DETAILED PROGRAMME

JANUARY 12^th       ELIZABETH & JAMESON and GILMORE & ROBERTS (Double header) Hannah Elizabeth and Griff Jameson have joined forces to create an acoustic folk-roots sound which encompasses both their individual musical backgrounds.  Hannah’s influences are firmly planted in traditional folk-roots, whilst in contrast Griff has formed his musical reputation within folk pop/rock genres.  Together, Elizabeth & Jameson arguably offer the best of both backgrounds; this is simplistic, classic song writing at its best - a stripped back harmony-driven sound with acoustic guitar, violin and exquisite vocals.  YouTube 

Contemporary folk/acoustic duo Gilmore & Roberts combine award-winning songwriting with astounding musicianship and their trademark harmonies to create a powerful wall of sound. Nominated three times at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Katriona Gilmore (fiddle, mandolin) and Jamie Roberts (guitar) met while studying at Leeds College of Music and released their debut album in 2008.  Since then, the duo has toured Canada and mainland Europe, played some of the UK’s biggest acoustic festivals, toured with folk rock legends Fairport Convention and won countless accolades for their genre-spanning work.  YouTube     (Members £16, Non-members £18)

JANUARY 26^th       JOHN KIRKPATRICK and COHEN BRAITHWAITE-KILCOYNE (Double header).   John has been dancing, singing, and playing his way around the English folk scene since he joined Hammersmith Morris Men in 1959 at the age of twelve. Displaying a rare skill on a variety of push-pull squeezeboxes - the melodeon, the button accordion, and the Anglo concertina - he has been fully professional since 1970, not only with vast amounts of solo appearances, but also in all kinds of duos, trios, and bands – including spells in Steeleye Span, The Albion Band, Home Service, Sultans of Squeeze, Brass Monkey to name just a few, plus lengthy stints with Richard Thompson’s Band.   YouTube 

Described in The Living Tradition as ‘captivating, bold and striking’, Cohen is at the forefront of his generation of English folk musicians as both a powerful and commanding singer and a masterful player of the Anglo concertina and melodeon.  Cohen burst onto the folk scene in his teens with the energetic and much-loved trio Granny’s Attic, along with schoolmates George Sansome and Lewis Wood, and in recent years has embarked on a solo career alongside this.  Cohen’s solo repertoire is rooted in the English folk tradition, with a particular interest in the music of the West Midlands, where Cohen spent many of his formative years. Traditional ballads, songs and tunes form the basis of Cohen’s material, but with a smattering of baroque, renaissance, ragtime, and music hall thrown in for good measure.  YouTube   (Members £16, Non-members £18)

FEBRUARY 9^th       PHIL BEER  Phil will be best known for his partnership with Steve Knightley in Show of Hands and his own folk/rock band. He expertly demonstrates his virtuoso skills on slide, 6-string and tenor guitar, cello-mandolin, fiddle, mandolin and South American cuattro, not to mention contributing rich vocals to a range of traditional, roots and Americana material. YouTube  (Members £16, Non-members £18)

FEBRUARY 23^rd     EDWINA HAYES, GARY STEWART and EMILY SLADE (Triple header)   Edwina’s beautifully written songs, charming stage presence and voice of an angel have won her a reputation as a true natural talent of gentle folk-Americana. Edwina is often invited to guest on studio albums and support major artists on tour, opening numerous shows for Jools Holland and Van Morrison, and has toured with KT Tunstall and Gretchen Peters amongst others. She has played her own sets on stages everywhere from Glastonbury Festival to The Royal Albert Hall. Edwina numbers the late Michael Parkinson and Mike Harding among her fans, and the title track of her album Pour Me A Drink was covered by Nanci Griffith, who calls her ‘the sweetest voice in England’.  YouTube 

Gary is a Scottish singer/songwriter who has carved out a strong fan-base in his adopted home of Yorkshire with songs about paranoia, love & resilience. When not playing his own music, the left-hander plays drums for fellow Bandcampers Hope & Social, bass for Leeds-based Fleetwood Mac tribute ‘Weetwood Mac’ and performs regularly up & down the U.K, performing Paul Simon’s classic 1986 album ‘Graceland’ with his seven-piece band. Gary may be best known for his big stage shows but he is a fine songwriter and solo singer as well.  YouTube ( Take a look at this YouTube video of Gracelands @ Shrewsbury Festival, an hour well spent!)   

