Back to the Folk Clubs!

Oh dear! It’s a good job that August is a quiet month on the folk scene, for the clubs at least, although of course the opposite applies for festivals and I hope you enjoyed any that you went to. Unicorn Folk has been quiet for a while for reasons that I will come to, but in the meantime folk clubs are opening up again and there are some very interesting evenings awaiting music fans around here.

Royston Live actually started up on August 25^th and they are back with bang this coming Friday 8^th with a concert featuring the talented Ken Nicol of Steeleye Span and Albion band fame (amongst others) accompanied by classically trained violinist Wendy Ross. If that isn’t enough for one evening, for no extra dosh at all, you can sample the delightful sounds of DnA, Dave Oxley and Ali Cosser, in a new duo born out of ‘Sky West’.

On Thursday this week Bishop’s Stortford Acoustic Club is hosting Dave Sutherland in concert which will be an all ticket event – details on the website: http://www.acousticclub.co.uk/ Alternatively, if you are in the vicinity of Leytonstone tomorrow, Leytonstone Folk Club are hosting a Ceilidh with quality musicians at the bargain prices of £5 in advance and £7.50 on the door. You can even bring your own snacks and booze! Just click on the link for more details.

Speaking of Dave Oxley, his blues and ragtime partnership with fellow ‘SkyWester’ Martin Kaszak, ‘Cut the Mustard‘, is back live at the The Bull Beer Fest, Langley CB114SB this Saturday 9th Sept supported by ‘Pass the Buck’ and a lot of beer presumably! Starts 2pm.

The last couple of events are brought to you by way of Unicorn Folk’s grapevine but everything else can be found in the Unicorn Diary in the Listings on the main Unicorn Folk website.

On Sunday 10^th you are spoilt for choice with Hitchin Folk Club hosting John Tams and Black Fen Folk Club hosting Gilmore and Roberts. Later in the week on Wednesday 13th Ely Folk Club are hosting Phil Beer and to round things off for the week on Friday 15^th Watford Folk Club have the Polly Morris Band.

Into next weekend and Baldock Folk Club is hosting a day of live music at the Wimpole Estate Harv’Fest Festival with Free entry on Saturday 16th. Morning session – 11-12 – Kelly & Woolley and Greg Rose. Afternoon session – 1.30-2.30. – Kaszak & Afifi and Phil Hewett. Email Greg – greg_fieldfare@hotmail.com or text 07785328097 by Thursday 14th September to get free entry to the Wimpole Hall estate.

Now the big news that you have all been waiting for! Royston MusicFest is part of Royston Arts Festival and working on both has kept Unicorn Folk quiet during the peak summer weeks, if our disappointing weather this year can still allow that description of July and August! Now the MusicFest schedule is ready and all the expected artists and venues are shown on the roystonmusicfest.uk website. There are five venues this year with six mini-concerts of around 40 minutes each and excellent quality artists. Effectively, you can turn up at any venue and experience an extended session of quality music all for FREE. Do please buy a drink at the venue though, or perhaps treat yourself to lunch?

If you are not sure what to expect from MusicFest I suggest that you listen to the Special MusicFest Edition of Filby’s Folk going out on Royston Radio on Sunday 17^th September at 7pm. You will be able to hear something from every artist and a few words of explanation about the type of music they play. Then you can check the schedule and plan your Sunday afternoon at Royston MusicFest. You can also listen to all sorts of music on Royston Radio HERE at any time or catch up on the podcasts for Filby’s Folk if you miss the show on a Sunday evening.

Sad times at St Neots

Although I had exchanged a few emails with her I never actually met Patti Pritt, but I was very sorry to hear of her passing a little over a week ago because I had been told what a lovely person she was and folk clubs can ill afford to lose people with her dedication. That dedication to St Neots Folk Club lasted for over 40 years and the Club Committee has put out a message which you can read HERE. I would also like to pay tribute to Patti by observing that it is people like her who have kept the tradition of folk music alive with their dedication in providing an essential platform and outlet without which it could not possibly survive. I send my sincere condolences to Patti’s family and friends at St Neots folk club.

At this time of year many folk clubs in this part of the world and probably across the country are closing down for the month of August but there are still a few things going on this month which should be of interest to the folk enthusiast.

