Redbourn Folk

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Redbourn Folk Redbourn Folk meet on Wednesdays from 8.00 -10.45 at the Hollybush, Redbourn AL3 7DU, usually alternating between open stage and guest nights.

Thank you, Joe Topping, for a special evening. We were privileged with a demonstration of proficiency and artistry with ...
15/11/2024

Thank you, Joe Topping, for a special evening. We were privileged with a demonstration of proficiency and artistry with a collection of instruments - and even one song unacompanied. And songs, many his own, spanning love, life, sorrow, and laughter, some like 'Start with the Sock Drawer' happily sliding between light and serious.

All bracketed by Dylan: Bucket of Rain and Forever Young. Coincidence, planned, fortuitous?

Wednesday, 13th November, we welcome Joe Topping. Joe, from the Wirral, is a singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentali...
07/11/2024

Wednesday, 13th November, we welcome Joe Topping. Joe, from the Wirral, is a singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentalist - acoustic & electric guitars, dobro, mandolin, steel guitar, banjo, harmonica, and others.

Joe grew up listening to the Irish and American folk songs that his father sang at the folk club that he ran for several decades. So Joe was constantly surrounded by traveling musicians. These troubadours, along with the literature of Steinbeck, Kerouac and W. H. Davies gave him a wanderlust for the open road and a passion for folk music, especially the music that tells a story that can make you laugh or cry, or feel empathy for your fellow man. He became a troubadour himself, living in a pickup truck for the best part of a year in North America and walking 1400 miles from Chicago to New Orleans with a guitar on his back to raise money for a musicians charity after Hurricane Katrina.

Joe was a member of Ashley Hutching’s legendary Rainbow Chasers and he has played on stage and in the studio with many legends of the British folk scene including members of Fairport Convention and Andy Irvine, and toured as stand-in lead vocalist in Home Service - 'best live act' in the Radio 2 Folk Awards. He has performed all over the UK and abroad, including live sessions on BBC Radio 2, ITV, a showcase at SXSW in Texas and gigs across Europe.

Joe's music endeavours to contribute to a better world in every way possible. He was described by Sir Tom Jones as "a Weaver of Dreams”.

For more, including examples of his music:
https://joetoppingmusic.com/home

£10 on the door

Standing room only this past Wednesday, 30th. Sorry, Brian. But welcome to occasional and even new visitors.Thanks to Mi...
01/11/2024

Standing room only this past Wednesday, 30th. Sorry, Brian. But welcome to occasional and even new visitors.

Thanks to Michelle and Nick for a lovely evening. Great people, great songs. And what a vast range of songs, subjects and styles, drawing on both separate and joint involvement in so many different groups and genres - reflective, observational, sad, funny, ... And always with a vein of warmth.

Supplemented by a warm-up from the regulars, of course.

And concluding with a song most appropriate for these times - Nick Lowe's "What's so funny 'bout peace and love and understanding".

Next week, 6th, an open night, followed by Joe Topping on the 13th. Details to follow.

This coming Wednesday, the 30th, we welcome Plumhall.This duo comprises Michelle Plum and Nick Hall, two critically-accl...
26/10/2024

This coming Wednesday, the 30th, we welcome Plumhall.

This duo comprises Michelle Plum and Nick Hall, two critically-acclaimed songwriters from the UK. Michelle was formerly a member of Chumbawamba, toured with The Chris Norman Band, and was a founder member of Waking The Witch. Nick has toured with Ian Prowse & Amsterdam, Magna Carta, and The Hall Brothers. They are renowned for their vocal harmonies and scintillating guitar playing, with powerful original songs. They can fuse classic songwriting with genre-hopping studio experimentation.

​2024 kicked off spectacularly for the duo as they have just completed a triumphant 30-date tour with the legendary Fairport Convention as special guests on Fairport's Winter Tour, which saw Fairport join Plumhall onstage every night to perform the title song “One Star Awake” from their new album. Fairport's own Ric Sanders features on the album track.

Their first two studio albums, 'Thundercloud' and 'The Ghost of Noise' gained them a “Hidden Gem” award from The Guardian/Observer and their third album, “One Star Awake”, was released in June of this year.

£10 on the door. Be warned, could be busy.

Last Wednesday, the 26th, a jolly family affair with regulars plus regular irregulars, Trigger's Broom.
26/10/2024

Last Wednesday, the 26th, a jolly family affair with regulars plus regular irregulars, Trigger's Broom.

22/10/2024

Open evening this coming Wed 23rd. Experienced or not, bring your instrument (including voice) and have a go amongst new friends.

Thanks to Chris Fox - and his 'absolute legend' of a manager - his mum - for a great night at The Hollybush on the 16th...
17/10/2024

Thanks to Chris Fox - and his 'absolute legend' of a manager - his mum - for a great night at The Hollybush on the 16th. This Hollybush, not that masquerader at Potter's Crouch.

Chris's songs - almost all his own - are mostly (not all, cf. the traditional Two Constant Lovers) drawn from his own experiences in life - a richly filled life, even yet, from tough manual work to teaching, alongside busking in the street alongside the homeless to performing in clubs and bars. Even with us, thankfully. And hearing the background to the songs brought them even more vividly to life. Many on serious topics, such as mental health and homelessness, but with a leavening of lighter-hearted material such as The Pirates' Recruitment Song.

And now we know what others who have seen and heard Chris mean when they talk of 'loop alchemy'.

Supported, of course, with floor spots from a bunch of our regulars.

Next week: open night.

Wednesday 16th October at The Hollybush we welcome Chris Fox, an award winning singer songwriter with a 'naturally laid ...
11/10/2024

Wednesday 16th October at The Hollybush we welcome Chris Fox, an award winning singer songwriter with a 'naturally laid back, unostentatious style'.

