Hello and welcome to this week’s Dreamers Newsletter from the parched riviera of Cornwall. Special greetings to John and Marion who have now reached the Outer Hebrides where it seems much cooler!
Another Singers Night at Dreamers this Sunday before the visit of Nick Dow the following Sunday (21st August), a highlight. Nick is a real star of the folk scene with a rich and varied history behind him and every song telling a story. There’s plenty more to read and hear of him online if you want a preview. I’m trailing this at more length than usual for an evening which is still 10 days off at time of writing as we have visitors next week and the Newsletter will be taking a short holiday. Nick will be a great visitor and it should be a really great evening.
The Cornwall Folk Festival at Wadebridge is the following (Bank Holiday) weekend, running from Friday 26th to Monday 29th. A reminder that all details of performers, tickets and so on can be found at Cornwall Folk Festival – Brings Folk’s Best To Cornwall; Showcases Cornwall to the World! In a great new initiative, one of the Festival team has set up a new on-line Cornwall Folk Radio Station (Cornwall Folk Radio – Cornish, folk, roots, country, blues, acoustic and traditional music). Cornwall Folk Radio showcases and celebrates folk, roots, country, blues, acoustic and traditional music with a focus on music that is Cornish, Cornwall-based or has a connection with Cornwall. The station also plays music from the South West of England, the British Isles and around the world. One of the headline acts at the Festival is Angeline Morrison who can be heard of the Folk Radio site at https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2022/08/angeline-morrison-the-sorrow-songs-topic-records/
Plenty of other Festivals going on, of course, and Folk Forecast (The Folk Forecast: August 2022 – The Folk Forecast (substack.com) has a special Festival playlist which sounds worth a listen.
Having once been woken at dawn by an over-enthusiastic bagpiper at a Festival, I’m a bit ambivalent about piping but we are in the middle of the Glasgow International Piping Festival which runs up to Sunday 15th August with different events each night, many of them livestreamed. Full details and tickets from their web-site at Piping Live
Otherwise it’s quiet on the online folk scene with everyone taking a break, enjoying the sunshine and planning what looks like a full programme for the autumn as nights set in earlier. Some on-line zoom sessions continue (including the Cornish Zoom Folk Club on 27th August) whilst some others are taking a short holiday.
Looking a bit further ahead (but you probably need to book and it does clash with Dreamers), Miranda Sykes and Hannah Martin are at the Devoran Village Hall on 4th September presenting a new collaboration. Miranda Sykes, is the acclaimed singer and bass player with Show of Hands and Hannah Martin is best known for her work in the BBC Folk Award-winning duo Edgelarks. Tickets from Miranda Sykes & Hannah Martin – Devoran Acoustic Sessions – Cornish Riviera Box Office (crbo.co.uk)
And, finally, a reminder that I’m looking for someone to take over the role of Cornwall correspondent for Folk Life. I’ve just penned something but that will really have to be my last one, just too many other things in my life. So, if you would like to give it a go or know someone else who could, please get in touch.
That’s all for now, back in two weeks time.
All the best
Nigel