E-Newsletter 246
September 2021
Hello everyone
Well, we’re up and running again with the club every Thursday evening. We had a fantastic reopener with BLACKBEARD’S TEA PARTY last week. They previewed their new line up and went down an absolute storm after a solid opening set from STAN GRAHAM. Until the end of September, as with the opener, we’ll be holding the Thursday night club in the Black Swan car park under the marquee. There’ll be more singers and musicians nights than usual for starters as we start to move along and gain momentum, so this month there’ll be singers and musicians nights on September 9th , 23rd and 30th with a feature spot from house band RAMSHACKLE on the final Thursday of the month.
On Thurs September 16th our club guest is top banjoist DAN WALSH. A BBC Folk Awards Best Musician nominee Dan combines ‘virtuoso playing and winning songwriting’ (MORNING STAR). Describing what he does is no easy task but at the heart of it is British, Irish and American folk music delivered with a healthy dose of funky grooves – all performed with his unique and dazzling take on clawhammer style banjo, helping to challenge all preconceptions about the instrument. Add to all that poignant songs, astonishing musical departures and lively humour and the result is a truly memorable live show which has wowed audiences across the world from intimate seated rooms to huge dancing crowds in festival fields. www.wegottickets.com
We’re looking to announce an October schedule for the club at the Black Swan in a few weeks time but some dates already in the diary for this year are LIAM O’MAONLAI (frontman from the Hothouse Flowers) for a Sunday afternoon special on Sun 10th (tickets for this show have now sold out). .ALLAN TAYLOR is our guest on Thursday November 25th and we have two nights scheduled for MARTIN CARTHY on Wednesday December 8th and Thursday December 9th. It goes without saying that all three of these names need no introduction. Tickets for the Allan Taylor and Martin Carthy nights are now on sale via www.wegottickets.com.
Since our last newsletter we’ve lost US based banjoist KAIA KATER from the schedule. Hopefully we’ll be seeing her as a guest artist next year. Also UK duo Charlie Dore & Julian Littman have had to rearrange their plans. Once again we’re hoping to be able to offer them a date in 2022.
Concert-wise, we opened up our Autumn season last Sunday at the Crescent Club with 70’s guitar, singer and songwriter icon KEITH CHRISTMAS who performed for over 90 minutes in front of a small but very appreciative audience.
This next show is imminent with ELIZA CARTHY and RESTITUTE
at The Crescent YORK YO24 1AW Wednesday Sept 8th 7-30pm
This booking was one of the first casualties of the pandemic, originally scheduled for April 2020. The band for the Restitute tour comprises Eliza Carthy, Ben Seal, Ben Somers, Willy Molleson and David Delarre with a support slot and special guest appearance from Saul Rose. In addition to the Restitute material, the band will perform songs from brand new recordings of original songs by Eliza Carthy and Ben Seal – taken from their forthcoming album ‘Through that Sound my Secret was Made Known’. Here they are over a year later,tickets are still available. www.seetickets.com
Our final concert in September will be at the National Centre for Early Music, YORK YO1 9TL on Wednesday September 29th, at 7-30pm. It features highly acclaimed Devonian folk-singer JOHN SMITH supported by Hannah Read.
Known for his intimate song-writing, his honey-on-gravel voice and pioneering guitar playing, he’s spent the last fifteen years touring internationally and has amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify. As a session musician he’s played guitar with artists as diverse as Joan Baez and Tom Jones. Due to Covid restrictions there’s a cap placed on numbers at the National Centre and tickets are selling very well for this event, so booking as soon as you can is advised.
https://tickets.ncem.co.uk/
Moving into October and once again at The National Centre for Early Music another event postponed from April 2020.