Starting next Friday 21^st July, The Stables at Milton Keynes is hosting a week long series of FREE ‘Sessions’ featuring some well-known musicians around this region including Lizzy Hardingham, Elizabeth and Jameson, Daria Kulesh, and Smith and Brewer. You can find all the details in the Unicorn Diary which has just been updated until the end of the year on the main Unicorn Folk website. Amongst the remaining folk club sessions this month I would recommend Linda Moylan at Baldock Folk Club and Ellie Walker at Ely Folk Club, both on Wednesday 19^th (you must choose!) and the John Ward Trio at Watford Folk Club on Friday 21^st having seen all of them perform recently, and I will add to that Causton & Walker at the Four Rivers Folk Club in Hertford on Wednesday 26^th as any session that Bryan and Penni are involved in is worth attending. Cambridge and Black Fen Folk Clubs are also hosting a joint Folk Day at Cambridge Museum of Technology on Saturday 22^nd July.

Some news now of a 180-mile sponsored walk this summer to raise money for the charity Help Musicians. Matthew Bannister the host of the multi-award-winning Folk on Foot podcast, will start his trek at the Wickham Festival in Hampshire on Friday, August 4 and finish two weeks later at the FolkEast Festival in Suffolk which runs from August 18-20. He will be joined along the way by many well-known musicians who will perform and help raise money for the Help Musicians charity. You can find all the details in a downloadable pdf with links to all the venues HERE.

If you love folk music (presumably why you are reading this blog) have time to spare on a Sunday evening or just want some entertainment whilst you are cooking dinner then you could do worse than listen to Filby’s Folk at 7pm on Royston Radio. Listen HERE or catch up on the podcasts for Filby’s Folk if you miss them on a Sunday.

Finally, if you miss the folk clubs during August then there are lots of festivals taking place around the UK, which can of course be found in the Festival Finder in the Listings on the main Unicorn Folk website.

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!

Music in May

There is some good music coming up locally over the coming weekend and the following days.

Cambridge Junction are leading the way by hosting Talisk on Saturday 20^th May. Talisk feature virtuoso concertina player Mohsen Amini, who, together with guitarist Graeme Armstrong and fiddle player Benedict Morris produces a high energy fusion of traditional folk and Celtic rock. Amini is also a member of the band Ímar and you can find a review of their latest album, ‘Awakening’, on the main Unicorn Folk website under ‘Music’ then ‘CD Reviews’ on the top menu.

At the Junction on Sunday 21^st are Lady Maisery who are Hazel Askew, Hannah James and Rowan Rheingans. All of them have their own solo careers and projects but have been playing together for around 12 years now They play a variety of instruments including harp, melodeon, harmonium, accordion and electric guitar. You can also read a review of their latest album ‘Tender’ on the main Unicorn Folk website and you can also find out where both Talisk and Lady Maisery and many other artists are touring by checking details in the ‘Gigs & Tours’ listing which appears on the top right of each page on the website.

If you are quick off the mark you can also see Alden & Patterson at Cambridge Folk Club tonight and yet again a CD Review is available on the on the main Unicorn Folk website.

Katie Spencer endeared herself to Royston audiences back in 2017 when she was the very close runner-up to The Trials of Cato in (then) Royston Folk Club’s Young Artist Competition which was also supported by Creative Royston which runs Royston Arts Festival (and Royston MusicFest) – I even presented Katie with her prize! On Friday 26^th Royston Live host Katie who has since acquired a growing reputation on the folk circuit but funnily enough there isn’t yet a CD review on the website, though as I possess a couple of Katie’s CDs I should probably rectify that! Katie is supported on the 26th by Chris Wright and Faradena Afifi.

As well as the above you can find many more events in the Unicorn Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website (under ‘Listings’) which has been updated to the end of July now and that is supplemented by the other ‘Listings’ – the Festival Finder; Gigs & Tours, and the Dance Diary.

There are more CD reviews to catch up on the main website and if all goes to plan ‘Filby’s Folk’ will be launched on Royston Radio this coming Sunday in its regular slot of 7pm and the show will be sponsored by Unicorn Folk. It will be a mixture of folk music from the days of the original folk revival in the late sixties and early seventies, plus tracks from the latest albums by artists such as Talisk, Lady Maisery and Katie Spencer.

For the next blog we will look at reviewing the forthcoming festival scene which starts in earnest with the late May bank holiday.

