Cambridge Folk Festival on 1-4th August 2019.

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Very good to be performing at Cambridge Folk Festival this year in two guises.

Firstly, we were part of the English Traditional Sessions, organised by Tim Mellor, which took place each day at different locations around the festival site- these sessions are all about reviving English folk songs in the tradition of singing together- good fun and there was good participation from the festival attendees.

Secondly, we played the final set of the club sessions in the Club Tent on Sunday evening. Some very new self-penned material from us, showcasing Jenna on piano, and some new arrangements of songs, one of which incorporated the sansula and rainstick. As ever at the festival, we had some issues with the sound, but we had some really lovely verbal feedback (especially from Greg Macdonald of Glymjack and Emily Mae Winters mum and sister).

St. Neots Folk Club on 11th June 2019

An email from Roger at St. Neots Folk Club saw us playing there in support of Bram Taylor. An opportunity to air two new songs- our new version of “Horn Fair” with sansula and rainstick (Jenna had to give a small introduction to our new musical toy- the sansula- related to the ubirra ) and “Home lads home “ with piano-accordion backing. The audience at St. Neots do seem to have a very comprehensive knowledge of folk songs and were singing along with us and with Bram.

Cambridge Folk Club on 17th May 2019

Very good to be returning to Cambridge Folk Club at the Golden Hind for our double-header along with Hunter Musket. Its always a great pleasure to play here and Chris, the soundman, was on top form with the sound through the clubs new PA. First up on the stage was someone new to us, Anna Hesta, who played the support slot. Very much enjoyed her self-penned songs. We then arranged ourselves on stage for a long set incorporating some new material in amongst our established songs- very enjoyable and some excellent joining in. Hunter Musket followed us after the break and raffle (our raffle tickets came up trumps, which is always good). We met and heard Terry Hiscox playing solo at Hadleigh Folk Club in December, and he, plus other 3 members of the band, did not disappoint. All in all, a very good night and we look forward to playing at Cambridge Folk Club agin some time.

Four Rivers Folk Club, Hertford on 8th May 2019

Another first visit for us to Four Rivers Folk Club, located in a fine old building in the centre of Hertford, and run by Pat Crilly. Excellent floor spots before our sets from Pat, Craig Joiner and Mike Excell. After an awkward “frog in throat” moment for Jenna in our first song, we managed to pack 12 songs/tunes into our two half-hour sets, including some new material. It was a very good evening, with a very appreciative audience and some very complimentary remarks at the end of the evening- always very pleasing to receive the latter.

St. Neots Folk Club on 19th March 2019

A first visit to St. Neots Folk Club playing a short set at one of their Open Stage nights. Its not a huge room but it was packed out, with a good number of the audience standing at the back. We were second up, after an opening song from Roger, the clubs organiser and MC, then it was straight into our set, carefully chosen to fit the time slot, and included a first outing for a new set of tunes (Roslyn Castle and An Dros). We were followed by one of the biggest “bands” that we have encountered at our various gigs- the 11-strong Millstone Grit from Stamford who sing mass A’capella. And very good they were too!

Thanks to Solomon Smith for the photo below.

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CB2, Cambridge on 9th March 2019

Our first full session at CB2 Acoustic Night by invitation from John Meed and Rhys Wilson was a really good evening for us. Our set went down very well with the audience and judging by the after-gig conversations with various members of the audience, it would be fair to say that we have some new fans (and some new visits to the website in the following days).

Robbie Callas Cup 2019- Unaccompanied singing competition at Bury Folk Collective.

I (DC) entered this Robbie Callas Cup competition again this year but on this occasion was flying solo . Always a fun evening and again a hugely varied selection of songs from the entrants. Megan Wisdom was the eventual winner, but very pleased to record that I shared the runners-up spot with Simon Kelso. My song- ‘Ware out Mother’, a song learnt from the Melrose Quartet.