The Folk

 

Events at the Folk 2023

 

 

Gloucester Folk Choir

A new choir starting in Gloucester singing folk songs from Britain and beyond.

Thursday evenings 7 – 8.30 pm

£7 per sessions – concessions available on request

Run by experienced folk choir leader Sorrel Wilde. Open to all abilities and based on natural voice principals.

Email Sorrelwilde@gmail.com for more information. Sorrelwildesinging.co.uk

 

 

Gloucester Storytelling Café. Dates for 2023

Saffy and Jane Springham are pleased to have started running a monthly Storytelling Café at The Folk. The Café is on every first Thursday of the month from 7 pm for ages 14+. There will be invited guest storytellers, music and an open mic every month. We want to hear all kinds of storytelling – so whether you enjoy traditional, real-life, original works, narrative poems or flash fiction there will be something for everyone! Oral telling and written tales, beginners and experienced performers alike are welcome.

Come along and join us on the following dates:

May 4th; June 1st; July 6th; August 3rd; September 7th; October 5th; November 2nd; December 7th

 

Third Thursday Folk Songs & Tunes Session.

Join us on the third Thursday of every month between 12.00 and 3.00 pm for a session of folk songs and tunes organised by Bill & Rebecca from local duo ReBil.

 

Saturday March 16th 2024. 10 am – 5.30 pm. Mel Biggs Live at The Folk – Workshop

 

A rare chance for folk music players of all levels to learn how to play better together in sessions.

“When new to playing in groups, it can be really daunting even getting the instrument out of the bag let alone starting or joining in with a tune! I’m going to run a ‘deconstructed session’ with a small selection of tunes, which I believe give a fairly good overall representation of the types of tunes we come across in most ‘English’ sessions. It will give us a chance to stop and chat about the gripes we face in sessions and have a safe space to try out some new approaches that you can take away and try out in your local ‘wild’ session.”

This workshop is for anyone interested in English folk music, folk dance or trying out playing in groups for the first time.

Beginner/improver friendly but all experience levels welcome (not suitable for absolute beginners).

Participants do not need to read music notation, and no previous folk music experience is required, but a basic knowledge of music (scales, chords, time signatures) will help. This workshop is for all folk melody instruments and melodeons tuned in D/G with a minimum of 2-rows and 8-basses.

Mel Biggs is a musician, performer and melodeon teacher based in Derbyshire, England. Renowned the world over for her perceptive, patient and mindful manner in teaching groups and individuals, Mel is a leading light in the world of melodeon teaching; both on and off-line.

Having been teaching since 2009, Mel has an ever expanding toolkit of techniques at her disposal which she adapts to every new teaching scenario. You can expect a bespoke blend of learning-by-ear, call-and-response playing, analogies, visualisations and pattern recognition, tune deconstruction and notation in moderation.

Mel is a consummate performer, vocalist and accompanist, racking up a wealth of experience in trio Moirai, playing for the vibrant Harlequin Morris, and most recently as an actor-musician in the 2022-23 UK & Canada tour of Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical.
In her professional career, Mel has risen from the EFDSS Aspire program with Andy Cutting to form Moirai with Jo Freya and Sarah Matthews.Together they created 3 albums and toured the UK and Europe, culminating in their self-penned show Framed: The Alice Wheeldon Story telling a true story of a Derbyshire woman.

Mel has been involved in several recurrent Arts Council England-funded projects. These include Jo Freya’s Komposit Young Composers (with Annie Whitehead, Judith Weir CBE and Chris Woods), and cross-cultural theatre shows such as Priya Sundar’s Morris:Natyam, and Kate Flatt and Adriano Adewale’s The Oss & The Ox.
She has performed on some of the biggest UK festival stages including Sidmouth, Musicport, Shrewsbury, Dartmoor, Whitby Folk Week, Broadstairs, and street theatre festivals Imagine Watford and Out There Arts.

Tickets: Workshop £35; Workshop and concert £40; Concert £12.50

Buy Tickets

 

 

Saturday March 16th 2024. 19.30 – 22.30 pm. Mel Biggs Live at The Folk 

 

In concert Including Special Guests – Support from ReBil

Mel Biggs is a musician, performer and melodeon teacher based in Derbyshire, England. Renowned the world over for her perceptive, patient and mindful manner in teaching groups and individuals, Mel is a leading light in the world of melodeon teaching; both on and off-line.

Having been teaching since 2009, Mel has an ever expanding toolkit of techniques at her disposal which she adapts to every new teaching scenario. You can expect a bespoke blend of learning-by-ear, call and response playing, analogies, visualisations and pattern recognition, tune deconstruction and notation in moderation.

Mel is a consummate performer, vocalist and accompanist, racking up a wealth of experience in trio Moirai, playing for the vibrant Harlequin Morris, and most recently as an actor-musician in the 2022-23 UK & Canada tour of Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical.
In her professional career, Mel has risen from the EFDSS Aspire program with Andy Cutting to form Moirai with Jo Freya and Sarah Matthews.Together they created 3 albums and toured the UK and Europe, culminating in their self-penned show Framed: The Alice Wheeldon Story telling a true story of a Derbyshire woman.

Mel has been involved in several recurrent Arts Council England funded projects. These include Jo Freya’s Komposit Young Composers (with Annie Whitehead, Judith Weir CBE and Chris Woods), and cross-cultural theatre shows such as Priya Sundar’s Morris:Natyam, and Kate Flatt and Adriano Adewale’s The Oss & The Ox.
She has performed on some of the biggest UK festival stages including Sidmouth, Musicport, Shrewsbury, Dartmoor, Whitby Folk Week, Broadstairs, and street theatre festivals Imagine Watford and Out There Arts.

Tickets: Workshop £35; Workshop and concert £40; Concert £12.50

Buy Tickets

 

 

Thursday March 21st 2024. 7.30 pm (Doors open 7.00 pm): Live at The Folk – Daniel Kemish.

 

 

Daniel Kemish is a British Born Americana/Folk Singer. He is constantly touring Europe and returns to the UK to perform for the first time in over 5 years. Daniels latest album “Hard Times” was recorded and produced in Nashville TN.

Daniel is a prolific singer / songwriter. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch him at this intimate venue.

Buy Tickets

 

 

For the full Civic Trust programme of events, please see the Calendar of Events  HERE