About two songs into THE CARRIVICK SISTERS' set, on the first of Downend Folk & Roots Saturday lunchtime shows, a tiny pair of feet storms forward, dashing headlong towards the stage. They are caught. Scooped up. Returned to safety. For about 30 seconds. 
 
Ant Miles, head honcho at Downend, is determined to broaden the scope of folk audiences so he’s thrown the doors of this wonderful place open to families for a relaxed, completely non-judgemental gig. As a consequence, Christ Church is thrumming with little voices, it's awash with blackcurrant squash and filled with tiny dancers. It is an utterly heartwarming afternoon, ridiculously brilliant. While there are Downend regulars here, there are so many new faces too.
 
The soundtrack to all of this loveliness are Devon's Bluegrass Queens, The Carrivick Sisters. Laura (on fiddle, dobro and guitar) has brought her own children - in fact the near stage invasion was perpetrated by her eldest - whereas Charlotte (banjo, mandolin and guitar) has left hers at home. Between them they provide lullabies, tales of knights and castles, musings on maps, toe tappers and music that's just right for a tiny bit of infant joggling.
 
 
If there's any truth in the idea that twins share some kind of telepathic link then Laura and Charlotte set out to prove that it is, indeed, the case. It's the only explanation for the gorgeous harmonies that they produce. Don't the Road Look Rough and Rocky is a lullaby, led by Laura's pure, high voice but it’s when Charlotte joins her that magic happens. Two voices, overlapping and overlaying, creating multiple textures, multiple colours. They conjure MGM Western technicolour right there in front of you. 
 
In true bluegrass style the Carrivicks gather around one central microphone, each taking a lead or delivering an exquisite musical break. Charlotte’s mandolin on Lazy John nips along, rousing the dozing babies enfolded in parent's arms, while Laura's hazy lap steel on Already Gone lulls them once more. On Gillian Welch's Dear Someone the sisters use a guitar each as swoony, sleepy magic wands, effortlessly casting a calming spell.
 
I Love You Honey has a cheeky swish of Western swing, it's a tasselled rhinestone skirt of a thing, a pink cowboy boot. Patsy Cline would be proud. The instrumental, Digging up the Rose Bush, is a Wile-E Coyote cartoon dash, a swirling dust cloud and meep-meep acceleration. Both see the little ones stirring, see feet stamping and arms whirling.
 
 
A brand-new song, probably called Primrose and Narcissus, is sunshine bright. Written for Laura's children it's a new song that sounds old, as timeless as mountains, as familiar as parenthood. Those harmonies, once again, bringing huge smiles. Equally golden is Today Is a Good Day, two guitars chiming away, picking up pace, bursting with sunbeams. These are wonderfully old-timey tunes, perfect for any age group.
 
Having set feet stomping and brand-new eyes flickering, The Carrivick Sisters end with a kiddie-folk classic. Sleeping Bunnies seems to leave the littlest ones entirely bewildered but their parents love it.
 
After just an hour, the music comes to an end. The Carrivick Sisters have beguiled everyone, have woven their harmonised magic. There’s still colouring to complete, squash to drink and racing about to do though. A tiny pair of feet storms forwards… there’s still fun to be had. The first Saturday lunchtime at Downend is as joyous as anything that you could imagine.
 
Words: Gavin McNamara
Photos: Barry Savell

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We are thrilled to welcome THE CARRIVICK SISTERS for our first Live at Lunchtime concert on Saturday 2 March.

These events are family-friendly and under-18s go free (accompanied by a paying adult). There will be a very relaxed atmosphere, and if children make some noise, that's fine! There will be activity and colouring sheets for younger children and a break-out room at the back for anyone that needs it, where there will be toys and a bit of space, with the audio of the gig piped into the room.


The Carrivick Sisters are one of the UK's top young bluegrass and folk acts. 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.

