Hi and welcome to this week’s Newsletter.
It was amazing to hear of the unexpected gift to the Club from Kai Svensson in his will. Obviously the Club meant a great deal to him but I’m sure I speak for all who knew him when I say that that’s entirely mutual and how much we miss his singing and his company. He’d be very happy to know that the Club is flourishing again and meeting in person with Rum and Shrub now confirmed as guests for Sunday 20th March and a programme being planned beyond that. No doubt many performers will be looking for bookings to re-establish themselves on the road and to make up for the lean times so Kai’s donation will go some way to helping that.
We’ve been getting mailings from past guests Will Finn and Rosie Calvert who have been particularly good at keeping us in the picture of what they have been doing during the pandemic. They are back on the road but also doing on line gigs so that more of us can see them – they are on Live to Your Living Room on 7th April. Rosie tells me they are hoping to be able to make it down to Cornwall before too long.
Bodmin Folk Club have a guest night this Friday (11th) with Richard Trethewey and Steve Hunt. Richard is a Music Therapist and Bard of Gorsedh Kernow. He currently performs and records with The Rowan Tree, Brother Sea, and as a solo artist while Steve Hunt (formerly of Dalla and Corncrow) currently plays with various ceilidh bands across Cornwall and Devon and also performs occasional solo gigs. Bodmin Folk Club – The home of traditional folk song in Cornwall. Est. 1968.
Also, on the Live to Your Living Room site this coming week, there’s Jack Rutter from West Yorkshire this Friday (11th) as trailed in last week’s Newsletter. Then, on Tuesday 15th March, there’s Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin) on a final tour before taking a break. This is a hybrid gig but if you wanted to see it live you’d need to go to Sheffield! Plenty more coming up on the site at Events | Live Music Online Gig | Live to your Living Room from where you can get tickets.
Another one for the diary. On Saturday 19th March Martin Carthy and his daughter Eliza Carthy come together to perform songs and tunes from their vast family repertoire, one of their first gigs since the sad death of Norma Waterson. More details and tickets from Livestream: Martin & Eliza Carthy | Wiltshire Music Centre
News from our Zoom friends in Australia. I’m pleased to say that Nerida has escaped the worst effects of the dreadful floods in New South Wales. She’s hoping to be able to visit the UK next year. Meanwhile Bruce Watson is about to record a new album with some great new songs, some of which we have heard on zoom including some from his “30 songs in 30 days” response to the first lockdown in Australia (remember “What do you know about the Pangolin”?). This is an expensive business and Bruce is crowdfunding it – if you pledge certain amounts you get generous rewards. Further information on https://www.pozible.com/profile/bruce-watson-4
It’s hard not to be thinking about the appalling events in Ukraine. I’m sure many of us will have offered support as best we can. I don’t normally mention events which are at the same time on Sunday as Dreamers but I’ll make an exception for the online Concert for Ukraine this Sunday at 8.00. This is on mudcat at https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=171102,171102 (and also on the Bodmin Folk Club site). Or you could just donate at Anne Lister is fundraising for UK for UNHCR (justgiving.com) and go to Dreamers as well.
And finally, looking further ahead to the warmer days of summer, Cornwall Folk Festival are selling earlybird tickets for their Betjeman Sessions – 2 concerts with Angeline Morrison (August 26th) and Mike Silver (28th). Lots more info at Cornwall Folk Festival – Brings Folk’s Best To Cornwall; Showcases Cornwall to the World!
That’s quite enough for this week.
All the best
Nigel