LEWES SATURDAY FOLK CLUB PROGRAMME

March April May June July August and Beyond
1 MARCH THE SCAN TESTER FAN CLUB £10 cash https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Scan-Tester-Fan-Club/61565442321696/?_rdr The Lewes Arms, 1 Mount Place, Lewes, BN7 1YH Will Duke (anglo concertina, voice) Liz Evans (fiddle) Jonathan Burrows (melodeons) & Peter Rogan (bassoon, melodeons) play dance tunes & songs from the repertoire of Sussex source musician Scan Tester & others. Will plays Scan's own concertina. 8 MARCH NARTHEN £15 cash https://narthen.info/ Westgate Chapel, High Street, Lewes Location Email to reserve tickets, bring cash on the night Narthen are Jo Freya, Fi Fraser, Sarah Matthews & Doug Eunson. They play soprano sax, clarinet, whistles, fiddles, hammer dulcimer, & diatonic accordion & they sing in glorious, soaring four-part harmony. NARTHEN VOCAL HARMONY WORKSHOP Westgate Chapel, High Street, Lewes Location 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day The workshop is for all voices. Music will be provided but music reading is not essential. Come & sing your hearts out in beautiful, thrilling arrangements. 15 MARCH DRYWOOD £10 cash https://www.facebook.com/DryWoodUK/ The Lewes Arms, 1 Mount Place, Lewes, BN7 1YH Phil Underwood (Cajun accordion, fiddle, voice, melodeon, guitar) & Denise Dryburgh (vocals, guitar) sing lively, heartfelt original & traditional songs. They operate a pair of traditional canal boats & their songs celebrate the heritage of the English canals & the English traditional music, spiced with a generous pinch of Americana, Blues & Cajun. 22 MARCH VICKI SWAN & JONNY DYER £12 cash http://www.swan-dyer.co.uk/ John Harvey Tavern, Cliffe High Street, Bear Yard, Lewes Email to reserve tickets, bring cash on the night Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer inspired & enchanting performers They both sing. Vicki plays Scottish Smallpipes, nyckelharpa, flute, Border pipes & double bass; Jonny plays guitar, accordion & low whistle. They play British traditional & Swedish music & their own songs & tunes. Both have huge technical knowledge and skills. SWEDISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC FOR ANY INSTRUMENT WORKSHOP John Harvey Tavern, Cliffe High Street, Bear Yard, Lewes 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day Vicki is a leading nyckelharpa player with a huge knowledge of the beautiful, varied & rich Swedish musical tradition.The workshop is for all instruments in melodeon-friendly keys. Some music will be sent out in advance. SUNDAY 23rd. March MR. HENRY PURCELL: A SECRET FOLKIE - WORKSHOP FOR ANY INSTRUMENT John Harvey Tavern, Cliffe High Street, Bear Yard, Lewes 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day Vicki & Jonny explore the surprising range of tunes which Purcell added to & borrowed from popular music, on the border between tradition & classical styles. Many of his tunes appear in Playford's Dancing Master. Other less familiar ones have escaped into the wild as well. This workshop will fascinate Early Music enthusiasts. Some music will be sent out in advance. 29 MARCH NATASHA NORODIEN & TERRY LEES £10 cash https://natashanorodien.bandcamp.com/album/over-albion John Harvey Tavern, Cliffe High Street, Bear Yard, Lewes Traditional & newer songs & tunes with Natasha's beautiful voice, flute, & Terry's dazzling guitar.
5 APRIL KATHLEEN O'SULLIVAN, JACQUELYN HYNES, ANDREW WARMINGER £10 cash Kathleen offers Irish traditional singing at its finest, with flute from Jacquelyn Hynes (Associate Professor, Leeds Conservatoire). Jacquelyn has played alongside and supported many of Ireland's leading artists including Martin Hayes, Michael McGoldrick, Mary Coughlan & Lunasa & toured with Liam Ó Maonlaí. Andrew is a multi-instrumetnalist & songwriter. His music reflects the rich and varied canopy of influences he was raised under: trad Irish, folk, country, pop, rock, soul, classical and everything in between. He currently collaborates as part of an Afro Indie R&B duo. 12 APRIL A SAILOR AMONG TAILORS £8 cash A young folk trio based in Leeds: Rowan Scourfield (guitar, bass, percussion) Perseus Morgan (harmonica, piano) & Jonathan Pearson (mandolin & Northumbrian pipes). They play traditional folk tunes from the 16th Century to the present day & are all students at Leeds Conservatoire. They were finalists in New Roots 2024 & played at Sidmouth Folk Festival the same year. 19 APRIL EASTER SONGS & TUNES £5 cash Bring songs & tunes for the season. We serve home-made Easter biscuits. 26 APRIL CAROLE ETHERTON & ANDREW MCKAY £10 cash https://www.cranedrivinmusic.com/ Andrew (Crane duet concertina) & Carole (early woodwind) sing mostly entertaining, evocative & exciting songs written by Andrew in traditional style about the history & folklore of his native South Wales.
