Friends of Folk Gigs

Becky Mills

The Old School, Croston

7.30pm – Saturday 24th July

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

Becky Mills is a former member of the critically acclaimed band “Waking The Witch”, co-writing two successful albums and playing gigs and festivals up and down the country.
As a solo artist Becky released two early albums “Lazy Girl” and “Ladder to the Sun” and later she recorded the very successful “Dandelion” album. Her last appearance in Leyland was at the launch of her then new album “Tall Tales & Home Truths” and following the success of that night it is great to invite Becky back to the excellent setting of The Old School in Croston.

Becky sang guest vocals on the “Copper, Russet and Gold” album with Ashley Hutchings & Ken Nicol. She has also toured extensively with Ashley & Ken. Most recently she is working with Ashley Hutchings touring with a gig to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fairport Convention.

Friends of Folk organiser, Leyland based Jim Minall said “I can 100% promise a great evening from a very talented artist who has gained the respect of many including Ashley Hutchings, the founder of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.”

Brian McNeill

The Atkinson Studio, Southport

7:30pm – Thursday 5th August

Tickets £14.00 available to book on-line at https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/brian-mcneill/ or call the box office on 01704-533333.

Brian McNeill’s career spans over 50 years and his music over that period has established him as one of the most acclaimed forces in Scottish music. Brian was born in 1950 in Falkirk and has been described as ‘Scotland’s most meaningful contemporary songwriter’ (The Scotsman). Add to that his work and influence as performer, composer, producer, teacher, musical director, band leader, novelist and interpreter of Scotland’s past, present and future and you have a man who has never stood still.

He has performed around the globe, both as a soloist and with some of the era’s most influential bands, including Battlefield Band, which he founded in 1969, Clan Alba and as a core member of the UK fiddle phenomenon, Feast of Fiddles. Brian performs and teaches regularly at many of the world’s major festivals and is the longest running booked artist at Cambridge Folk Festival.

Brian is a multi-instrumentalist – chiefly fiddle, bouzouki, mandocello, guitars and concertina – and the importance of his songwriting has long been recognised with such songs as The Yew Tree, The Lads O’ The Fair, The Snows of France and Holland, Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears, Any Mick’ll Do and No Gods and Precious Few Heroes. Many of his songs have been performed and recorded by artists worldwide.

Over the years Brian has become a true friend of Friends of Folk and one of the artists it is always a pleasure to invite to perform. It is a guaranteed evening of musical enjoyment from an artist who is not just talented, but also someone who relates closely with his audience. His rendition of ‘Bring The Lassie Hame’ and the story that goes with it will alone be worth the price of the ticket!

Chris and Siobhan Nelson with Len Pentin

Fox Lane Club, Leyland

7:30pm – Thursday 2nd September 2021

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

As well as their own performances at folk clubs, festivals and concerts around the country, in recent years they have supported Peter Knight’s Gigspanner, Steve Tilston and Chris Leslie and appeared as a ‘double bill’ with Ken Nicol.   Firm favourites of Friends of Folk they will be joined for this gig by Len Pentin the writer of the much acclaimed ‘Cork Jackets & Drill’ which remembers the 1886 Southport lifeboat disaster.

In Chris and Siobhan’s music you will find songs to make you smile and songs that will bring a tear to your eye – and often a fiddle tune or two for good measure.

Reviews of Chris & Siobhan include……

• “… engrossing performance style, all-round expertise and excellent choice of songs” (The Living Tradition)
• “Siobhan’s voice had the audience spellbound” (Folk NorthWest)

Avondale

The Atkinson Studio, Southport

7:30pm – Thursday 9th September

Tickets £15.00 available to book on-line at https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/avondale/ or call the box office on 01704-533333.

Avondale – a true story, told in song and narration A few words from the writer Len Pentin:
“A writer is lucky if once in a lifetime a true-life story drops into his or her lap, that not only is fantastic in its detail but has not already been claimed and written up by someone else.

AVONDALE is such a story. Beyond a casual mention on a local history site, the full extended story of Kate Fitzpatrick, a mysterious inmate of Ormskirk Workhouse, has never seen the light of day on any stage or any page – that in itself is remarkable, never mind the events of the story themselves!

The story involves the last tragic voyage of The Lusitania, a dramatic search for a lost relative and much more besides. As soon as I came across this story, I knew I had to write it up. Yes it’s a local story but its themes, like any great story, are universal. Set in both the UK (Ormskirk) and the USA (Illinois and New York), it’s a story that connects two continents and two women whose paths would normally, under other circumstances, most likely never have crossed.

If the story around these two women was fiction, it would never be believed – it would be deemed fantastical – but, nonetheless, the remarkable events depicted in AVONDALE really did occur. While some crucial information around the story remains lost to time, what remains manifests into a tale that demands to be told and remembered for all sorts of reasons.”

