Our next guest on Wednesday 16 January 2019 is STEVE TILSTON.
Steve is one of our most celebrated songsmiths widely recognised in folk and contemporary music. His words, arrangements and subtle quite superb guitar playing could be no one else. It’s now 7 years since we last booked him at the club. We are pleased he’s agreed to come back because it is in the intimate setting that (as Robin Williamson wrote) he is appreciated as “One of the select band of songwriters with the vision to write great songs rooted in the tradition”.
The best examples are ‘Slip Jigs and Reels’, ‘The Naked Highwayman’ and his prophetic song of the financial crash in 2009 called ‘Pretty Penny’. These are included on ‘Distant Days’ his retrospective CD released in July. As Folk Roots reviewer put it, “Steve Tilston is that very rare combination of singer, songwriter and guitarist who actually excels in all departments”.

A surprise visit on a singers’ night led us to decide to book this couple before the year was out.
Sally is a superb songwriter, with a voice that doesn’t back down. Sally can be “Teasing, thought- provoking, foot-tapping, belly-laughing” and more according to her poster. She and Brian are well known in the clubs and festivals of the south-east, and we think you’ll want to know why. Our last guests have given them a ringing endorsement. “A good song needs a killer line. Sally Ironmonger and Brian Carter know how to write a killer line. Personal songs that link into a much bigger picture sung with fine voice and able accompaniment from Brian Carter.“ Dave Winter of Winter Wilson.

‘Dave Wilson’s songs pull no punches when relating to the sights and sounds of everyday local life and are complimented by Kip’s powerful and emotional voice’ said the Daily Telegraph when reviewing their latest album “Far Off on the Horizon” earlier this year. Full time musicians for six years, it is in live performance that they really excel, with great songs stunning harmonies and fine musicianship. We had to put off their last proposed visit to the club when they got the support slot for Fairport Convention’s last winter tour, but at least they can give us more hilarious tales of life on the road.
Future guest nights are: – Wednesday 12 December Sally Ironmonger,
Wednesday 16 January 2019 Steve Tilston
Wednesday 20 February 2019 Higgs Bo’sun
Wednesday 20 March 2019 Richard Grainger.

Alden Patterson & Dashwood come from Norwich and combine rich vocal harmonies with fiddle, dobro, guitar and mandolin to perform beautifully written original songs and melodies. Their music takes it influences from folk traditions on both sides of the Atlantic. Their 2016 debut album “Call Me Home” was the Editor’s choice in fRoots which they played at last year’s Gate to Southwell. They have quickly followed it up with another album, “By the Night” gaining further fans at Cambridge, Warwick and Shrewsbury Folk Festivals this summer. They have been selected to support Show of Hands on their tour beginning on 1st November 2018.

We will have two guest acts, Bifocal and Quiet Loner, performing for about 30 minutes each, one before the break and one after, with floor singers beginning each half. The evening is being hosted under the banner of “We Shall Overcome” (WSO), a nationwide collective organising events, mostly music concerts, at a local level to help local causes affected by austerity cuts.

Bifocal are a recently-formed folk duo whose members will be well known to Carrington Triangle regulars. Elaine Chipchase and Phil Harrison are both fine singers and string-pickers whose diverse styles blend beautifully together.

Quiet Loner, known to the authorities as Matt Hill, is a songwriter, singer, and guitarist originally from Eastwood, now living in the Dark Peak. His most recent album, “The Battle for the Ballot: songs and stories from the fight for the right to vote”, is the result of a year spent as songwriter-in-residence at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. His previous three albums weave deftly between English folk and Americana, and between the political and the personal. He was one of the five founders of We Shall Overcome in 2015. Here’s his website: http://www.quietloner.com/about/

Greg Russell plays and sings with a maturity and emotion that belies his 25 years. He plays guitar and bouzouki but it’s his voice that’s been called ‘extraordinary’ and ‘full of character’. He won the 2013 BBC Young Folk Award then the Horizon Award in his regular duo with fiddler Ciaran Algar, but last year he released his debut solo album “Inclined to be Red” which was declared ‘a powerful statement’. He was asked to join the 40th anniversary production of “The Transports” and was musical director of “Shake the Chains” earlier this year gaining a 4 star rating from The Guardian.

FLOSSIE MALAVIALLE makes a long awaited return to the Gladstone on Wednesday 18 July. She came to Stockton from the south of France 15 years ago to teach for a year, but found a folk club. Her profile soared with help from the late Vin Garbutt but it was her singing and playing a wide variety of genres from folk songs to blues standards. She intersperses these with stories in her French-Durham accent and wicked sense of humour. It’s probably her renditions of Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel favourites plus her songs with “va-va voum” that draw audiences who wouldn’t normally attend folk clubs.
Please would singers or musicians be early so we can start at 8.30. Entry is £5 for members, £8 for non members.

PETE MORTON is our guest on Wednesday 20 June from 8.30pm and first played at the Gladstone in the early years of the club when he’d moved from his native Leicester to live in Forest Fields. He’s a compelling and energetic performer whose songs have been described as an unruly mix of humour, politics, love and social comment. It was his song “Another Train” that really made his name, and since then he’s produced a new CD on average every 3 years. “When we sing together” has become a folk club standard, as it epitomises the participatory ethos of any good Club. Pete sings from the heart and whether “playing his guitar or doing folk rap as if someone’s life depends on it” he always gives us a great night.

Our next guest on Wednesday 16 May is CHRIS CLEVERLEY who might fall into the category of singer- songwriter, but has much more to surprise and delight. A fingerstyle guitarist and banjo player, his style faithfully captures the essence of the folk revival and continues the legacy of Nic Jones and John Renbourn. His unique brand of contemporary folk contrasts the calming pastoral influence of his childhood in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons and Cornwall with the raw and at times unsettling honesty of his lyricism. “With guitar playing ancestry pulsing through his veins, Chris is fast gaining the accolade of being among the most masterful players on the scene”.

Our next guests are THE DOVETAIL TRIO who have been described as “presenting England’s traditional songs with a bold and fresh approach” since first appearing as a trio in 2014. They came together when Matt Quinn from Brighton a melodeon and concertina player met Rosie Hood a fiddler and singer with a particular interest in songs from her native Wiltshire.
They wanted a skilled guitarist to complement the mix so asked Jamie Roberts, who had a good grounding with Kerfuffle and was playing with Katriona Gilmore, to join them. Jamie can flat pick or play in bluegrass mode as well, so whilst Rosie and Matt sing traditional material from several sources, they have a much wider range as we saw when they visited the club in 2015. They have recently been busy with separate projects and compositions and only tour together for a short time each year, so we’re pleased they’ll be back on 18th April.