3 MAY SINGING IN THE MAY £6 cash Bring songs & tunes for the season. We serve home-made Maids of Honour, a traditional May treat made with cream cheese, almonds, eggs, lemons, currants & pastry. 10 MAY COME ALL YE £5 cash Bring songs, tunes, poems, stories. Vocal & instrumental groups are welcome. A good night to try performing in public for the first time to friendly listeners. Derek Seed is in the chair. 17 MAY KEN WILSON £12 cash https://www.kenwilsonalbums.com/about/ Ken is one of that glorious vocal powerhouse The Wilsons. He's also a compelling solo singer with a wide range of traditional & new songs. 24 MAY COME ALL YE £5 cash Bring songs, tunes, poems, stories. Vocal & instrumental groups are welcome. A good night to try performing in public for the first time to friendly listeners. Derek Seed is in the chair. 31 MAY BELINDA KEMPSTER & FRAN FOOTE £12 cash A mother & daughter duo singing traditional songs from their native Essex with great charm & authenticity. Many of their songs were learned from Belinda’s great uncle, farm labourer Ernie Austin, who was recorded for Topic's 'Voice of the People' series in 1974.
7 JUNE DAVE WEBBER & ANNI FENTIMAN £12 cash http://www.oldandnewtradition.com/daveandanni/ Glorious, rich vocal harmony in traditional songs & many written by Dave, unaccompanied & with concertina. Anni favours songs originating from her native North East. Dave writes songs in traditional vein, many of which have become classics. 14 JUNE TOM LEWIS £12 cash https://www.tomlewis.net/ Traditional sea songs & ones of his own, with ukulele & melodeon. Tom's songs are beautiful, lively, compelling, intelligent & often funny. He draws on his own experience of life at sea (twenty-four years in Royal Nay submarines) & his great understanding of the history of ships & sailing. 21 JUNE TBC 28 JUNE PETE COE £12 cash https://petecoe.co.uk/ A one-man folk festival & huge influence on how we play the music now, Pete is a fine & influential singer, musician, songwriter, dancer & caller, playing bouzouki, mountain dulcimer, frailing banjo & the pulsing melodeon. SUNDAY 29th. June PETE COE 'DANCE MUSIC FROM THE DALES' WORKSHOP 10:45 - 16:45 £45 cash (2 under-25 year olds £22) Email to reserve places, bring cash on the day The workshop is for all instruments. A great way to learn some splendid tunes with Pete's fascinating insights into what social dancing was like a few generations ago. If you're looking for new repertoire, you'll never go wrong nicking tunes off Pete.
5 July TBC 12 July PETER & BARBARA SNAPE £10 cash https://thesnapes.org.uk/ Traditional & music-hall songs & tunes from the North-West of England, with a mighty range of melodeons, authentic singing & plenty of good humour. 19 July BELVER £10 cash https://www.facebook.com/belverband New, powerful young band playing mainly English traditional songs & music: Harry Abel (vocals, fiddle, stomp box),Dom Doran (vocals, whistles, pipes, concertina) & Jack Hogsden (vocals, guitar, melodeons). 26 July DENISE & STUART SAVAGE £10 cash Denise and Stuart have performed for many years in a number of groups. Now as a duo, they focus on a mixture of traditional, Music Hall and their own written material, often in harmony - with English concertina accompaniment.
AUGUST 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 COME ALL YE £5 cash
LEWES SATURDAY FOLK CLUB MUSIC WORKSHOPS 2025 (more to come) The workshops mostly last a full Saturday or Sunday & the tutor performs at the Elephant & Castle, White Hill, Lewes BN7 2DJ, on the Saturday evening. Email for places, pay cash on the day.
20 Sept - John Kirkpatrick - Something instrumental 21 Sept - John Kirkpatrick - Something vocal 27 Sept Rob Harbron - Concertinas 27 Sept Andy Cutting - Melodeon 27 Sept Sam Sweeney - English Fiddle 11 Oct Rowan Piggott - Swedish fiddle 11 Oct Philippe Barnes - Irish flute 15 Nov Jess & Richard Arrowsmith - Vocal harmony 13 Dec Jackie Oates - English fiddle 13 Dec John Spiers - Melodeon