His music spans genres - traditional & contemporary folk, americana, country and blues, .. His songs are humorous & thought provoking in equal measures, with tales of both the everyday and the unexpected. And his rich vocals are complemented by complex guitar playing and wizardry with the loop pedal.

Find out more at:
https://www.chrisfoxmusic.org/

£10 on the door.

This Wednesday, the 9th, our supreme leader had flounced off to do something dramatic elsewhere. (Actually to direct 'Tw...
10/10/2024

This Wednesday, the 9th, our supreme leader had flounced off to do something dramatic elsewhere. (Actually to direct 'Two Ladies' in Wheathampstead next week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings - https://www.wheathampsteaddramaticsociety.co.uk/future-productions/.) So stalwart Trev corralled a bunch of the regulars through the evening - 3 times round and the Bones sang us out.

Our thanks, as ever, to our listening-only audience who don't only listen but join in on the choruses. Chorus-songs just don't work as well otherwise.

Sadly, your chronicler forgot his notebook. But here we were - plus old Bob and something bonkers about the predilections of items of furniture.

07/10/2024

Open evening this coming Wed 9th. Come and have a go and sing, play, listen, or any combination of these.

Wednesday 2nd - what a terrific evening with Liz Simcock covering the whole gamut and indeed several gamuts of fun; the ...
03/10/2024

Wednesday 2nd - what a terrific evening with Liz Simcock covering the whole gamut and indeed several gamuts of fun; the interminability of human conflict; emotion - not just the same old love but of all kinds; and the ubiquity of plastic.

Supported by a bunch of regulars and welcome to newcomer Steve.

And supported by a very full audience who joined in enthusiastically whenever Liz commanded us to.

Thank you, Liz. It was a rich, joyous night.

Next Wednesday, 2nd October, we have the pleasure to welcome back Liz Simcock, "one of the country’s finest female singe...
27/09/2024

Next Wednesday, 2nd October, we have the pleasure to welcome back Liz Simcock, "one of the country’s finest female singer songwriters .. her songs immediately accessible to audiences and injected with poetry, emotion and splashes of humour" (Folk & Roots).

'Winter Hill' is her most recent album released in 2020 - a pared down acoustic album featuring one voice, one guitar and a handful of beautifully crafted and previously unreleased songs.

Find out more at: https://www.lizsimcock.com/

£10 on the door

This coming Sunday, Jim and Miranda join narrator John Palmer in a concert tour to celebrate the centenary of Victorian ...
24/09/2024

This coming Sunday, Jim and Miranda join narrator John Palmer in a concert tour to celebrate the centenary of Victorian superstar Sabine Baring-Gould. They interweave songs he collected with anecdotes about his astonishing life and stories from his best-selling books about Ghosts, Werewolves, Norse Myths, and Countryfolk.

22/09/2024

Open evening this coming Wed 25th. Experienced or not, bring your instrument (including voice) and have a go. We're lovely people.

Another great visit to Redbourn by Craig Joiner this Wednesday with such a huge range of songs from the old - like the G...
20/09/2024

Another great visit to Redbourn by Craig Joiner this Wednesday with such a huge range of songs from the old - like the Grey Cock/Lover's Ghost - to his own recent compositions - like the tree that flattened the neighbour's shed. Funny, sad, and cautionary - "The babe will wait till the work is done". It didn't.

Supported by some of our regulars - some pictured here plus Malcolm, laying down to perish, and Bob with a song as somewhere to begin.

Next Wednesday - the 18th - we welcome back again Craig Joiner.Although Craig forged his career and won repute in the ro...
15/09/2024

Next Wednesday - the 18th - we welcome back again Craig Joiner.

Although Craig forged his career and won repute in the rock arena, folk music has always been his true muse and calling. “As a 15-year-old, I played my first gig, guitar in hands, at the Cellar Folk Club in Hemel Hempstead,” he recalls. “Life and opportunities then led me elsewhere, but here I am again, having travelled full circle. It feels like home and it’s so wonderful to be here.”

In recent years Craig has returned to the Folk Club scene and whether lamenting a love lost, celebrating the calming beauty of nature or relating the epic tale of a struggle at sea, Craig’s songs are informed by experience, observation, vivid imagination and a desire to take his music “deeper into folk”.

And we've not even mentioned his amazing guitar skills.

£10 on the door

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Complete (almost) programme for 2023 ... We meet every Wednesday evening; doors open 7.30 give or take, and we generally start around 8. Guest nights are listed below together with their door price. Other Wednesdays are singers’ nights but an audience is always appreciated, £3 per head. Newcomers, whether audience, singers or players are always welcome. Jan 04 Charlie Foskett quartet (+) £8 Jan 25 Kim & Andrew Lowings £9 Feb 15 Pete Morton £10 Mar 01 Odette Michell £8 Mar 15 Pete Coe £10 Mar 22 Chris Ronald £9 Apr 19: Steve Warner £7 May 03: Dave Ellis & Boo Howard £10 May 24: Steve Ashley £10 Jun 7: Sarah Munro £7 Jun 21: John Ward Trio £10 Jul 12: Den Miller £7 (Note that we don't shut down in the summer.) Sep 6: Lizzie Hardingham £8 Special diary date: Saturday Sept 9th, Folk on the Common from 2pm to 6pm Sep 20: Georgia Shackleton £8 Oct 4: Christina Alden & Alan Pattison £10 Oct 25: Tim Brooks £8 Nov 08: Kelvin Davies & Gary Jones £10 Nov 22: Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne £10

A blast from the past. Cathy Holgate has sent us a video clip from 2011. Thanks, Cathy.

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