AVONDALE is performed by Len Pentin, Chris Nelson, Siobhan Nelson, Mike Huddart and Don Palmer. It is a two act performance of narration and 18 original songs.

A Celebration of The Music of Simon & Garfunkel with Tim Chu & Ian Bailey

Fox Lane Club, Leyland

7:30pm – Thursday 7th October 2021

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

Tim Chu and Ian Bailey are two talented professional singer-songwriters from the North West of England. They have grown up listening to Simon & Garfunkel’s music with both the composition and vocal blend having a strong influence on their respective professional careers. After years of busy individual touring schedules both Tim and Ian have now found the time to concentrate on this venture delivering the music of Simon and Garfunkel in their own unique way that also honours the original recordings, without falling into the regular tribute act category. There are no costumes, wigs or make up! Just two great musicians producing an ambient collection of some of Simon & Garfunkel’s much loved hits.

Ashley Hutchings ‘Paradise & Thorns’

The Atkinson Studio, Southport

7:30pm – Thursday 21st October

Tickets £15.00 available to book on-line at https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/hutchings-and-mills-2021/ or call the box office on 01704-533333.

“The Guv’nor” of British folk-rock himself, Ashley Hutchings MBE, returns to The Atkinson with a brand new song & poetry show for 2021, accompanied by the renowned English singer-songwriter and accompanist Becky Mills.

Leading the audience through the subject of Love – “Man’s noblest frailty” – and drawing heavily from Ashley’s masterpiece albums “Paradise and Thorns” and “By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down and Wept”, the duo will present a sublime mix of traditional and modern folk, new songs and old, dramatic readings, sonnets, diary excerpts, and superb lyrics and musicianship.

Ashley Hutchings’ long and distinguished musical career includes being a founding member of three of the UK’s most influential folk acts: Fairport Convention, where he played on the band’s first four albums, including the pioneering folk-rock classic ‘Liege & Lief’; Steeleye Span, recording three successful albums with them before breaking away in 1971; and the Albion Country Band, which subsequently evolved into the Albion Dance Band and the Albion Band, with Hutchings remaining at the helm throughout.

Becky Mills is a former member of the critically acclaimed band Waking The Witch and guest vocalist on recent albums and tours by Ashley Hutchings and Ken Nicol (Steeleye Span). A solo artiste in her own right, and described as “a storyteller of immense talent and imagination” (FATEA), her recent solo album “Tall Tales & Home Truths” was praised for its “bewitching songs shot through with wisdom, imagining the lives of others with enormous sympathy” (The Musician).

“Ashley Hutchings is the single most important figure in English folk rock” – Bob Dylan.

Brian McNeill

Fox Lane Club, Leyland

7:30pm – Thursday 4th November 2021

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

Brian McNeill’s career spans over 50 years and his music over that period has established him as one of the most acclaimed forces in Scottish music. Brian was born in 1950 in Falkirk and has been described as ‘Scotland’s most meaningful contemporary songwriter’ (The Scotsman). Add to that his work and influence as performer, composer, producer, teacher, musical director, band leader, novelist and interpreter of Scotland’s past, present and future and you have a man who has never stood still.

He has performed around the globe, both as a soloist and with some of the era’s most influential bands, including Battlefield Band, which he founded in 1969, Clan Alba and as a core member of the UK fiddle phenomenon, Feast of Fiddles. Brian performs and teaches regularly at many of the world’s major festivals and is the longest running booked artist at Cambridge Folk Festival.

Brian is a multi-instrumentalist – chiefly fiddle, bouzouki, mandocello, guitars and concertina – and the importance of his songwriting has long been recognised with such songs as The Yew Tree, The Lads O’ The Fair, The Snows of France and Holland, Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears, Any Mick’ll Do and No Gods and Precious Few Heroes. Many of his songs have been performed and recorded by artists worldwide.

Over the years Brian has become a true friend of Friends of Folk and one of the artists it is always a pleasure to invite to perform. It is a guaranteed evening of musical enjoyment from an artist who is not just talented, but also someone who relates closely with his audience. His rendition of ‘Bring The Lassie Hame’ and the story that goes with it will alone be worth the price of the ticket!

The Blackheart Orchestra

The Atkinson Studio, Southport

7:30pm – Wednesday 17th November

Tickets £15.00 available to book on-line at https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/the-blackheart-orchestra/ or call the box office on 01704-533333.

Inspirational electronic folk pioneers The Blackheart Orchestra take music to a new, unexplored dimension. Described as “A mesmerizing powerhouse” “An avant-garde musical utopia” and “One of the most extraordinary voices singing anywhere today” vocalist Chrissy Mostyn along with multi-instrumentalist Rick Pilkington combine their classical influences with vintage synths and ultra contemporary electronica to create music that takes over the senses.

