Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, and thanks for all the support you've shown us in 2014.

We won't be meeting in January, but stay tuned for news about future guests.

In the words of Noddy Holder, IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAS!

Tuesday 16 December 2014 

 Taurus Bar, 1 Canal Street 

(just five minutes walk from Piccadilly station) 

 7.30pm doors open for 8pm start 
£2 suggested donation for club funds
As many mince pies as you can eat

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
’Tis the season to be jolly
Don we now our gay apparel
Troll the ancient yuletide carol,
Fa la la la la la la la la!

Yes, Christmas / Yuletide is nearly upon us once more, and here at the Village Folk Club we want get things underway by getting together and having a right good sing! Everyone is welcome at our annual festive celebration, from the finest vocalist to the tone deaf. Bring yourselves and your voices along to the club and join in some seasonal fun! This year, we are thrilled that Shelley Rainey and Karen Dyson (two thirds of the amazing Bailey Sisters) have volunteered to lead the carol singing. Also, as is traditional, there will be free mince pies to get you in the party mood!!

There will be a nominal entrance fee of just £2, and doors will open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start

Floor singers, musicians and dancers are very welcome!

The Village Folk Club with Sean Cooney

Tuesday 18 November 2014 

 Taurus Bar, 1 Canal Street 

(just five minutes walk from Piccadilly station) 

 7.30pm doors open for 8pm start 

 £10 full price / £8 for concessions
To reserve tickets, please email villagefolkclub.mcr@gmail.com

If you've never seen The Young 'Uns, well, frankly, you've never lived. They're funny, talented, funny... 

Sean Cooney is one of their number and we, at the Village, are incredibly that he lives in our fair city, Manchester. 

And we've snaffled him for a rare solo show this November. There will be songs, with that gorgeous rousing voice of his, but there'll be stories, too. 

So when it's cold outside, come down to our basement, pull up a chair and listen to Sean Cooney. You can find out more about him here.

The Village Folk Club with Laura Smyth, Ted Kemp and Laurel Swift AND The Beech Band

Tuesday 21 October 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
To buy tickets in advance, please click here

Wow, have we got a line up for you! Not only do we welcome Laura and Ted – formerly Manchester based but now calling London home – to the club for the first time, but they'll be flanked by Chorlton's infamous Beech Band playing a few tunes. It's going to be fantastic!

First of all, there's a good chance you haven't witnessed Laura and Ted in the flesh before... they're relatively new to the gigging circuit, but you might recognise Laura's name as she's recently been made director of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at Cecil Sharp House in London. So she certainly knows her stuff! The duo have recently released their debut EP and we're looking forward to their thoughtful interpretations of lesser known traditional material, with a Manchester and Lancashire bias. Laura and Ted often perform with Laurel Swift, who you will have seen leaping through the air with a variety of different morris sides. To have a sneak preview, take a listen here.

Laura and Ted were also members of The Beech Band, before they left Manchester for the big smoke, so we're delighted that the band will be on hand to regale us with songs and tunes. For more information about The Beech, please visit their website.

The Village Folk Club with The Rachel Hamer Band

Tuesday 16 September 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
To buy tickets in advance please click here

There's nothing more exciting than when you hear a few excited whispers and decide to book a band on that strength alone. So come along; Rachel Hamer and her musicians could be your new favourite band...

Here's what the band say about themselves:

The Rachel Hamer Band are an exciting new four piece folk band based in Newcastle. The band is made up of North Eastern singer Rachel Hamer, Jedburgh guitarist Graeme Armstrong, Saltburn’s fiddle player and clogger Grace Smith and Glossops’s whistle, flute, pipes and bassoon player Sam Partridge. Forming in 2013 over a shared love of music and song. They perform an exciting blend of traditional and contemporary songs. Since their formation they have performed in and around the North East and are looking forward to the future!

Join the Facebook event page here and visit the band's website here.