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22)
Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day
The workshop is about making tunes easier to play to suit the style of each musician. Tom will look at the bowing methods of the students & offer constructive help in their own studies. Tom is a fine teacher & his workshops are always a joyful experience.

28 September JAKE TWEDDLE & SIMON STALLARD £8 Cash

Traditional Irish & Scottish songs (some in Scots Gaelic) & tunes with haunting, thrilling flute & guitar.

5 October SONGS OF THE SEA £5 cash

Bring sea-songs & shanties of all kinds, tunes, poems, & readings about the sea & man's need, love, awe & fear of it.
Derek Seed is in the chair.

12 October THE RUDE MECHANICALS £8 cash

Barry Ruffell (fiddle, nyckelharpa, flute) Ruth Stevens (fiddle) Mick Parker (piano, accordion) & Ian Chisholm (guitar, mandolin) play a sparkling & entertaining mixture of dance tunes & airs from England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden & beyond.
Their rudemex website includes a magnificent collection of international tunes they have heard in a wide variety of sessions, including multi-part arrangements, & is a valuable resource for musicians.
(Crows postponed due to health issues.)

19 October HALLOWEEN £6 cash

Unfortunately Pete Coe has had to cancel because of illness (but we've instantly rebooked him for 28th. June next year).
Instead we will have a slightly early Halloween evening. We'll light the open fire & plenty of candles, & serve traditional Soul Cakes. Bring songs, tunes & readings with a supernatural element.
Everyone is welcome, especially if you'd like to sing or play. We mostly sing and play traditional music from the British Isles, but we enjoy other styles as well. We always start off with some English dance tunes for anyone with an instrument to join in.

26 October BOB KENWARD £10 cash

Bob sings & plays guitar. He writes beautiful and funny songs, many about his native Kent, with delicious verbal gymnastics and haunting tunes.

2 November SALLY IRONMONGER & BRIAN CARTER

(free - but email to reserve places as space is limited)
An evening to celebrate Charlotte Oliver's 70th. birthday with Sally's witty, powerful songs & singing & Brian's scintillating guitar. Doors open at 5:00 for nibbles & tunes.
From 8:00 p.m. the evening will run as normal.

9 November BRUCE MOLSKY £15 cash

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Bruce Molsky is one of the finest US Old-Time fiddle & banjo players, bringing excitement, beauty, humour & immense technical skill to the music. He dropped out of college to soak up authentic Appalachian mountain styles at the feet of its legendary pioneers, now long gone.

SUNDAY 10TH. November BRUCE MOLSKY US OLD-TIME FIDDLE WORKSHOP

10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22)
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The workshop will cover as many regional styles of American Southern Mountain ('Old Time') fiddling as we can get to, with emphasis on phrasing, rhythm, ornamentation & style, & developing skills for learning by ear. Some audio files will be supplied in advance, but no written music.

16 November DOC ROWE & JILL PIDD £12 cash

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Doc is well-known as the British tradition's most enthusiastic, knowledgeable & ingenious archivist, & he's an engaging singer as well. Jill performed in a trio with Mike & Ann Waterson under the name of MichaelAnnJillo. A CD of their recordings was released in 2023 in aid of cancer charities.
DOC ROWE 'SEASONS & SONGS' WORKSHOP
10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22)
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Doc Rowe is a brilliant collector of the traditional customs & songs of Britain with a phenomenal trove of videos, photos & sound recordings amassed over more than 50 years. During the day he will share fascinating, entertaining gems from his collection. There will be songs to join in with as well as to listen to.

23 November BOB LEWIS £10 cash

Bob is a genuine source singer of Sussex songs with a wonderfully wide repertoire, a beautiful voice, & graceful singing style. He always comes up with some surprises. In recent years he has been fitting some of Bob Copper's poems to traditional tunes.

30 November CULVERAKE £11 cash

Matt Quinn, Lizzy Hardingham & Seb Stone are three fine, energetic young singers & musicians specialising in traditional songs in vocal harmony. This new collaboration is set to go far.

SUSSEX ALL-DAY SINGAROUND

SATURDAY 18 JANUARY 2025 11:00 A.M. - 11:00 P.M

Royal Oak, Barcombe, BN8 5BA
The day begins as usual with an hour of join-in tunes while people arrive. Singing starts at noon.
Ballads and the occasional instrumental party piece are very welcome.
There's a break from 6.00 - 7.00 p.m. After the break we'll continue the singaround, and after completing the circuit of the room we'll try to put on anyone who hasn't yet sung. The last hour will be for glorious chorus songs.
Food is on sale until 9:00 p.m.
Admission with collection of a suggested £1 a head.