A special evening awaits the audience at Downend Folk Club this month as they are treated to a visit from one of the UK's top bluegrass and folk acts, THE CARRIVICK SISTERS.
Twins Laura and Charlotte perform their original songs and instrumentals along with a few carefully chosen covers on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, and clawhammer banjo. Their busy touring schedule is rapidly building them a reputation for engaging and entertaining live performances with tight sibling vocal harmonies and multi-instrumental virtuosity. Having grown up in South Devon, an area rich in folk lore and legends, much of their original material is inspired by their local surroundings and history.
As well as touring all over the UK, The Carrivick Sisters have performed at major festivals in Canada and mainland Europe. They have released five studio albums to much critical acclaim and airplay worldwide. Their sixth album, 10 Years Live, was recorded in front of an audience and is a 10 year retrospective and celebration, with half of the album being old favourites chosen by fans and the other half previously unrecorded material.
The Carrivick Sisters first started performing as a duo in 2006, originally as buskers before starting to play more and more proper gigs, turning professional when they left school in 2007. In 2007 they won the South West Busker’s and Street Entertainer’s Competition, gaining themselves their first spot at Glastonbury Festival.
Laura and Charlotte will be joined on the bill by fast-rising duo THE LAST INKLINGS, who will get the evening underway with a short set. The Last Inklings are Leonardo MacKenzie and David Hoyland, formerly of Kadia; both are accomplished multi-instrumentalists with a solid folk background. The band's innovative sound crosses genres, centred around cello, mandolin and vocal harmony, layered with guitar, piano, strings, synths and percussion. With vibrant backstories and creative musicianship, their songs have a modern flavour that is rich with imagery and narrative, exploring at their core what it is to be human.
Tickets for the event, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 19th November 2021, are available online HERE and from MELANIE'S KITCHEN in Downend. They are priced at £15 each and must be purchased in advance. There will be a bar, stocking cider, soft drinks, wine, hot drinks and locally-brewed real ale from Hambrook-based GREAT WESTERN BREWING CO. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own glass/mug/tankard/bucket, as well as reusable bottles for water, as part of our drive to be more environmentally aware. There is now a 50p discount for those bringing their own receptacles.
There are 100 tickets available for the moment, of which almost two thirds have already been snapped up. We hope to be able to make more available soon, but book now to avoid disappointment. For further information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We are delighted to announce our exciting programme for Spring 2022, with four amazing concerts, from January to April, featuring some of the very best folk, roots and acoustic artists. As always, we’re thrilled to be able to bring musicians of such quality to our little corner of South Gloucestershire/Bristol!
Kicking off the Spring Programme on Friday 21st January will be JIM CAUSLEY. More than simply a folk-singer, multi award winning singer-songwriter, musician and proud Devonian Jim is an all-round entertainer and during the past decade Causley has been nominated no less than six times for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award. Since the release of his debut album in 2005, Causley’s unique voice and persona have helped him become one of the most well-loved and respected figures of today’s contemporary roots and folk scene.
SUTHERING combines the musical talents of Julu Irvine and Heg Brignall, and they will launch their new album If We Turn Away at Downend Folk Club on Friday 18th February, wirer they will be joined on stage by Olivia Dunn (Phil Beer Band, Mad Dog Mcrea) and Sarah Rickets (The Nightjar). A couple in life and in music, Julu and Heg have taken the folk scene by storm with their unusual and fresh approach to folk. The pair champion female characters, creating new narratives for women and unearthing the female heroines of folk.
Headlining on Friday 18th March will be PETER KNIGHT & JOHN SPIERS. The pairing of violin and melodeon is not a new one, but in the hands of Knight and Spiers, improvisation and invention meet the listener at every turn. Together they have created a musical document that resonates with history, but also something to inspire future generations of musicians to engage with Britain’s folk dancing heritage, and the beautiful, mysterious tunes that can be found within that heritage.