As emotionally charged as it is musically accomplished, expect sublime harmonies, virtuoso guitar, piano and synthesiser playing and songwriting and arrangements that take the audience ”from heartbreaking to uplifting in a single song”. With awards including Best British Duo, Limelight Progressive Music Award Nomination and being voted in the UK’s Top 4 Best New Bands of 2018, The Blackheart Orchestra are two voices and thirteen instruments that create a unique musical experience that is truly ground-breaking.

“Ethereal” – Daily Express
“A great band” – BBC Radio 2
“Their songs are all stand-alone masterpieces” – Fatea Magazine

Feast of Fiddles

The Atkinson Theatre, Southport

7:30pm – Sunday 10 April 2022

Tickets £22.00 available to book on-line at https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/feast-of-fiddles-2022/ or call the box office on 01704-533333.

It was a massive disappointment when the 2020 night at the Atkinson had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus – it was almost sold out!  Now there is the equally sad news that the 2021 gig has also had to be postponed.  The good news is that a 2022 date has already been planned and after a two year break Friends of Folk anticipate a full house for what will be a memorable night.

Born in Nettlebed on Valentine’s Day 1994 as a one off special concert, Feast of Fiddles has done 25 spring tours, 24 festivals and has 7 CDs to its name. Not bad for a bunch of old folk-rockers!

This is a band of friends that puts on a show of huge dynamic range performed with passion, joy and a liberal dose of fun. Fiddlers Peter Knight (Gigspanner, Steeleye Span), Chris Leslie (Fairport Convention), Brian McNeill (Battlefield Band), Ian Cutler (Bully Wee), Tom Leary (Lindisfarne) and Garry Blakeley (Band of Two) add the large range of fiddle playing styles to the rock back-line of guitars, keyboards, sax and accordion – all held together by legendary drummer Dave Mattacks.

A live music entertainment like no other on the circuit which is guaranteed to be enjoyed by even the most doubting of friends dragged along!

“Absolutely awesome!” – Sue Marchant, BBC East
“Britain’s fiddling supergroup” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
“The best fiddle players of a generation” – fRoots
“Crabtree pumps his accordion as though he’s powering his own heartbeat and each and every violinist fiddles frantically. Impressive, high energy stuff” – Manchester Review

Chris Bannister

Fox Lane Club, Leyland

7.30pm – Thursday 3rd February 2022

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

An evening with Chris Bannister is an evening of rare quality.  This evening will include his acclaimed self-penned collection of songs, his covers of much-loved classics or undiscovered folk songs and a stunning tribute to the music of John Denver.

As well as writing, recording and performing his own music, Chris has recorded several John Denver radio specials for the BBC.  His album “The Unicorn and Other Stories” features Chris Nole on piano (John Denver’s keyboard player until the singers untimely death in 1997), the album is a collection of Nova Scotian folk songs with entirely new arrangements and melodies which has delighted Chris’s existing fans and served to introduce Chris to a new audience who enjoy and appreciate his talent.

This promises to be a truly enjoyable evening and a great way for Friends of Folk to launch its 2022 programme of folk gigs.

To find out more about Chris go to his website at http://www.chrisbannistermusic.com/

Paul Walker & Karen Pfeiffer

Fox Lane Club, Leyland

7.30pm – Thursday 3rd March 2022

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

Paul and Karen’s music is not only multifaceted but they also deliver it perfectly on the same wavelength, and these waves carry great energy towards the audience. Through countless live performances and three carefully composed albums the Anglo-German duo have conquered the hearts of their numerous fans.  Their repertoire combines handpicked folk favourites and their own handcrafted songs. “Great show!” praised Graham Norton heartily.

Paul Walker & Karen Pfeiffer tour internationally and have collected enthusiastic reviews along the way. Their secret of success?  As soon as the native of Stuttgart and the Englishman from Staffordshire appear on stage they entertain – and then seem to turn, note by note, into their music. Short anecdotes, melody and rhythm: two clear, full voices and a guitar, occasionally subtly accompanied by flute and recorder sounds are sufficient to create the unmistakable Walker-Pfeiffer presence.  Thus, the two merge harmoniously into an authentic and versatile unity, which either rhythmically grooves or gently poetically touches, which tells colourful stories – and releases grand emotions that linger long after the concert has ended.

