DETAILED PROGRAMME

2026  

MAY 10TH    MIRANDA SYKES and JIM CAUSLEY (Double header)    Miranda, the acclaimed singer and bass player with Show of Hands, is one of UK folk's most respected musicians. A career spanning 20+ years has seen her play with many of the finest performers in the folk and roots world. Her great musicality and sensitivity mean she is an in-demand session player; while her crystalline voice has established her as a leading interpreter of song, whether performing solo or in a larger line up. YouTube   Six times BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominee Jim is a singer/musician who is passionate about traditional song and particularly that of his native West Country. He studied Jazz & Popular Music at Exeter College and Traditional Music at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was during this time that he began gaining a reputation as a talented singer on the wider UK folk scene. YouTube  (Member £16, Non-member £18)

MAY 17th   TANNAHILL WEAVERS   Born of a session in Paisley, Scotland, and named for the town's historic weaving industry and local poet laureate Robert Tannahill, the Tannahill Weavers have made an international name for their special brand of Celtic music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms.  As one of the world's premier traditional Celtic bands, their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, original ballads and lullabies, and humorous tales of life in Scotland. As they approach their 58th anniversary it is hard to believe that guitarist Roy Gullane and Phil Smillie on whistles and flutes have been there from the start, now joined by piper Iain MacGillivray and fiddle player Alistair McCulloch.  YouTube  (Member £16, Non-member £18)    Plus VIKKI CLAYTON Vikki had been playing in folk clubs when, in the early '80s she was invited to join Folk/Rock band Ragged Heroes. Somebody sent Fairport Convention a copy of Vikki's CD, "Lost Lady Found", Jerry Donahue had heard Vikki sing and had been moved to tears as she sounded so much like Sandy Denny. This started a long period of performing with Fairport, and fronting the newly formed "Fotheringay".YouTube

SEPTEMBER 13TH    JOHN TAMS – Described by Mojo as ‘one of the ultimate British songwriters’ he has a career spanning five decades in every medium.  A onetime member of the Albion Band and Home Service, he is perhaps best known outside music for his work at the National Theatre, and as Rifleman Daniel Hagman in the Sharpe TV series.  5 times winner of the BBC Folk Awards, he was the original Songmaker for Warhorse, a member of the original creative team and has toured the world with the production. YouTube    Members £16, Non- members £18 

SEPTEMBER 27TH     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 ONLY £20

OCTOBER 11TH     CHRIS WHILE & JULIE MATTHEWS - Two breathe taking singers, prolific songwriters and musicians, whose energy and commitment to their craft and their audience is boundless. Their songs cover life as they see it, from the industrial waste lands of the north, to injustice and freedom, matters of the heart, and everything in between. Although their songs are covered by many revered singers, it is While & Matthews' musical partnership and obvious joy of performing together that really brings their songs to life. They are simply the best at what they do!  YouTube  Members £16, Non-member £18

OCTOBER 18TH       SAM KELLY   With multi awards to his name, he is one of the most respected and innovative musician on the current scene. He, and Jamie Fracis, are also the main writing partnership behind the superb folk band Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys. Expect inventive interpretations of traditional songs and tunes, interspersed with humorous anecdotes. Sam is a sought-after session musician, playing with the likes of Kate Rusby, Phil Beer, Seth Lakeman, John McCusker and Katherine Priddy YouTube  Tickets for February’s postponed Sam concert are valid for this. Members £16, Non-members £18

OCTOBER 25TH      URBAN FOLK QUARTET - UFQ are Joe Broughton, Paloma Trigás, Tom Chapman and Dan Walsh. Four highly accomplished musicians, a dozen instruments and four voices coming together to craft a knockout show of globally–influenced, electrifying acoustic music that has been taking the international folk scene by storm. Self-described, ‘electro-African-dubstep-Celtic-folk,’ The Urban Folk Quartet give traditional Irish folk tunes a global twist with Spanish, Turkish and bluegrass undertones creeping in. It’s not hard to appreciate the precision and beauty with which these artists play their instruments: banjos, guitars, fiddles, mandolins – even a triangle, which takes centre stage for an entire song – blend meticulously to create an explosion of energetic, toe-tapping beats.  YouTube  Members £16, Non-member £18

NOVEMBER 8TH     BOB FOX & STU LUCKLEY – Bob and took the folk world by storm when they began playing together in the late 1970s. The duo's reputation was cemented in 1978 when they released Nowt So Good'll Pass, their debut album which won Melody Maker's Folk Album Of The Year award. Their musicianship was undoubted, their vocals were superb and complimentary, Bob’s crisp voice and Stu’s soft blended so well. But it was their arrangements that made the whole so exceptional, and now they are together again to wow us anew.  YouTube  Members £18, Non-members £20 

NOVEMBER 22ND      TRACKDOGS   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 20 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.” After a fortuitous invitation to the Costa del Folk Festival in Ibiza they have become a “must have” band for festivals and clubs.  YouTube  YouTube   Members £18, Non-members £20

NOVEMBER 29TH      GIGSPANNER – are Peter Knight, Roger Flack & Sacha Trochet.  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-member £20

DECEMBER 6TH    ST AGNES FOUNTAIN   - Christmas would not be Christmas without St Agnes Fountain Chris Leslie (Fairport Convention) and BBC Folk Award Winners Chris While and Julie Matthews.  They have brought joy, laughter, a few tears, sparkling musicianship and heartfelt renditions of your favourite Christmas tunes to the club for the past 25 years. YouTube  TICKET ONLY   Members £22, Non-members £25 

DECEMBER 20TH    AN ALBION CHRISTMAS   - Specially formed for the festive period and featuring the combined talents of Simon Nicol (Fairport Convention), Kellie While (Albion Band) Simon Care (Edward II) and the Guvnor himself, Ashley Hutchings. this show takes you on a guided tour through the Christmas customs of Britain, music, dancing and celebration. 'The perfect antidote to the corporate Christmas' (The Guardian) 'The Albion Christmas Band take the audience deep into Britain's winter festival with visions of frosty mornings, a rejoicing Earth, burning logs and berries'. YouTube   TICKET ONLY   Members £22, Non-members £25