News from Topic Folk Club, Bradford

TOPIC FOLK CLUB, BRADFORD

INFORMAL NEWSLETTER

Greetings    and already it’s time to pester your inboxes again.

September 4             Kate Howden, Paul Jones and Tony Taffinder.  This is a great act to open the winter programme.  Kate and Paul were already a superb and well-balanced duo, their music full of intertwining guitar lines, plangent melodies and thoughtful understated lyrics.  Their Silver Waters CD was one of my top five of 2002.  Now they are joined by multi-instrumentalist Tony, to add width to their stage presentation (actually, he adds a great deal else, including acoustic bass guitar).  The three are just starting a 40-venue (and counting) tour of the UK, prior to the recording of a new CD.  Come and catch them while we can still afford them!   More at  http://www.howdenjones.co.uk/   Featured Support this week is Gerry Cooper, who has come back into folk circulation in recent months, with his accomplished blues guitar style.  There’s room for Floor Singers too, so let’s get the new season off to a big start.

September 11            Simon Howarth and Andy May.  Last seen on our stage in May, Simon and Andy are currently part of Jez Lowe’s Bad Pennies line-up.  Though naturally self-effacing when backing Jez’s distinctive style and delivery, when on their own (together) they open up to provide a glorious range of self-penned and traditional material.  Songs, guitar, whistles, Northumbrian pipes; to name but a few of the instruments we’ll see.  More (on Simon, at any rate) at http://www.morpeth61.freeserve.co.uk/   
Featured Support this week is from Fountainhead, a young folk/world music trio who last performed  a floor spot with us supporting Maggie Boyle.  Guitar, percussion, and strong female voices in harmony: they have the air of class about them.  Room for floor singers too.

September 18            Karl Dallas.  What to say about Karl?  Activist, campaigner, journalist, organiser, musician, performer, demonstrator, circus hand, human shield, committed Christian  he has been all these things, and still is most of them.  His style is immediate  he is The Man if you are on a demo and want someone with a guitar to come up with a catchy tune and relevant chorus to sing as you march (or sit).  He has been active in the folk scene for 50 years (including being NME’s Folk Correspondent during the glory years (NME’s and Folk’s)).
No Featured support yet  so an opportunity for any number of floor singers to come down and be (almost) sure of a proper spot.

September 25            Singers and Musicians:  Theme: Drinking songs.  Well, that’s the traditional, second half of the evening.  From 8.00pm, for about an hour, there will be a Special Press Showcase featuring the recently-released CDs by Topic regulars Rahel Guzelian and John Waller.  This will be hosted by BCB Radio’s Folk Guru Tim Moon, and various cultural big-wigs have been invited.  There’ll be nibbles  so if you fancy coming for the singaround, come early and enjoy something different.

October 2               Kevin Loughran.  Local singer and guitarist, with a range of accessible songs performed with his own unique interpretation. 
Featured Support will be Ian Hill, also a local guitarist and singer.  But more of October later.

A great start to the Autumn season.  More on all this via the Topic website:  www.topic-folk-club.org.uk


The Autumn Season continues with some strong and varied acts.

Oct 9           Roy Wilcocks and Bridget Guest  two voices, one guitar and many wonderful, relaxing self-penned songs.  Featured support  Bradford’s own four-piece band Codarajo

Oct 16          Darren Poyzer  Wacky Manchester-based musician and entertainer with his own inimitable songs telling it like it is now.  Featured Support: Julie Ellison: a really serious guitarist.

Oct 23          Singers and Musicians  featuring a visit from the regulars at the Buttershaw/Wibsey Gaping Goose singaround sesions (every Wednesday evening from 8.30 on Slack Bottom Road)

Oct 30          Tom and Barbara Brown  this is proper west-country tradition: squeezebox, songs, dance tunes: you can almost hear the Morris bells.  Featured support slot available

November 6              Singers and Musicians  theme of gunpowder treason and plot and anything else even vaguely related.

November 13             Steafan Hannigan and Saskia Tomkins  - a nationally-known duo with a list of instruments as long as the rest of this line (well, it is in the printed version): Uilleann pipes, bodhran, cello, violin, whistles, voices … Featured support:  Friendly Visit.  Another multi-instrumentallist trio based in Otley who pop in now and again to do floor spots.

November 20     The Amazing Mr Smith.  Now this will be something completely different.  Making a very rare visit to the north, The Amazing provides a cascade of humour, musical puns, outlandish props and banter that takes your breath away.  Featured Support: Emily and Ben, a somewhat more sober duo providing a foretaste of what we’ll be getting next week.

November 27             Emily Weygang and Ben Harker - York-based duo with guitar, fiddle and whistles providing mostly traditional songs.  No Featured support booked yet.

December 4              Singers and Musicians or it could be the AGM.  Or both.  Come and provide an amendment to the substantive motion in song and verse.

December 11             Keiran Halpin.  We are very grateful for a return visit from this highly popular singer songwriter, many of whose songs are now well into the public domain.

December 18             The Durbervilles  to add a bit of noisy oooomph to the seasonal festivities and sandwiches.  The occasion will as always be violently interrupted by the Holbeck Mummers and their traditional brand of seasonal theatrical offering.

Next Year, already.  Yes, the booking lists are already filling up.  But no space for more listings here.
See you all some Thursday at the Melborn at one of the above events!  8.30 start.  Be there by then if you want to perform a floor spot, which are still available every night even where there is a Featured Support artist booked.  No smoking.

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John Waller                                                     Website: www.topic-folk-club.org.uk
Topic Newsletter Editor j.waller@bradford.ac.uk                 updated every week      Log on!