This Saturday (19th April), Downend Folk Club throws open its doors for the very first time with a concert by the fabulous Bright Season.
Bright Season, a traditional folk trio based in South Yorkshire, bring together influences from the traditional music of England and Scandinavia to deliver foot-stomping tunes, dramatic ballads and heart-warming harmonies.
The trio formed in 2013, merging the talents of singer and guitarist Michael J Tinker, fiddle-player Ella Sprung and accordionist Simon Dumpleton. Together they perform traditional and self-penned songs and tunes, displaying their own individual gifts and combining to deliver stunning arrangements and harmonies.
Included in their set are traditional ballads such as 'The House Carpenter', a cappella arrangements of 'John Ball' and the 'shape-note' song 'Africa' and also tune sets drawing on influences from European folk. This is particularly brought to the fore with Ella's Nyckelharpa.
Michael J Tinker has performed and recorded with Damien O'Kane (Kate Rusby band) and Katriona Gilmore and is currently working on a collaborative project with Bella Hardy, Josienne Clarke, The Young'uns, Tom Oakes, Ian Stephenson and Jon Boden. In addition he has supported Bellowhead, Lucy Ward, Sam Carter, Maz O'Connor and many more.
Ella Sprung is a fiddle player, singer and dancer. She specialises in French, Breton, and Scandinavian folk music, and performs with European folk dance band Trip the Light and folk groups Gallivant and Jack's Rake. In addition to playing the fiddle she also plays the Swedish Nyckelharpa.
Simon Dumpleton is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed with numerous people including Kirsty Bromley and in the ceilidh band Trinculo. He has recently produced recordings for Jess and Richard Arrowsmith, Hekety, Outre Manche and the Melrose Quartet.
The concert in Downend is being held at Christ Church before we move to our new home at Frenchay Village Hall in May. Advance tickets are no longer available, but you can buy tickets on the door for £10.
In addition to the concert, you'll also be able to get hold of Bright Season's brand-new CD, while copies of The Living Tradition magazine and Downend Folk Club pin-badges will be on sale. There will be a raffle with some great prizes, and light refreshments will be available to buy (please note that there is no bar at this event... but we'll be putting that right in May!).
We're very excited... see you there?
12.4.14
Friday night's aren't quite the same without a pint of decent beer, so we've made sure you won't go without at our monthly gigs by teaming up with local brewery The Great Western Brewing Company.
From an Acoustic Evening with Bella Hardy in May onwards, you'll be able to buy bottles of two of GWB's signature beers at all our monthly gigs. We'll be well-stocked up on "Maiden Voyage" and "Classic Gold", and we think you'll be hard-pressed to choose between them!
The Great Western Brewing Company is an independent, family brewing company founded in 2007. It is located in the small village of Hambrook, just a couple of miles from Downend and even closer to our venue at Frenchay Village Hall. It doesn't get much more local than that! You can find out more about the Great Western Brewing Company via their website, www.gwbrewery.co.uk
Cheers!
11.4.14
One of Britain's top folk musicians has been unveiled as the new Patron of Downend Folk Club.
Jim Moray is one of the most consistently inventive musicians working in English traditional music today. Winner of five BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, after five ground-breaking albums he now finds himself at the forefront of a new folk revival in the UK, and hailed as a pivotal influence by a new generation of folk musicians.
In 2013 Jim celebrated both 10 years since his landmark debut album Sweet England and the success of his 2012 career best Skulk.
As part of his Patronage, Jim will help to promote the club both locally and nationally, and will be playing a concert here in December. You may also bump into him at some of our other events from time-to-time!
We are thrilled to have an artist with such a great reputation associated with the club, and we're very excited about the prospect of working with him to bring great live folk, roots and acoustic music to the Downend area.
Pop on over to www.jimmoray.co.uk to find out more about our brand-new Patron! Welcome aboard, Jim!
28.3.14
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