Admission:
£7 in advance or
£8 on the door

Wednesday 16^th July 2008

Suntrap

http://www.suntrap.org/

If you want performance ranging from sweet melancholy to out and out power; if you want to be wooed, thrilled, moved and above all entertained then you must see this band. Featuring some of England’s strongest young singers, Suntrap will dazzle you with their big harmony sound. Sometimes spiky edged, sometimes achingly beautiful. Their material ranges from the richly textured to stripped back solo a cappella. This is handcrafted music played by a double fiddle section, guitars, accordion, bodhran, whistles and harmonica, carefully woven around shimmering, slipsliding vocal harmonies. Suntrap perform a mesmerizing array of music including their own material and the best of the traditional and contemporary folk repertoire. The songwriters (Sara Byers and Paul Hoad) create original, innovative works drawing on English song tradition and American Folk and Country.

Support

Spencer Cleary

Philippa Spencer and Brian Cleary are two long-established performers from the Cambridge area who together draw from musical genres across the spectrum. Brian is a talented and imaginative musician on guitar, bouzouki and mandola, whose experience ranges across fields as diverse as traditional folk, bluegrass, gospel, contemporary and even French cafá jazz. Philippa’s background is as a classically-trained choral singer, but early on she became hooked on traditional folk music and dance, and has been singing traditional songs ever since. As a duo, they have gone back to their roots, exploring the beautiful and sometimes neglected songs from the folk tradition - some rarities, others classics which they felt were due for a revival, with the odd surprise too. Their intention is to present these songs in a way that makes them fresh and relevant, whilst retaining all their timeless qualities of melody and story. In respecting the integrity of the material, their performance is pared down to just the one instrument and voice, the emphasis being to allow the songs themselves to speak to the audience.

Admission:
£7 in advance or
£8 on the door

Wednesday 17^th September 2008

Steve Ashley

http://www.steveashley.co.uk/

For nearly 40 years Steve Ashley’s songs have won the respect of critics and fellow-performers alike with cover versions by Fairport Convention, Anne Briggs, Dave Pegg and PJ Wright, Martin and Jessica Simpson, Maggie Boyle, Phil Beer, Grace Notes, The Arizonas and The Bushwackers. His debut album ‘Stroll On’ is a folk-rock classic and his latest for Topic, ‘Time and Tide’ was described by fROOTS as ‘a modern day masterpiece’. Steve also has what New York’s Variety magazine described as ‘one of the funniest of dry stage raps’. Don‘t miss this rare treat.

Admission:
£8 in advance or
£9 on the door

Wednesday 15^th October 2008

Mawkin:Causley

http://www.myspace.com/mawkincausley

When we heard that Essex band, Mawkin, who went down so well at the club last year, had joined forces with talented young singer Jim Causley, we couldn't resist inviting them back to the club. This comes hot on the heels of their appearance at Ely Folk Festival in July. A unique collaboration not to be missed!

Admission:
£7 in advance or
£8 on the door

Wednesday 19^th November 2008

Megson

http://www.megsonmusic.co.uk

The combined talents of northerners Stu Hanna and Debbie Palmer make the award winning duo Megson. Their 2007 album ‘Smoke Of Home’ received critical acclaim across the board with a host of strong reviews and resulted in lots of radio airplay. The biggest strength of Megson, however, is their stunning live performances. The duo have played at numerous folk festivals including Shrewsbury, Sidmouth, Gosport and Fareham, Wimborne and Cambridge, as well as touring with Seth Lakeman and Show of Hands, both in the UK and in Germany, and they are rapidly gaining a strong following.