Solstice Sadness

As the summer solstice passes for another year I always feel a slight pang of sadness that the daylight hours will now be getting shorter, but the good news is that most of the summer is still ahead of us with lots of music and festivals ahead – and Glastonbury always brightens my spirits, even from a couch in front of the TV!

Some important news from the clubs to begin with! Unfortunately, the Acoustic Club at Bishop’s Stortford has had to make a temporary move into alternative accommodation following an incident at The Horns at the Half Moon which has been closed by the Local Authority, Police and Licensing Authority for a period of two months. For the next 6 weeks they have managed to relocate to the South Mill Arts Centre, South Road Bishops Stortford and will continue there until the issues with the former venue are resolved. On Thursday this week they are hosting a ‘7 Acts, 4 Songs’ night starting at 8.15 and on 6^th July Elizabeth and Jameson are their headliners.  More details on their website: http://www.acousticclub.co.uk/

Tomorrow (Wednesday 28th) the Four Rivers Folk Club in Hertford has Karen Johnson & Tony Clarke then on Friday 30th, Royston Live has The Four String Five otherwise known as Lloyd Crowley and his Ukulele band along with Elli Walker and The Folly. The club then closes for the summer period until Friday 25^th August when they will be back with a showcase night. Do try and catch the marvellous Martin Simpson at St Neots Folk Club on Tuesday 4^th July if you can and the following night Baldock Folk Club are having a Canada Night with Viv Lucas and Rhys Wilson. Links to both clubs and can be found on the main Unicorn Folk website in the Unicorn Diary (under Listings).

There are 3 festivals coming up soon in the Unicorn Folk region. The first, already trailed in a previous blog but worth a reminder, is Kimpton Folk Festival on Saturday 1^st July taking place in the Hertfordshire Village of the same name and featuring Phil Beer, the Urban Folk Quartet, Reg Meuross & Lizzy Hardingham. The following week, Ely Folk Festival runs from 7^th to the 9^th July and features Ferocious Dog, the Eliza Carthy Trio, Katie Spencer and The Magpies amongst others. You can hear tracks by the last two on the 2nd July on Filby’s Folk, a new show on Royston Radio at 7pm on Sunday evenings – a mixture of classic folk and recent releases. There is a link on the main Unicorn Folk website and podcasts are available for the shows you have missed. If you like folk, folk rock, electric folk, and acoustic music and variations on those themes you will probably like the show.

Another festival due soon is Folk by The Oak in Hatfield Park on Sunday 16^th July featuring a list of stellar performers including The Waterboys, Nick Mulvey, This Is The Kit, Lady Maisery and The Longest Johns, amongst others, and at least a couple of those artists we will feature on Filby’s Folk on Sunday 9^th July – and you can always catch up with the podcast if you are at Ely Folk Festival on that day.

Lots more festivals taking place throughout the summer and around the UK can of course be found in the Festival Finder in the Listings on the main Unicorn Folk website.

Forthcoming Festivals

You may have guessed from my blog titles that I like a bit of alliteration, so when I say ‘forthcoming’ I actually mean ‘imminent’ and you can find links to all the festival details in the Festival Finder listing on the main Unicorn Folk website.

St Neots Folk Club hold their annual folk festival this coming weekend starting on Friday 9th and have a great lineup with Jez Lowe, Jack In A Barrel and Miranda Sykes amongst the acts on show.

Not that far away from St Neots is the riverside village of Turvey in Bedfordshire and they are holding their first Turvey Day of Folk on Saturday 17^th June. It will be a day of folk dance, music and song for all the family with dance displays, a family ceilidh with the masterly Barry Goodman calling for 3sticks and an evening concert featuring Granny’s Attic and Jack In A Barrel. A chance to sample some excellent food and beer is also promised.

Next up is the wonderful one day Bury Folk Festival on Saturday 24th June in the walled garden at Nowton Park to the south of Bury St Edmunds. There are lots of artists on show during the day and I can personally recommend Tin Giants, Karen McWhinnie & Friends (Matt Kelly & Gary Woolley if I’m not mistaken – a great duo in their own right), Cambridge & Walker and Brooks Williams, all but the latter having played at Royston MusicFest.

Following that, on Saturday 1^st July, Kimpton Folk Festival takes place in the Hertfordshire Village of the same name. It’s a lovely accessible family festival but they also have some excellent star performers including Phil Beer, the Urban Folk Quartet and Reg Meuross. You can also catch rising star Lizzy Hardingham there who is always worth a listen.

There are plenty more festivals in the next few weeks and throughout the summer and the Festival Finder on the main Unicorn Folk website lists most if not all of them. If you know of a folk festival that I haven’t picked up please send me details using the info@unicornfolk.uk email address.

You can actually listen to Lizzy Hardingham on the 18^th June on Filby’s Folk, a new show on Royston Radio at 7pm on Sunday evenings – a mixture of classic and recent releases. But don’t wait until then to listen! There is a link on the main Unicorn Folk website or just google Royston Radio – and podcasts are available for the shows you have missed. If you like folk, folk rock and acoustic music and variations on those themes you will probably like the show.

Just a quick round up of the clubs now – tonight St Neots Folk Club host Daria Kulesh & Marina Osman; on Wednesday 7^th you can catch the aforementioned Kelly & Woolley along with Emily Slade at Baldock Folk Club and the same night, further afield, you will find the Kris Drever Band at The Stables, Milton Keynes. On Friday 9th Royston Live host Steve Warner + Stella Helmsley’s Musical Amigos for the bargain price of £7 for tickets booked in advance. You can find all these and more in the Unicorn Diary listing on the main Unicorn Folk website.

… and finally, just another plug for that new show Filby’s Folk on Royston Radio. Go on, give it a listen whilst you are cooking, or just chilling at 7pm on a Sunday evening!