Emily is one of Britain's foremost female fingerstyle guitarists, taking up the acoustic guitar at the age of nine, making her stage debut that same year.  During her final year at Cambridge University she launched her record label ‘Rustic Thorn Records’ to release a limited edition EP called ‘Small Talk’.  Her debut full album, ‘Shire Boy’, followed, gaining a BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award nomination for best newcomer. Emily took to the road, promoting the album, travelling internationally, carving out a staggering reputation amongst fellow musicians and support at grassroots level from the audiences at her concerts. The partnership between her intricate guitar playing and enchanting vocals are rarely found in one person, making Emily an enthralling performer. She is a woman quite clearly at ease with her audience, her winning personality and presence have endeared her to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. You may also have caught her as a member of the Phil Beer Band.   YouTube      (Members £16, Non-members £18)

MARCH 9^th    STEVE KNIGHTLEY  Steve is the songwriting force behind the phenomenally successful acoustic duo Show of Hands, as well as a fine singer and musician.  He is known for his strong narrative songs (many inspired by people and places in his native West Country) and cogent, inventive lyrics. 'Bleak, witty and finely observed' (The Guardian). YouTube   (Members £18, Non-members £20)

MARCH 23^rd     LUKE JACKSON and PETE MORTON (Double header)  Blessed with a  distinctive, bluesy, soulful voice, singer-songwriter Luke has developed an enviable reputation for himself in the Roots, Acoustic, Folk & Americana circuits by virtue of his acclaimed recordings and dynamic live performances, be they solo or trio.  2022 turned out to be one of Luke's most successful years yet, starting with a prestigious support, opening for Fairport Convention on their Winter Tour, followed by a dream run of openers for Richard Thompson. Next he was off for two weeks songwriting and performing in Nashville, including a show at the iconic Bluebird Café. Then there was a run of shows supporting the legendary Marillion, and to finish off the year, several openers with the wonderful Jools Holland.  As if this wasn't enough, Luke also found time to record, and release on Bandcamp, the '10 year anniversary' version of his very first album, 'More Than Boys'. YouTube 

Pete is a singer and entertainer with a wealth of self-penned songs that express everything from the highly personal to the truly international.  Often referred to as an old-time troubadour he delivers an unruly mix of humanism politics, love, social commentary and humour, all wrapping its way around the folk tradition.  With his powerful, euphonious voice storytelling and compelling stage presence he continues his merry niche, singing songs, peace, justice, open global inclusion, with a fun, loving and approachable style.  YouTube    (Members £16, Non-members £18)

APRIL 6^th     GIGSPANNER    In the wake of his departure from Steeleye Span, fiddle player Peter Knight turned his full attention to his trio Gigspanner, and in the process established their reputation as one of the most genuinely ground-breaking forces on the British folk scene, inspiring Maverick magazine to write "Gigspanner are pushing at the boundaries, expanding the possibilities and in the process making some of the most beautiful music the genre has to offer".  They have been described by Folk Radio UK as one of the “most quietly brilliant sets of musicians in the folk world and beyond”, and by Songlines as "another milestone in folk's rebirth of cool".  Taking self-penned material along with music rooted in the British Isles and beyond, with the flick of a bow, a finely chosen chord or slip of a beat.  YouTube   (Members £18, Non-members £20)

APRIL 27^th   KATHRYN ROBERTS & SEAN LAKEMAN   Two of the British folk scenes most accomplished performers, Kathryn and Sean have graced stages the world over in a number of guises. However, the intimacy and strength of passion shown as a duo, combined with an ever-evolving eclectic repertoire ensures a rare treat for any listener. Both are hugely experienced; Kathryn first came to Hitchin in a duo with Kate Rusby and Sean first came to notice as one of the teenage trio, the Lakeman Brothers.  YouTube  (Members £16, Non-members £18)

MAY 11^th      TRACK DOGS     Track Dogs are two Irishmen, an Englishman and an American, (Garrett Wall, Dave Mooney, Howard Brown & Robbie K.Jones), whose artistic name derives from the dark subterranean world of New York’s subway system. Formed in the Autumn of 2006 in Madrid around the eclectic line-up of acoustic guitar, electric bass, trumpet and cajón, over the following 18 years they have added banjo, ukulele and mandolin as well as honing their four part vocal harmonies, now very much an integral part of their “sound”. Well-established in Spain where they are based, they are surprising music lovers everywhere with “Sun-shiny songs thriving on dark themes behind irresistible rhythms.”   YouTube   (Members £18, Non-members £20)

MAY 18^th      BROOKS WILLIAMS and STEVE TILSTON (Double header).    Lauded as one of the top 100 acoustic guitarists of all time, Brooks is also a renowned songwriter, from Boston, USA.  With his silky voice, hook laden intelligent songs, rollicking acoustic and resonator slide guitar, and his instantly endearing manner, he continues to wow audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. YouTube 

Steve is one of our most celebrated song smiths, widely recognised within the world of folk and contemporary music; the words, arrangements and subtle, quite superb guitar playing could be no one else. Steve made his recording debut in 1971 with the classic An Acoustic Confusion and has been turning out quality albums ever since, all featuring first-class songwriting and stylistically Tilston, marking him out as one of this country’s finest writers. Though known as a songwriter, Steve has always had an ear for the tradition and included new interpretations of old favourites on his original recordings.  YouTube   (Members £16, Non-members £18)