After a fantastic tenth birthday party in July, Downend Folk & Roots took a well-deserved summer off. Last night they returned to remind us, once again, just how important it is to be a part of something bigger, part of a community.
 
Both FILKIN'S DRIFT and the jaw dropping support act MICHELLE HOLLOWAY form a small part of fourteen-piece folk soon-to-be-superstars, Filkin's Ensemble. While the Ensemble have a massive, utterly addictive air, the smaller bits are more gentle, more subtle but the individual strengths are more obvious.
 
 
Chris Roberts and Seth Bye are the driving force behind Filkin's Ensemble, it was their ambitious lock-down project. They have created what is, quite simply, the most exciting folk band around. Tonight, though, it's just the two of them. A fiddle, a guitar and two voices. Remarkably they still manage to fill every corner with their songs and tunes that are rooted firmly in place.
 
The two sets that they play straddle the borders of the South West. Roberts brings Welsh songs, redolent of home and family, while Bye's fiddle conjures dance tunes from Gloucestershire. Both are wonderful.
 
On Hiraeth, Roberts is gentle and delicate, his voice fragile, that heart-sick Welsh yearning beautifully evoked. His guitar playing is fluid, a tumbling mountain stream, notes nimbly glittering from impossibly long fingers until they join Bye's fiddle in a celebration of home. 
 
Adar Mân y Mynydd has the same sense of delicacy, plucked guitar and violin bird-like until the fiddle gently bouys the song, lifting it into the air. A breeze blows through Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn as instruments and voices flutter, Roberts and Bye carefully sketching fields of wheat in muted colours, flecked with gold.
 
 
All of the songs have a graceful quality, they feel feather-light, enveloping you like mist. The tunes, however, work as the perfect counter-balance, they tap their toes and swirl around, giddily. The Girl I Left Behind Me is a Cotswold's Morris tune that is brimming with dusky warmth, Bye's fiddle scattering sunbeams, casting light. Touch Paper/The Gloucester Hornpipe is a little more sedate, the fiddle spiralling around Roberts' heartbeat guitar, the pace of the dance languid, but happily so. 
 
A couple of years ago, Filkin's Drift decided to walk to work. They walked the Welsh coastal path for two months, playing gigs as they went. From this experience came a whole bunch of tunes, one of the best being St Tudno’s. Starting with Roberts’ classical phrasing, before he hurtles into a helter-skelter insistence, Bye joins him and the two instruments face off, almost confrontational in their intensity. They spin around one another, touching and then dashing off before racing upwards, looking down on the church on the Great Orme peninsula. 
 
As the September chill creeps through the church, Filkin's Drift have one more comforting, warming treat. Richard Thompson's Beeswing is one of the great modern folk songs and this version is gorgeous. As with everything else that they play, it is understated, gentle, exquisite. Roberts and Bye harmonising as if it's the most natural thing in the world.
 
 
There's a sound that the Downend audience make as they fall in love with an artist. It's a breathy mutter, a satisfied sigh. Just as Michelle Holloway finishes her version of Karine Polwart’s Come Away In, the sound of falling in love whispers around the pews. Holloway sings entirely unaccompanied and has a voice that reaches out and warms the heart. It's incredible. 
 
Each song she sings comes with enormous emotional heft and the lack of instrumentation forces us to pay attention to the words. Nancy Kerr's Dark Honey has an incredulous sense of disbelief that humans could be so destructive, so careless. Jon Wilks’ Mary Ashford's Tragedy highlights the dangers that women face walking home at night. Holloway's warmth draws us in, then the words smash you between the eyes. It is the classic folk-y one-two. An iron fist in a velvet glove and so easy to fall in love with.
 
If there's any justice in the world, Filkin's Ensemble will be the “next big thing” in Folk, until then the individuals that emerge from the collective are very special too. They are a community creating remarkable things.
 
Words: Gavin McNamara
Photos: Barry Savell

We return to our normal third-Friday-of-the-month pattern in September after the excitement of our 10th Anniversary Celebration, but there's no drop in quality as we welcome one of the most exciting young duos in the country to kick off our Autumn/Winter series. 

FILKIN'S DRIFT reimagine traditional melodies through pizzicato grooves, intricate guitar tunes, and boundless improvisation. Their 870 mile foot-powered-tour, described as "committed and fascinating" by BBC 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews, has recently propelled them into the spotlight. This radical approach to sustainable touring has earned the duo global attention from major news outlets including BBC News, Billboard, The i, Radio New Zealand, Canadian Broadcasting Company, and The Times.

The music of Filkin’s Drift captures the essence of their 870 mile walk, "weaving together a tapestry of shared experiences" (Songlines). Their compositions are sophisticated, yet rooted in tradition. From delicate Welsh folk songs to traditional English dance tunes, the pair blend fiddle and guitar with their "gorgeous close vocal harmonies" (Folk Radio UK).

Seth Bye and Chris Roberts have earned widespread acclaim with extensive national airtime on BBC Radio 2, 3, 4, 6 Music, and BBC World Service. Renowned for their live performances, characterised as "utterly mesmerizing" (Bristol 24⁄7) and "hugely entertaining" (RnR), the duo have enchanted audiences across the UK including FolkEast, Warwick Folk Festival, St George’s Bristol, and Llangollen International Eisteddfod. 