Two of Scotland’s most revered multi-instrumentalists will round off the programme on Friday 22nd April MAIREARAD GREEN & ANNA MASSIE are a truly captivating duo, providing a highly energetic performance with an instantly warm and friendly stage presence. Having played alongside each other for over ten years, they revel in an intuitive approach to each other’s musical ideas and interpretations, and an “almost telepathic communication” on stage (Hi-Arts), effortlessly showcasing the fruits of duo partnership to the highest level, creating “music more than the sum of just two parts” (The Scotsman).
All four concerts will take place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND. We hope to be able to return to something like full capacity but we’re limiting the audience numbers to 100 for the initial release. Seating will be unreserved. All tickets are £14 in advance (£16 on the door) but you can also buy a season ticket for all four concerts for £50, saving £6 plus booking fees. All tickets are non-refundable. Tickets are available HERE. They will also be available from MELANIE’S KITCHEN in Downend ahead of each individual gig. Please note that they can only take cash payments.
There will be a full bar at all concerts, as well as the stealth raffle, all proceeds of which go towards booking our support acts, which will be announced nearer the time. Doors open at 7.30pm for a 7.45pm start. Any queries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
It must be nearly Harvest Festival time, mustn't it? At Christ Church Downend, just next to the altar, is an offering of food. A collection of gifts. A cornucopia. A bounty. This evening, just in front of that altar, is SAM CARTER. Delivering gifts, laying out an overflowing cornucopia, bringing us his bounty of glorious songs and delicate melodies.
Just after the third song of the evening a voice, a throaty, possibly slightly drunken voice, shouts "Yes, mate!". It's a simple, heartfelt affirmation, a phrase that says all that you need to know about Sam Carter this evening. Unequivocally "yes". Yes to the songs. Yes to the guitar playing. Just..."yes".
The song that gave rise to that was She Brings Me Home. A massive slice of joy from Sam's new(ish) album Home Waters. He calls it "a good, old fashioned love song" and he’s not wrong. Just as delightfully happy is Our Kind of Harmony from How the City Sings. It's simply such a beautiful song about singing and love and togetherness. These are songs that bring an instant smile to your face, an extra tap to your toes. They are songs to fall in love to.
The songs are one thing but Sam is, almost certainly, the very best folk guitarist in the country. Silvery dewdrops cascade from his fret board, leaving even those that know one end of a capo from the other (or, indeed, where to put one) grinning behind their hands. Can you imagine being able to play like that? Even a little bit like that? It's astonishing. He often cites Nic Jones as an influence but even he wasn't as good as this, was he? Sam's version of Oh Dear, Rue the Day is certainly a match for Jones'.
So that cornucopia then? Amazing guitar playing, beautiful love songs and Sam Carter is not even half done. There's some politics too. From the Sweet Liberties project comes Dark Days. A proper Dickensian, street stalker of a song. Wearing a battered coat and a sinister leer, taking pot shots at these nasty political times it's joined by Fly the Flag. As anti-Br*xit a song as you're likely to hear, more devastated than outright furious. It goes without saying that the throaty cheering was back again. Beneath his mild mannered exterior a seriously annoyed, politically aware beast lurks.
Hold Back The Storm tackles the climate crisis with the heartbroken yearning of the deeply wounded while Dreams are Made of Money still sounds like a stone-cold classic of modern songwriting. In all honesty every single song feels special. As he says "every true story told turns lead into gold". Everything could be met with a lusty "yes".
Equally deserving of relentless positivity was a short opening set from FLO PARKER BOMBOSCH. Rumour has it that this was her first proper set ever, but you'd never know. She mixes superbly chosen covers (Jason Isbell, The Frames) with her own songs... Something That Scares Me is a particular highpoint... and there were times when it felt as though we'd slipped through some sort of 90s indie wormhole. Very welcome echoes of the brilliant Juliana Hatfield rather than straight-up folk but very fine for all of that. Her voice is goosebumps inducing, the songs clever and honest.
All in all an amazing evening of gifts and blessing. Oh "yes".
Words: Gavin McNamara
Photo: Barry Savell
Page 43 of 122