Our next event is a special one-off fundraiser for Dorothy House Hospice Care.

Pecussionist JO MAY will be joining us on Friday 6th February to run two spoons-playing workshops. Jo is in the area as part of her "SPOON FOR DOTTY" tour, which sees her visit a different place every day during February in a bid to raise much-needed funding for the hospice, which is near Bath.

Jo is an experienced percussion teacher and workshop leader. She has spent many years working as a peripatetic music teacher in schools; running African Drumming Workshops; and previously running a range of exciting rhythm-based workshops with her group, Tapatak. Jo currently runs Spoons Workshops for all ages, in schools, and for parties, festivals and other events. She teaches a variety of techniques and rhythms on an assortment of spoons, often accompanied by fiddler, Linda Game, or guitarist, Matt Sullivan. She recently played percussion on Ange Hardy's award-winning album, "The Lament of the Black Sheep". You can find out more about Jo by visiting her website here.

The first of the two workshops will be held at Baguette Me Not, in Downend, between 2.00pm-3.30pm, while the second will be at the Winter Stream Farm pub, near Hambrook, between 5.30pm-7.00pm. Admission to both events is free, with donations taken... please give as much or as little as you like. You can find out more about the crucial work of Dorothy House on their website here.

We are extremely grateful to both venues for hosting these workshops for free... do buy a cup of coffee from Baguette Me Not or a pint at the Winter Stream Farm (they have GWB beer!) while you're there.

Photos from December's visit of KELLY OLIVER and support act THE PORTRAITS are now available to view online.

These photos were mostly taken by the very talented Julian Cox. You can view them by clicking here or on the Photos tab on the menu bar. Please note that this will take you to an external website run by Alan Cole, where our photos are hosted.

 

January’s headline guest at Downend Folk Club has really been making waves on the folk scene of late.

KELLY OLIVER has enjoyed a whirlwind of a year as a singer songwriter. Having originally been inspired by the folk tradition, she returned from travelling determined to give her own material a chance to be heard and put all her energy into realising her dream of becoming a professional musician.

Having won funding via an Emerging Excellence Award from Help Musicians UK to fund her album, her single Diamond Girl, featuring the vocals of Luke Jackson alongside Kelly’s own distinctive voice, was played on BBC Radio 2’s Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe and Bob Harris’ Sunday show during October.

Kelly’s debut album, This Land, has recently been released to great acclaim, including a four-star review from R2 Magazine.

“Kelly is an artist we’ve had our eye on since we launched, so we’re thrilled to welcome her in January,” said Downend Folk Club’s Steve Johnson. “She’s had a big year, and her album really is excellent. It’s a great way to start the new year.”

Opening the evening will be THE PORTRAITS, who are husband and wife alternative folk duo Jeremy & Lorraine Millington, from Bristol and Galway respectively, who performed at Glastonbury Festival 2014 and have been played on BBC 6 Music.

Their appearance at Downend Folk Club is part of a mini-tour promoting their new single “The Rest Of Time”. Throughout 2014, they recorded real peoples’ voices across the country for the song, which they are releasing in an attempt to save lives lost to blood cancers, in particular that of six-year old Emma Whittaker, from Buckinghamshire, who suffers from the rare genetic condition Fanconi Anaemia and needs to find a donor by March to save her life.

Tickets for the event, which will be held on Friday 16th January at Frenchay Village Hall, are on sale now from Baguette Me Not or online here and from Bristol Ticket Shop. They are priced at just £8 in advance (£7 for members via the website only). They will be £10 on the night. Doors open at 7.30pm and there will be a bar serving Great Western Brewing Company real ales, Severn Cider and a range of wine, soft drinks and teas and coffees, as well as raffle during the interval.