In tandem with their groundbreaking commitment to sustainable touring, the duo’s latest endeavor involves the formation of Filkin's Ensemble, a 15-piece orchestral-folk band, which also includes MICHELLE HOLLOWAY, who will open the evening with a short solo set.

 

Peeling back the noise and focusing on the song itself has become a new focus point for Michelle’s work. She sings songs of past and present about women, social justice and Birmingham’s heritage. Fatea Magazine has praised her "extraordinary vocal work [which] acutely voices the song’s drama...[a] distinctive lead vocal taking no prisoners".

Tickets for the concert, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 20 September 2024, are available online HERE and from MELANIE'S KITCHEN in Downend (cash only). They are priced at £14 each in advance or £16 on the door. Doors open at 7.00pm and the music starts around 7.45pm. This even is also included in our Autumn/Winter Season Ticket.

There will be a bar, stocking cider, soft drinks, wine, hot drinks and real ale from locally-based HOP UNION BREWERY. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own glass/mug/tankard, as well as reusable bottles for water, as part of the drive to be more environmentally aware; there is a 50p discount for those that do. There will also be sweet treats available at the bar courtesy of Radstock-based THE GREAT CAKE COMPANY, as well as a prize draw, which helps to fund the support artists for each concert. 

For further information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or find us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM or X.

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We’re excited to announce our lineup for Autumn/Winter 2024. As usual, It’s a great mix of the traditional and the contemporary, the established and the emerging… the very best that the UK folk scene has to offer.

We kick off after our Summer break with FILKIN’S DRIFT, who return to headline on Friday 20 September, after performing a well-received support slot a couple of years ago. Seth Bye and Chris Roberts reimagine traditional melodies through pizzicato grooves, intricate guitar tunes, and boundless improvisation. Their recent 870 mile foot-powered tour, described as ‘committed and fascinating’ by BBC 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews, has recently propelled them into the spotlight. Opening the evening MICHELLE HOLLOWAY, who performs unaccompanied traditional songs and plays whistles alongside the duo in their 15-piece folk orchestra Filkin’s Ensemble.

RACHAEL McSHANE & THE CARTOGRAPHERS release a new album this Autumn, and their tour brings them to South Gloucestershire on Friday 18 October, for a show that will also be streamed live in partnership with LIVE TO YOUR LIVING ROOM. Rachael is a renowned folk singer, cellist, fiddle and viola player from the North East of England. She gained fame as an original member of the award-winning folk big band Bellowhead. Joined by guitarist Ian Stephenson (Kan, Baltic Crossing), and melodeon player Julian Sutton (Kathryn Tickell, Sting), they bring a powerful blend of traditional folk and contemporary sounds, with Rachael's stunning voice and instrumental skills leading the line. The evening will begin with a set Yorkshire’s JOHNNY CAMPBELL.

It’s hard to believe that GRANNY’S ATTIC have been playing together for 15 years, but they have… and their celebration tour brings them to Downend on Friday 15 November. The trio have been heralded for their lively performances and skilled delivery of traditional material, playing with verve, energy and their own inimitable style. Though grounded in tradition, they are keen to push new boundaries by exploring fresh approaches and writing their own compositions.. Described by Folk Radio as “one of the most exciting and accomplished English folk acts on the scene right now”, Granny’s Attic can hold audiences in the palm of their hand. They’ll be supported by HEATHER FERRIER, a fresh new talent from the vibrant Newcastle folk scene.

The Downend Folk & Roots Christmas concert has seen some incredible lineups take to the stage in front of some of our biggest audiences, but the one that our regulars have kept talking about is A WINTER UNION, and they return on Friday 13 December in a gig that will also be live-streamed by LIVE TO YOUR LIVING ROOM. Featuring members of The Willows, Gilmore & Roberts and Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage, this supergroup is now fast becoming thought of as the pre-Christmas knees-up for folk and roots music lovers all over the country. And, after the success of last year, we’re pleased to say that the brilliant folk-choir HEARTWOOD CHORUS will get us underway.

All four concerts will take place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND. Seating is unreserved. The concerts are all individually priced, but you can also buy a season ticket for all four concerts for £55. All tickets are non-refundable. They are available online HERE, and they will also be available from MELANIE’S KITCHEN in Downend ahead of each individual gig. Please note that the shop can only take cash payments and season tickets are not available at the shop. There will be a full bar at all concerts, as well as a prize draw, all proceeds of which go towards booking our support artists. Doors open at 7.00pm for a 7.45pm start. 

We're really excited about this season, and we hope you will be too. Keep supporting live music! For further information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or find us on FACEBOOK, X or INSTAGRAM.

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  1. 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION REVIEW: "A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND FUN, AN OVERWHELMING LOVE OF THE MUSIC, BUT A REFUSAL TO TAKE IT ALL TOO SERIOUSLY"
  2. NEXT AT DOWNEND FOLK & ROOTS: 10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND
  3. REVIEW: "SIMPLY ONE OF THE FINEST GIGS THAT THIS PLACE HAS SEEN"
  4. NEXT AT DOWNEND FOLK & ROOTS: NANCY KERR & JAMES FAGAN + DAVID MITCHELL