The concert itself is not specifically aimed at children, although is very family-friendly. These events are aimed at people who perhaps cannot make our usual Friday evening events, as well as our regular audience. And remember, if you already have a season ticket for Spring/Summer 2024, you get this one for free!

The concert will be shorter than normal (just over  an hour with a short break halfway though) and there is no support. Doors open at midday and the music starts at 12.30pm. It will finish at around 1.45pm.

The event takes place at our usual CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND venue, tickets are £10 per adult (plus booking fees) and are available HERE, or, as usual, from MELANIE'S KITCHEN in Downend (cash only). There will be tea, coffee and a small selection of soft drinks and THE GREAT CAKE COMPANY cakes available to purchase, and free squash for children, available from our bar. Please note that we will not be serving alcoholic drinks at these events. 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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“This is the first gig we've done in ages”, says Hannah Martin. “Please be kind”. Martin (of Edgelarks) and Miranda Sykes (of Show of Hands) have been away for ages. There was Covid, having children, illness, all of which conspired against touring. Tonight, though, is the start of a new tour in support of a brilliant new album, Unquenching Fire. All in all, kindness was never going to be a problem.
 
The joy of SYKESMARTIN, the reason for the kindness, is the glorious interplay between the two voices. Martin's is deep, and rich, Sykes has a voice that is sweeter, smoother, the perfect voice for telling tales. When the two harmonise, the traditional songs sparkle into life.
 
 
Little Margaret has its roots in a seventeenth century ballad but SykesMartin reach towards the Appalachian Mountains for their version. The ghostly fragility that shimmers around the two of them doesn’t leave them all evening. Old songs of love, loss and longing are plucked from their dusty libraries and shone until they glisten.
 
The SykesMartin stage is a very full one. There may just be the two of them but there's a double bass, several guitars, a banjo, a fiddle and a shruti box. All of this might suggest busy, tangled arrangements but that couldn't be further from the truth. As Sykes sings If I Was a Blackbird to Martin's swooping fiddle accompaniment, she adds the occasional double bass thrum and a whole seascape opens up. Sykes sings Blow the Candle Out too and her bass gives a silken slink to the story of secret love. She sings with such an honesty that it becomes easy to picture a forbidden tryst.
 
 
Much of the set is made up of traditional songs but Hannah Martin has always been a wonderful songwriter and her own songs slip easily in amongst the older ones. They give her Sorrows Before Dawn a world premier and it is exquisite. Reflecting on the 4am horrors, when all of your worries hover around your bed, it is reflective and slow, tender and gentle. Martin's velvet voice perfectly suited to the pre-dawn darkness. On the title track of the new album, Martin has taken a fragment of an old song and made it her own, adding new verses. It is epic, Sykes adding heartbeat-bass to a gorgeous song that is the very essence of romantic folk. 
 
If their version of Anne Briggs’ Go Your Way belies Miranda Sykes’ folk-rock roots then it is an acapella The Parting Glass that perfectly shows how amazing this duo is. Unamplified yet utterly captivating, two distinct voices becoming one incredible thing.
 
 
Another wonderful interpreter of the folk canon was support act HOLLY CLARKE. Having driven all the way from Newcastle for her short set she made sure to leave an impression on this corner of South Gloucestershire. 
 
She gave the likes of Young Collins and John Barleycorn tremendous new arrangements, neither fussy nor laden with tricks but both allowing the stories to be told. Her voice wonderfully strong, refreshingly honest and, set against some dexterous guitar playing, she's the epitome of a great storyteller. She is also a brilliant contextualiser of the songs that she sang, adding details and open-hearted asides. Especially wonderful was her version of Chris Wood's Bleary Winter. Winding folk horror dread around left-wing politics, it was gloriously resonant. 
 
SykesMartin may have been away for a while but, by the end of this beautiful evening, they were engulfed in great waves of kindness.
 
Words: Gavin McNamara
Photos: Barry Savell
 
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