LEWES SATURDAY FOLK CLUB PROGRAMME

May June July August September October and Beyond
3 MAY SINGING IN THE MAY £6 cash Bring songs & tunes for the season. We serve home-made Maids of Honour, a traditional May treat made with cream cheese, almonds, eggs, lemons, currants & pastry. 10 MAY COME ALL YE £5 cash Bring songs, tunes, poems, stories. Vocal & instrumental groups are welcome. A good night to try performing in public for the first time to friendly listeners. Derek Seed is in the chair. 17 MAY KEN WILSON £12 cash https://www.kenwilsonalbums.com/about/ Ken is one of that glorious vocal powerhouse The Wilsons. He's also a compelling solo singer with a wide range of traditional & new songs. 24 MAY COME ALL YE £5 cash Bring songs, tunes, poems, stories. Vocal & instrumental groups are welcome. A good night to try performing in public for the first time to friendly listeners. Derek Seed is in the chair. 31 MAY BELINDA KEMPSTER & FRAN FOOTE £12 cash A mother & daughter duo singing traditional songs from their native Essex with great charm & authenticity. Many of their songs were learned from Belinda’s great uncle, farm labourer Ernie Austin, who was recorded for Topic's 'Voice of the People' series in 1974.
7 JUNE DAVE WEBBER & ANNI FENTIMAN £12 cash http://www.oldandnewtradition.com/daveandanni/ Glorious, rich vocal harmony in traditional songs & many written by Dave, unaccompanied & with concertina. Anni favours songs originating from her native North East. Dave writes songs in traditional vein, many of which have become classics. 14 JUNE TOM LEWIS £12 cash https://www.tomlewis.net/ Traditional sea songs & ones of his own, with ukulele & melodeon. Tom's songs are beautiful, lively, compelling, intelligent & often funny. He draws on his own experience of life at sea (twenty-four years in Royal Nay submarines) & his great understanding of the history of ships & sailing. 21 JUNE BOB LEWIS £10 cash Unusual, beautiful & entertaining Sussex songs from a genuine source singer with a fine voice & singing style. 28 JUNE PETE COE £12 cash https://petecoe.co.uk/ A one-man folk festival & huge influence on how we play the music now, Pete is a fine & influential singer, musician, songwriter, dancer & caller, playing bouzouki, mountain dulcimer, frailing banjo & the pulsing melodeon. SUNDAY 29th. June PETE COE 'DANCE MUSIC FROM THE DALES' 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 for all instruments. A great way to learn some splendid tunes with Pete's fascinating insights into what social dancing was like a few generations ago. If you're looking for new repertoire, you'll never go wrong nicking tunes off Pete.
5 JULY COME ALL YE £5 cash Bring songs, tunes, poems, stories. Vocal & instrumental groups are welcome. A good night to try performing in public for the first time to friendly listeners. Derek Seed is in the chair. 12 JULY PETER & BARBARA SNAPE £10 cash https://thesnapes.org.uk/ Traditional & music-hall songs & tunes from the North-West of England, with a mighty range of melodeons, authentic singing & plenty of good humour. 19 JULY BELVER £10 cash https://www.facebook.com/belverband New, powerful young band playing mainly English traditional songs & music: Harry Abel (vocals, fiddle, stomp box),Dom Doran (vocals, whistles, pipes, concertina) & Jack Hogsden (vocals, guitar, melodeons). 26 JULY DENISE & STUART SAVAGE £10 cash Denise and Stuart have performed for many years in a number of groups. Now as a duo, they focus on a mixture of traditional, Music Hall and their own written material, often in harmony - with English concertina accompaniment.
AUGUST 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 COME ALL YE £5 cash
6 SEPTEMBER ALAN DAY £8 cash Traditional & music-hall songs, tunes & monologues with Anglo concertina. 13 SEPTEMBER SCOLDS BRIDLE £10 cash https://www.facebook.com/p/Scolds-Bridle-100063539583625/ Sue Bousfield & Liz Moore sing their own songs, beautiful, funny & thought-provoking, in delightful vocal harmony, with guitar. 20 SEPTEMBER JOHN KIRKPATRICK £15 cash https://www.johnkirkpatrick.co.uk/ Email to reserve places, bring the right money in cash on the night John Kirkpatrick is a superb singer, great writer, fine dancer & the best English squeezer bar none. He is one of the great solo acts on the folk scene & has played with the Albions, Steeleye Span, Brass Monkey, Band of Hope & many more. JOHN KIRKPATRICK WORKSHOP: PLAYING FOR MORRIS DANCING (ANY INSTRUMENT) 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day SUNDAY 21st SEPTEMBER JOHN KIRKPATRICK WORKSHOP: SHROPSHIRE CAROLS IN HARMONY 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day 27 SEPTEMBER LEVERET £15 cash https://www.leveretband.com/ Email to reserve places, bring the right money in cash on the night Leveret features three of England's finest folk musicians in an exciting collaboration. Andy Cutting (melodeon) Sam Sweeney (fiddle) & Rob Harbron (English concertina) are each masters of their instrument & are involved in numerous collaborations with a huge range of artists. Together their performances combine consummate musicianship, compelling delivery & captivating spontaneity. ANDY CUTTING MELODEON WORKSHOP 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day ROB HARBRON CONCERTINA WORKSHOP 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day SAM SWEENEY ENGLISH FIDDLE WORKSHOP 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day
4 OCTOBER TOM KITCHING & MARIT FAELT £12 cash http://www.tomkitching.co.uk/ 'WHERE THERE'S BRASS' Tom is an inspired fiddler with his own style & an accomplished writer. Marit is a brilliant Nordic mandola player. 'Where There's Brass' tells the story of the contemporary London waterways: a floating slum at worst, a bohemian, alternative, vibrant community at best. It is a love letter to the waterways & a rallying cry for what they can be in the future. The stories old and new are interwoven with a specially composed suite of music. 11 OCTOBER THE WILDERNESS YET £15 cash https://www.thewildernessyet.com/ Email to reserve places, bring the right money in cash on the night Rosie Hodgson (voice, songwriter, guitar, banjo) Rowan Piggott (fiddle, voice) & Philippe Barnes (flute, guitar) mix Irish, Scottish, Swedish flavours into traditional & new songs with a deep love of the natural world. ROWAN PIGGOTT: SWEDISH FIDDLE WORKSHOP 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day PHILIPPE BARNES: IRISH FLUTE WORKSHOP 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day 18 OCTOBER ALISTAIR BRAIDWOOD & TIM LAYCOCK £12 cash https://www.timlaycock.co.uk/ Email to reserve tickets, bring the right money in cash on the night Tim Laycock is a fine singer, Crane duet concertina player, songwriter, actor & storyteller with a deep love of the songs & music of Dorset. Alistair is a singer, actor & highly skilled with more than one sort of yarn. They present a mixture of songs, tunes & stories from the West country & beyond. 25 OCTOBER GEOFF LAKEMAN £10 cash https://www.geofflakeman.co.uk/ Geoff sings entertaining & thoughtful English & Irish trad songs, Americana & jazz with Crane duet concertina. He’s the dad of Seth, Sean & Sam & father-in-law of Cara Dillon & Kathryn Roberts.
LEWES SATURDAY FOLK CLUB MUSIC WORKSHOPS 2025 (more to come) 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.
15 Nov Jess & Richard Arrowsmith - Vocal harmony 13 Dec Jackie Oates - English fiddle 13 Dec John Spiers - Melodeon