COMING YOUR WAY

As the festival season draws to a close and everyone heads back indoors to the warmth and comfort of their local folk venues there are some great acts around the Midlands which you should take the time to enjoy.

September

Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy

Two of the legends of folk will be in Birmingham on the 25th at The Red Lion Folk Club. The club will be playing host to Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick. The Vicarage Road club in Kings Heath opens at 7.15 for a 7.45pm start. You can pay on the door for your tickets.
They will be supported by Lizzie Nunnery and Vidar Norheim. Lizzie released her debut album Company of Ghosts in 2010 which was produced by the other half of the duo Vidar. It received critical acclaim and Mike Harding listed it in his top 10 albums of the year. Apart from being a musician Lizzie has also won awards in her role as a playwright.

On the 28th, Andy Cutting will be playing at the Newhampton Folk Club upstairs at the Newhampton Pub, Riches Street, Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton.
Andy is an accomplished melodeon player who has featured on albums for, and played with some of the biggest names on the folk circuit including Kate Rusby and is working with Martin Simpson and June Tabor.
Outside the folk scene his talent has been recruited by Sting and The Who.
The concert at the Newhampton Folk Club starts at 8.30pm and tickets are £10 in advance or £12 on the night.

Dan Whitehouse

 Picture courtesy of Carsten Dieterich

The following night, Sunday 29th, Birmingham-based singer/songwriter Dan Whitehouse officially launches his new album, Reaching for a State of Mind (there is a review of the album on this blog). The album is Dan's second full track CD and has been getting good reviews from the media.
Dan, originally from Wolverhampton, will be playing with a full band at the Crescent Theatre, Sheepcote Street, Birmingham. B16 8AE. Doors open at 6pm with concert starting at 6.30. Advance tickets are  £8 or £11 on the door. The box office number is 0121 643 5858.

October

The Symphony and Town Halls in Birmingham have a pretty impressive line up for the autumn season kicking off on the 1st with Laura Marling at the Symphony. Laura released her fourth album, Once I was an Eagle, in May this year and has been nominated for a Mercury Music Award. The show begins at 7.30pm and tickets are £18.50 and £25 and there is a £2.50 booking fee if the tickets are not bought directly from the booking office.

Another Irish folk legend Andy Irvine is coming to Wolverhampton he will be playing the Newhampton Arts Centre, Dunkley Street, Whitmore Reans on the 4th. The doors open at 7.30pm and tickets are £12.50 and a booking fee applies. Andy is on tour doing both solo gigs and with the LAPD project

Cara Dillon

Across the way at the Town Hall on the13th acclaimed Irish singer Cara Dillon will be bringing her own sound to the impressive Brum venue. Cara has this year been part of the talent pool for the fantastic Transatlantic Sessions which will be aired for six weeks from September 27 on BBC Four.
Something worth catching as it features some of the best folk musicians from the UK and Ireland and America.
Tickets for the concert, which starts at 7.30pm are £19.50 and subject to booking fees if not bought direct from the venue.

Kim Lowings and the Greenwood will be on stage at the Newhampton Folk Club, Wolverhampton on the 12th. The group is made up of local musicians from Stourbridge and the wider West Midlands. They released their debut album This Life in August last year. The show starts at 8.30pm and tickets are £8.

Seth Lakeman

The Robin2, Bilston, Wolverhampton will be playing host to the multi-instrumentalist Seth Lakeman on the 15th. On his latest tour Seth will be joined not just by his band but special guest Lisbee Stainton. Tickets are £19.50 in advance or £22 on the door. Seth has a new album due out in the new year,Word of Mouth, and will be playing tracks from this on the tour.

Winners of the Radio2 Young Folk Award 2013 Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar are playing the Newhampton Folk Club. at the Newhampton pub in Wolverhampton on the 26th. Tickets are £8 in advance or £9 on the night. The talented duo have also released their debut album The Queen's Lover which is available from their website.

November

The Newhampton Folk Club will be welcoming  Pilgrim's Way on the 9th. The four piece traditional folk band comprises Edwin Beasant, Lucy Wright, Tom Kitching and John Loomes. The band features a wide range of instruments in their act including the melodeon, hurdy-gurdy, cittern and Jews harp. The show starts at 8.30pm and tickets are £8 in advance and £10 on the night.

The Symphony Hall will be filled with the amazingly eclectic and  full sound of Bellowhead on the 12th. The entertainment starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £18.50 and £24.50 plus a transaction fee if not bought directly from the venue.

Ade Edmondson and
The Bad Shepherds

You may have seen him more recently cooking and eating his way across the UK with his hit and very likeable series Ade in Britain. But on the 21st Ade Edmondson and his band The Bad Shepherds will be bring their particular sound to the Town Hall, Birmingham. Tickets are £19.50 and £22.50 plus the transaction fee if not bought direct from the venue.

On the 23rd  Sam Carter will be playing the cosy venue of Newhampton Folk Club, Riches Street, Wolverhampton. Sam is the winner of the Best Newcomer at the 2010 BBC Radio2 Folk Awards. Tickets are £10 in advance and £12 on the door. If you want to see him before this gig though he will be appearing at the Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry on October 4. Tickets are £12.50 and the show starts at 7.45pm.

Billy Bragg

Back at Symphony Hall on the 24th the legend Billy Bragg is bringing his own brand of politically charged music and insight as part of his Tooth and Nail tour which will be featuring songs from his first studio album for four years. Tickets are £20 plus the transaction fee if not bought directly from the venue and the show starts at 7.30pm.

The Scots, in the shape of Capercaille, invade the Town Hall on the 30th. The band are celebrating 30 years of bringing the sound of Scottish folk to the world and tickets are £20 plus the transaction fee if not bought direct from the venue. The Show starts at 7.30pm

December

Show of Hands

The Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton will be playing host to Show of Hands on the 4th with Miranda Sykes and support. The doors open 7pm and tickets are £18 and please note that Wolverhampton Civic and Wulfrun Halls have introduced a 10% fee for all bookings regardless of whether you book over the phone, via the internet or buy them from the venue in person.

Angel-voiced Yorkshire singer, Kate Rusby brings her ever popular Christmas Show to Wolverhampton's Civic Hall on the 7th. Kate will be bringing her own take on traditional festive songs as well as singing seasonal tunes from her own part of the country. Doors open at 6.45pm and tickets are £22, £20 and £14. Please note that Wolverhampton Civic and Wulfrun Halls have introduced a 10% fee for all bookings regardless of whether you book over the phone, via the internet or buy them from the venue in person.

Flossie Malavialle

Also in Wolverhampton, on the same night, the Newhampton Folk Club will be staging a concert by French singer Flossie Malavialle. Flossie is a French singer who has been involved in the British folk scene for more than a decade. The former teacher will be playing the venue in Riches Street, Whitmore Reans at 8.30pm and tickets are £10.

The venue will finish the year on the 21st with the Magical Christmas Tree Show featuring Pete Morton, Maggie Boyle and Chris Parkinson.
This collection of musicians have been putting together their special seasonal show for the last four years and are bringing it to the upper room of the Newhampton pub. Tickets are £9 in advance and £10 on the night.