In the meantime, enjoy your music and the warmer weather that has hopefully arrived to stay – at least for a few months!

Morris in May

Back in the late 70’s I regularly danced the Morris as part of Bath City Morris, the now sadly defunct University side, who were coached by Tubby Reynolds and occasionally by Roy Dommett CBE who was a good friend of Tubby’s. It’s fair to say that most of us students had little idea of how distinguished a tutor we had in Roy Dommett who was also the UK’s Chief Missile Scientist at the time. We were also extremely lucky to have Tubby the founder of Letterkenny Folk Festival as our Morris tutor and general provider of fun and mischief, in a nice way. Tubby and his wife Betty, who established the first Women’s Morris side as part of Bath City Morris, were wonderfully generous people who had a positive influence on the lives of many young students. Lots of us ended up as married couples, amongst them my wife, Tina, and I.

What’s brought on this bout of nostalgia, I hear you ask?  The answer of course is the proximity of 1^st May, when, following a fine old Morris tradition, many sides up and down the country will be out celebrating the start of summer on May Day. Some sides will be up at the crack of dawn, or even earlier to “dance the sun in”. You may not wish to start a Monday morning quite that early but if you get a chance to see your local side why not go along and support them and perhaps throw a few coins (if you have any these days) in the hat to help slake the thirst of the performers or contribute to whichever worthwhile cause they are collecting for as Morris sides often do. You can find a link to the Morris Ring on the main Unicorn Folk website and they have a long list of Morris sides dancing on May Day.

One of the founder members of the Morris Ring, Letchworth Morris, are out dancing with Bedford Morris on 1^st May and their programme can be found the Dance Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website (under ‘Listings’). Alas, I will be otherwise engaged running a stall, along with other volunteers, at the Royston May Fayre for Creative Royston which runs Royston Arts Festival. Later in the year I will be flagging up details of Royston MusicFest which is part of the festival.

One supporter of the Morris in years gone by is Martin Carthy, who I believe was involved with Bampton Morris at one time, and will be appearing with daughter Eliza at St Andrew’s Church in Hertford on Friday 5^th May. You can find a link to the ticketing details on the main Unicorn Folk website frontpage under ‘Featured Festivals & Concerts’.

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing ‘Tin Giants’ play at Royston Live on Friday May 12th. That is one of many events in May in local clubs which you can find listed in the Unicorn Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website (under ‘Listings’). The festival season got seriously under way this weekend and you can find all the details of upcoming events in the Festival Finder on the front/home page website on the main Unicorn Folk website. That link can also be found under ‘Listings’ along with details of ‘Gigs & Tours’ if you want to find out where concerts are being held by currently touring artists.

Whatever shape your May Day celebrations take, here’s wishing you a wonderful summer.

April Awakenings

At the end of March Chris Wood was due to appear at Royston Live and initially I was disappointed to hear that he had succumbed to Covid and was unable to appear. That feeling quickly disappeared on the night when Thursday’s Band took to the stage and despite the absence of Mark Gamon (get well soon Becky Wears!) played a really enjoyable set. Jeremy Harmer followed up with a fine set of his own compositions and Kelvin Davies and Gary Jones get better every time I see them and finished off an excellent evening of music. Royston Live are back tomorrow evening with The John Ward Trio supported by Steve Christopher, and The Elusive Third, for what I think is likely to be another great evening of music.

If you have already had a look in the Unicorn Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website (under ‘Listings’) you will know that there are some great gigs coming up shortly in our area to celebrate our awakening from Winter’s grasp! If you are nearer North West London than Royston tomorrow night then you might wish to go and see Mandy Woods at Watford Folk Club. Further still, going North-West of London towards the Chilterns, the Berkhamsted Campaign for Real Music are hosting the Urban Folk Quartet also tomorrow night, Friday 14^th April.

Winter Wilson provided a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment at Royston Live in January and you can catch them at St Neots Folk Club on Tuesday 18^th April. On the following day, Wednesday 19^th April, The Stables, Milton Keynes host Maddy Prior and The Carnival Band. The day after that on Thursday 20^th, Pat Crilly and Greg Camburn, who always in my experience provide some cracking songs and tunes, appear at the Acoustic Club Bishop’s Stortford with no less than eight, yes eight support acts.