KATHRYN ROBERT and SEAN LAKEMAN are there on Wednesday October 20th, at 7-30pm
2021 marks 26 years of making music together for this wife and husband duo who have long established themselves as one of the UK folk scene’s most enduring partnerships. To celebrate they will revisit and reinterpret songs which span their career. From folk supergroup ‘Equation’ to the current release ‘Personae’. The evening promises a whistle-stop tour through their artistic journey to date. ‘It’s folk music for the modern age.’ The Telegraph
Tickets are available now:-
https://tickets.ncem.co.uk/en-
We’re back at the Crescent Club on Wednesday November 3rd for the return of a fantastic trio with three of the folk world’s most outstanding performers and musicians. John McCusker, John Doyle, and Michael McGoldrick are the trio in question collectively known as McGoldrick, McCusker and Doyle and tickets for this event are now on sale:-
https://thecrescentyork.
The National Centre for Early Music is the venue for Scottish songstress RACHEL SERMANNI on Tuesday November 23rd touring in support of her recently released ep ‘Swallow Me’ that charts her journey to motherhood with songs written predominantly while pregnant and on tour in the USA.
Those already familiar with Sermanni’s music will know her from her appearances at Celtic Connections and her associations with Mumford and Sons, Elvis Costello and Rumer.
'Think Joni Mitchell meets Lisa Hannigan, with a delectably eccentric Scottish twist'-The Guardian
Tickets available from the NCEM Box Office or:- https://www.seetickets.com/
The rearranged date for the long-awaited show from GRACE PETRIE is Mon May 23rd 2022. This will be at The Crescent Club and tickets purchased for the previously postponed dates are valid for the new date. Alternatively if the new date is inconvenient you will be able to get a refund.
And the rearranged date for USA Bluegrass band DELLA MAE will now be 30 August 2022 seetickets.com
Here’s a complete run down of how our schedule stands at the moment:-
Wed September 8th=Eliza Carthy and Restitute (Crescent Club)
Thurs September 9th-Singers and Musicians (Car Park Marquee Black Swan)
Thurs September 16th-Dan Walsh (Car Park Marquee Black Swan)
Thurs September 23rd-Singers and Musicians (Car Park Marquee Black Swan)
Wed September 29th John Smith plus Hannah Read
Thurs September 30th-Singers and Musicians with a feature spot from Ramshackle(Car Park Marquee Black Swan)
Thursdays in October t.b.a.
Sun Oct 10th 3pm Liam O’Maonlai, Jaquelyn Hynes, White Sail, Paula Ryan(Sold Out)(Black Swan)
Thursday November 4th -Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage tickets tba
Thursday November 11th tba (Black Swan)
Thursday November 18th tba (Black Swan)
Thurs November 25th-Allan Taylor(Black Swan)wegottickets.com
Wednesday Dec 8th and Thursday Dec 9th Martin Carthy(Black Swan)wegottickets.com
Thursday Dec 16th the annual Folk Club Christmas Party. (Black Swan)
Club closed Dec 23rd and 30th
To check out all ticket links and more info go to http://www.blackswanfolkclub.
Updates are also announced on our Facebook page and on Twitter. We will keep you updated with the newsletters as well.
Other folk related events coming soon include:-
The Magpies at The Crescent on Friday 10 September, tickets from seetickets.com
A belated Bob Dylan 80th Birthday Bash at The Crescent Club in YORK
featuring BLONDE on BOB (‘Nothin’ But Dylan’) and FREEWHEELIN’. This one is on Monday October 18th at 8pm and tickets are now on sale at www.wegottickets.com
Toni Bunnell will be presenting her new audio visual show ‘Tracking the Changes’ featuring songs from her new book ‘Across the Years’ on Sunday Nov 14th, 2pm at York R.I. Bowls Club, Ashton Lane York YO24 4HX. Admission £5 otd.
And finally The Maltings tune session is now back in full swing every Tuesday night at The Maltings, Tanners Moat, York YO1 6HU from 8pm
Although everything is opening up again there are still restrictions in place at the venues we’re using for live music. Go to the venue websites for details and advice www.thecrescentyork.com and www.ncem.co.uk
Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Chris and The Black Swan Folk Club