* “Musically outstanding evening” (Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung)

* “Fantastically entertaining night” (Secret Sounds)

* “I have never seen our audience so spellbound” (Organiser Bedworth Folk Club)

* “One of the best acts ever been to the club” (Organiser Hungry Horse Folk Club & Wirral Folk Festival)

To find out more about this amazing duo go to www.paulwalkermusic.co.uk

Caffrey, McGurk & Madge

Fox Lane Club, Leyland

7.30pm – Thursday 31st March 2022

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

“True English folk singing, in my humble opinion, doesn’t come much better than this.” – Keith Kendrick

Nick Caffrey, Ed McGurk and Robin Madge have been delighting audiences with their own take on traditional, original and contemporary folksong. With their humour, informed understanding of their songs and a flare for harmony and good musicianship, they have been described as one of the most accomplished and entertaining acts currently on the folk circuit.

All three have been performing at folk clubs and folk festivals for many years either as soloists or as members of other groups, yet they still have a youthful exuberance for the craft of performance, musical arrangements and song selection.

Their first CD as a trio (Like Minds) was released in 2017 and has had a great reception both here in the UK and in the USA with many of the tracks being broadcast by a number of radio stations in the UK and abroad.

“A CMM gig is like the best folk album. You get traditional and contemporary songs performed exquisitely. The trio’s repertoire is constantly evolving and growing, with new member Robin Madge bringing some excellent songs to the group. Accurately and sensibly reflecting the trio’s live repertoire, there latest CD is well named, for it illustrates the way that their vocally well-matched voices complement each other. They are three men of like minds who clearly share and appreciate a common database of good songs and can deliver them with feeling and understanding. Their style is equable, accomplished and harmonious” Folk at The Barlow

“Caffrey, McGurk and Madge – wow – heard them last year without Robin and thought they were amazing, with Robin they are even better” Bedworth Folk Festival

Feast of Fiddles

The Atkinson Theatre, Southport

7:30pm – Sunday 10 April 2022

Tickets £22.00 available to book on-line at https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/feast-of-fiddles-2022/ or call the box office on 01704-533333.

It was a massive disappointment when the 2020 night at the Atkinson had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus – it was almost sold out!  Now there is the equally sad news that the 2021 gig has also had to be postponed.  The good news is that a 2022 date has already been planned and after a two year break Friends of Folk anticipate a full house for what will be a memorable night.

Born in Nettlebed on Valentine’s Day 1994 as a one off special concert, Feast of Fiddles has done 25 spring tours, 24 festivals and has 7 CDs to its name. Not bad for a bunch of old folk-rockers!

This is a band of friends that puts on a show of huge dynamic range performed with passion, joy and a liberal dose of fun. Fiddlers Peter Knight (Gigspanner, Steeleye Span), Chris Leslie (Fairport Convention), Brian McNeill (Battlefield Band), Ian Cutler (Bully Wee), Tom Leary (Lindisfarne) and Garry Blakeley (Band of Two) add the large range of fiddle playing styles to the rock back-line of guitars, keyboards, sax and accordion – all held together by legendary drummer Dave Mattacks.

A live music entertainment like no other on the circuit which is guaranteed to be enjoyed by even the most doubting of friends dragged along!

“Absolutely awesome!” – Sue Marchant, BBC East
“Britain’s fiddling supergroup” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
“The best fiddle players of a generation” – fRoots
“Crabtree pumps his accordion as though he’s powering his own heartbeat and each and every violinist fiddles frantically. Impressive, high energy stuff” – Manchester Review

Avondale

Fox Lane Club, Leyland

7.30pm – Thursday 5th May 2022

Tickets £12.00 in advance available from the Friends of Folk shop at www.fofshop.org.uk or send a cheque payable to ‘Friends of Folk’ to me at 56 Victoria Park Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1UG – Friends of Folk still loves payment by cheque!

Avondale – a true story, told in song and narration A few words from the writer Len Pentin:
“A writer is lucky if once in a lifetime a true-life story drops into his or her lap, that not only is fantastic in its detail but has not already been claimed and written up by someone else.
AVONDALE is such a story. Beyond a casual mention on a local history site, the full extended story of Kate Fitzpatrick, a mysterious inmate of Ormskirk Workhouse, has never seen the light of day on any stage or any page – that in itself is remarkable, never mind the events of the story themselves!

The story involves the last tragic voyage of The Lusitania, a dramatic search for a lost relative and much more besides. As soon as I came across this story, I knew I had to write it up. Yes it’s a local story but its themes, like any great story, are universal. Set in both the UK (Ormskirk) and the USA (Illinois and New York), it’s a story that connects two continents and two women whose paths would normally, under other circumstances, most likely never have crossed.

If the story around these two women was fiction, it would never be believed – it would be deemed fantastical – but, nonetheless, the remarkable events depicted in AVONDALE really did occur. While some crucial information around the story remains lost to time, what remains manifests into a tale that demands to be told and remembered for all sorts of reasons.”

AVONDALE is performed by Len Pentin, Chris Nelson, Siobhan Nelson, Mike Huddart and Don Palmer. It is a two act performance of narration and 18 original songs.