Later on in the month, Baldock Folk Club is running a St George’s Day Special with the talented Odette Michell + The String Section on Wednesday 26th; Pat Crilly is running consecutive nights on Wednesday 26^th and Thursday 27^th at his Four Rivers Folk Club in Hertford featuring respectively Dave Sutherland and then a Ronnie Lane and the Faces evening, before we come round full circle again to Royston Live on the 28^th with the Charley Foskett Band.

What a great selection of music to check out over the coming fortnight! You can find all the links to the clubs for details of timings and ticket prices in the Unicorn Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website (under ‘Listings’).

If that isn’t enough then the festival season starts in earnest at the end of April and you can find all the details of upcoming events in the Festival Finder on the front/home page of the main Unicorn Folk website (also under ‘Listings’).

Finally, with the May Day celebrations approaching, a reminder that we could do with some more entries for the Dance Diary (also under ‘Listings’) which provides an excellent opportunity for traditional English dance groups and Morris sides to have their activities listed FREE of charge. Surely some sides out there must be doing something to celebrate May Day? So, do please send your programmes to info@unicornfolk.uk and remember to use the appropriate Word or Excel form when doing so – all the details can be found on the main Unicorn Folk website and this link will take you to the Dance Diary page or just look under ‘Events’ on the top menu for Folk & Morris Dance.

Running out of time!

Those active on social media may be aware that after an apparently enjoyable concert on Thursday night at St Andrew’s Church, Hertford, Cara Dillon found that her set lists and lyrics had gone missing. These are very personal for Cara and accumulated over a long period, and she was understandably distressed at the loss. I have it on very good authority that St Andrew’s acted very promptly to try and recover the items and I understand that the items have now been recovered. Good news for Cara and well done to St Andrew’s for their prompt action for which they surely deserve a quick plug for their next event, being Martin & Eliza Carthy  on Friday 5 May – full details on the main Unicorn Folk website frontpage.

Since the last blog there have been a few updates to the main Unicorn Folk website and a new ‘Listing’ introduced with details of ‘Gigs and Tours’. These are essentially current and upcoming tour dates and gigs, though sometimes there is not much distinction between the two. The list will be expanded as and when we hear of more details and any band or artist performing ‘folk’ in its broadest sense is welcome to ask for their tour details to be listed – just email info@unicornfolk.uk with artist name and a link to the tour dates.

Many of the artists in the new listing have been the subject of CD Reviews which you can read on the main Unicorn Folk website – see under ‘Music’, then ‘CD Reviews’ on the top menu. For example, Megson launched their new CD ‘What Are We Trying To Say’ (review coming soon) on March 24^th and are halfway through a promotional tour and a number of other gigs. When a tour is effectively completed then the artist’s name will disappear from the list unless there are a few more gigs in the offing. We hope that this will prove to be a valuable service to readers.

Amongst others in the pipeline for CD Reviews are the new offerings from The Young’uns, ‘Tiny Notes’, and Gnoss, ‘Stretching Skyward’. The latest additions are ‘Cuckoo Tree’ by Kelly and Woolley and ‘Dusk Moon’ by Rura, the latter being on the ‘Gigs and Tours’ list and in Cambridge on March 27^th for those able to get there. Judging from the CD a concert by Rura will be well worth catching.

The Unicorn Folk ‘Festival Finder’ can be found under ‘Listings’ on the front/home page of the main Unicorn Folk website and has just been updated. It contains just over 100 listings for festivals starting this weekend and continuing until October and more entries will be added as they become known, so it is worth checking every now and then for updates.

Finally, a quick plug for remaining dates in March in the Unicorn Folk area. The Stables, Milton Keynes host The Fureys on the 28^th; Martin Simpson on the 29^th, and Police Dog Hogan on the 31^st. Baldock Folk Club host the Boxwood Chessmen and Barry Goodman on the 29^th; the Acoustic Club Bishop’s Stortford have Terry Hiscock & Roger Pavitt + 8 Support Acts on the 30^th and Royston Live have Chris Woods supported by the popular Thursday’s Band on Friday 31^st. You can find all this information and more about ‘What’s On’ in our area in the Unicorn Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website under ‘Events’ on the top menu.

March is running out of time so enjoy your last weekend of the month and don’t forget to put the clocks forward!

