Dreamers Newsletter 26th May 2022

Posted By dreamersfolk on May 26, 2022


Welcome to this week’s Newsletter.

Good to hear that last Sunday’s Ukraine Appeal night at the Club with Baldricks Plan was a great success with well over £300 raised (including later donations). Well done to all involved. It sounds as though Baldricks were in great voice too, only sorry that health issues over the weekend meant we couldn’t join in. A couple of Singers nights this coming Sunday and the next and after that, on 12th June, it’s Barron Brady from Devon, contemporary songwriters and interpreters of traditional English Folk Song. More about that nearer the time (and you can find samples of their work on youtube).

Looking forward to the next Cornish Zoom Folk Club this coming Saturday, 28th May, starting at 7.30. As usual the link will go out to those on the mailing list on the day before (tomorrow). There’s plenty of other things going on now but we hope to have a good turn-out as always and some great music from far and wide.

Two people who sadly won’t be with us are Bruce and Jill Watson from Melbourne. Some us supported Bruce’s crowdfunder for his new album and he writes to say that he has now recorded the vast bulk of the album – most of his own guitar and vocals and almost all the backing vocals and music. It should be ready for mixing by September, and all finished by October or November! There’s a slight pause now as Bruce and Jill are about to head off into the Great Outback for a couple of months following the footsteps of Burke and Wills, the first European explorers to make it from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria on the North Coast of Australia in 1861, some 2,000 miles.  

Festival season is upon us.

·        On Jubilee Bank Holiday Friday, 3rd June, the Lafrowda Festival has organised music from 11.00 a.m. till 4.00 p.m. on the Plain-an-gwarry in St Just with lots of local performers (including David Harley). It’s not all folk music but it is a great venue and should be a great afternoon. In the same place, on the Sunday, 5th June (2.00 till 5.00), there’s a family ceilidh with the Tinners Barn Dance Band and Shindig Cloggers (all with tea and cake!)

·        The Falmouth Shanty Festival, founded in 2003, takes place from 17th to 19th June this year, venues all over the town and lots and lots of performers, many of them well known to Dreamers regulars. Details at News – Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival (falmouthseashanty.co.uk)

·        Sidmouth Festival from 29th July to 5th August now has a wide range of tickets on sale for all sorts of events and performers, lunchtime and evening – all at Tickets – The Sidmouth Folk Festival

·        At the end of August we have the Cornwall Folk Festival in Wadebridge with a  great line-up. As well as lots of less formal events and workshops, there are four evening concerts in the Town Hall and Two in the Betjeman Centre, each with 2 performers. These are not very large venues and tickets are going fast so it’s a good idea to get in early – Cornwall Folk Festival – Brings Folk’s Best To Cornwall; Showcases Cornwall to the World!

Meanwhile, on line, music from all over the UK-

·        Tonight, 26th May, there’s a hybrid gig with Katie Spencer, a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Yorkshire who writes songs imbued with the Northern landscapes of her home. The first hour of this fom 7.30 is live-streamed on youtube with the remainder reserved for the live audience.  CONCERTS | Rosslyn Court

·        Also tonight at 8.00, on Live to Your Living Room (ALAW | Online Gig | Live to Your Living Room), you can hear ALAW, a group of three leading musicians who bring a wealth of experience to a shared passion – the traditional music of Wales. Powerful songwriting and original tunes.

·        And finally, tomorrow night, 27th May at 8.00 p.m. another concert form the gobe in Newcastle with Holly and the Reivers combining the traditional styles of old time banjo, Scottish fiddle and the ballad singing tradition, as well as bringing forth their own compositions that have been deeply influenced by these traditions. Another hybrid gig – tickets from May 27 – Holly and The Reivers – The Globe (theglobenewcastle.bar) 

That’s all for now, not sure if I’ll be able to write a Newsletter next week so, in case I can’t, enjoy the holiday weekend and all the music

All the best

Nigel