The Village Folk Club with Bryony Griffith and Will Hampson

Tuesday 15 July 2014 

 Taurus Bar, 1 Canal Street 

(just five minutes walk from Piccadilly station) 

 7.30pm doors open for 8pm start 

 £9 full price / £7 for concessions

Bryony and Will hail from sunny Yorkshire and will be familiar to any of you who frequent folk festivals around the UK. English fiddle player and singer Bryony Griffith and melodeon player and dancer Will Hampson have been performing together for almost 20 years. They were both members of the acclaimed ceilidh band, Bedlam; the exciting young Cotswold morris side, Dogrose; the celebrated rapper dancers, Newcastle Kingsmen, and have been key members of the brilliant and award-winning Demon Barbers for the last ten years. Bryony was also a member of the much-missed a cappella group The Witches of Elswick. She has been described as having “the vocal power of a young Norma Waterson, the poise and attitude of the late Sandy Denny and the stage presence of Janis Joplin.” (Allan Wilkinson, Northern Sky). Add to that her ‘deliciously rustic’ fiddle playing’ (Colin Irwin) and Will’s driving yet sensitive melodeon playing and you get a distinctive repertoire of dark ballads, chorus songs and dance tunes delivered with good-humoured Yorkshire banter!

Don't miss this one. Reserve your tickets by emailing VillageFolkClub.Mcr@gmail.com and join our Facebook event here.

The Village Folk Club with Claire Mooney

Tuesday 17 June 2014 

 Taurus Bar, 1 Canal Street 

(just five minutes walk from Piccadilly station) 

 7.30pm doors open for 8pm start 

 £8 full price / £6 for concessions

Manchester's very own Claire Mooney has been singing and songwriting for as long as she can remember. You may have seen her at a union benefit or leading protesters in song at a demo, as social justice and activism fuel her songs. A workshop leader and community arts practitioner, Claire has worked with youth groups, community groups and schools for over twenty years. She's produced radio shows and directed short films, worked in prisons, and co-ordinated projects for Councils, the NHS and colleges and universities. We're delighted to welcome her to The Village Folk Club.

Read more about Claire here and join our Facebook event.

The Village Folk Club with Jeff Warner

20th May 2014 

 Taurus Bar, 1 Canal Street 

(just five minutes walk from Piccadilly station) 

 7.30pm doors open for 8pm start 

 £8 full price / £6 for concessions

We're extremely lucky to be one of the few venues hosting a show with Jeff on his forthcoming UK tour. 

Jeff Warner brings us songs from America's lumber camps, fishing villages and mountain tops but still manages to connect to 21st century audiences. Jeff grew up listening to the songs and stories of his father, Frank Warner, and the traditional singers his parents met during their folksong collecting trips through rural America. He accompanied his parents on their later field trips and is the editor of his mother’s book, Traditional American Folk Songs: From the Anne and Frank Warner Collection. 

Jeff has performed widely, from large festivals in the UK, to clubs, festivals and schools across America. He plays concertina, banjo, guitar and several pocket instruments, including bones and spoons. 

A native of New York City, Jeff has lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire since the late 1990s. He is a speaker for the New Hampshire Humanities Council and an artist for the New Hampshire Council on the Arts, a former Arts Council Fellow, and a 2013 Performing Arts Honorable Mention.

“Jeff’s one of the most welcome of the fairly frequent visitors to these shores from the US, and his gigs are always eagerly awaited and supported by those in the know. Quite simply, he’s one of the most charismatic, enthusiastic and genuinely versatile performers on the whole scene, with a warm and approachable personality to match his encyclopaedic knowledge of traditional song.” David Kidman, Netrhythms 

Join our Facebook event here.

The Village Folk Club with The Teacups

Tuesday 15th April, The Britons Protection (not our usual venue!)

Doors 7.30pm, gig starts with floor spots at 8pm.

The Britons Protection is an excellent pub, just a short walk from Oxford Road station.

£10 / £8 concessions. We expect this to sell out, so please get your tickets in advance!

 

If you haven't yet heard The Teacups, you'll have undoubtedly heard the hype. Based in Newcastle, The Teacups have been taking their lively unaccompanied singing up and down the country, turning up in all sorts of unexpected places - most recently the rapper competition, DERT, where they sang for the dancers to dance to.

Have a sneak preview here: http://www.reverbnation.com/theteacups

Join the Facebook event page for more updates here.



The Village Folk Club with Rapunzel and Sedayne

18th March 2014 

Taurus Bar, 1 Canal Street (just five minutes walk from Piccadilly station) 

7.30pm doors open for 8pm start 

£8 full price / £6 for concessions

If you've never seen (or heard) Rapunzel and Sedayne, then you're in for a treat. If you have, then you'll make sure you're here at the Village for sure.

The husband and wife duo certainly know their British folksongs, but they also know how best to bring out their enchanting, mysterious nature. Be prepared for a multitude of unusual instruments and songs that meander, contemplate, whirr and whirl.

And Stewart Lee's got good things to say, too: 'Modal, improvisational techniques, Bredin’s exotic stringed instruments, and McCarron’s pure and unaffected vocal revivify an erudite selection of traditional British songs.... The ideal October album.'

Rapunzel and Sedayne will be primarily singing Spring songs at this gig so if you've a Spring song to sing or a tune that reminds you of Spring, please bring it along! Join the Facebook event here.