What’s On In March

If you are very quick there is still time to catch a gig on Fairport Convention’s Wintour 2023 and if you need convincing then just read the review of their concert in Harpenden on the main Unicorn Folk website HERE. After that and you will have to content yourselves with Chris Leslie and Dave Mattacks who will be part of the Feast of Fiddles 11-date tour running from 20 March until 1 April, details HERE.

More locally, there are some big names coming soon in March including Cara Dillon at St Andrew’s Church in Hertford on Thursday 23^rd March. More details and ticket links can be found on the main Unicorn Folk website frontpage and this is part of a 13-date tour which starts today 2^nd March.

The mention of Cara Dillon, with her links to the Lakeman family, provides a neat segue into the next topic which is the upcoming tour by Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman starting on March 18^th. The tour will showcase their new album ‘Almost A Sunset’ and you can find links in the review which appears on the main Unicorn Folk website (under Music/CD Reviews) and also in the interview which Kathryn and Sean kindly gave to Unicorn Folk – see under Music/Interviews.

Royston Live put on a great night recently when they had Fred’s House headlining to bring some of their own songs along with a touch of Fleetwood Mac and other covers to a full house at the club’s venue at Royston British Legion. At the end of March Royston Live host a very influential folk musician, Chris Wood, who has worked with the greats of English folk music but also performs in the French and Québécois traditions. Details via the link on the main Unicorn Folk website

St Neots Folk Club host Steve Tilston on Tuesday 21^st March and the Stables at Milton Keynes has a range of well-known folk acts appearing in March, including Feast of Fiddles, The Fureys and Martin Simpson. These and a range of other gigs in Baldock, Hertford, Bishop’s Stortford, Watford & Milton Keynes. amongst others, can be found in the Unicorn Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website under ‘Listings’

Finally, a reminder for Dance societies and Morris sides, as they are putting together their plans for the year that their activities can be listed for free in the new Dance Diary  onthe main Unicorn Folk website under ‘Listings’.

Into February with Fairport

Into February and one month nearer some higher temperatures, hopefully, but no doubting there is some excellent music to look forward to this month!

Last time at Royston Live we had a memorable evening in the form of a double headline set from Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer. There was some great support from John Meed, in fine form, and Tennessee Twin. The next gig is Friday 10^th February when That Blue Patch will be performing their eclectic mix of Americana, Blues, Jazz, Roots & Country supported by one of my favourite duos, Kelly & Woolley all at the unbelievably great price of just £10 on the door, or an amazing £7 in advance!!

Another great value night out can be had at the Acoustic Club in Bishop’s Stortford where Thursday 16^th February is Young Player’s Night with headliners The Exile Club and the cash price on the door is only £5. Have a look at the Unicorn Diary on the main Unicorn Folk website to find out what else is going on in the local folk, roots & acoustic music scene. This includes such venues as The Stables at Milton Keynes and the Unicorn Diary picks out their folk-related concert evenings for you from amongst the wide range of entertainment to be found at that venue.

Fairport Convention are back on the road again and Unicorn Folk has a special treat for all our readers with an interview with Peggy, bass player extraordinaire for the band for over 50 years. Go to the main Unicorn Folk website and find this fascinating insight under Music/Interviews on the top menu. There is a link to the tour details in the article with most of the 26 dates during February and March still to come and some tickets still available – but don’t delay they are selling out fast!

Plans for Ely Folk Festival in July are underway and there is a fundraising event in the way of a festival ceilidh featuring Frog On A Bike on Saturday February 11. Also coming up soon at St Andrews Church, Hertford is the Gigspanner Big Band on Sunday February 19^th. You can find details for both these events on the home page of the main Unicorn Folk website under Featured Festivals & Concerts.

You will see that the website has had one or two changes with a new ‘Dance Diary’ which can be found under the prominent new heading ‘Listings’ where you will also find the Unicorn Diary covering around 70 local music events between January to March, and the Festival Finder which shows all the latest announced dates for 2023 folk and folk-related festivals across the UK. We could do with some more entries for the Dance Diary which provides an excellent opportunity for traditional English dance groups and Morris sides to have their activities listed FREE of charge, so do please send us your programmes when sorted to info@unicornfolk.uk but please remember to use the appropriate Word or Excel form when doing so – all the details can be found on the main Unicorn Folk website and the link will take you to the Dance Diary page or just look under ‘Events’ on the main Unicorn Folk website.