Author Archives: hugh

Jez Lowe: 15 January

Here is a review of Jez’s performance at the club this month, written by a visitor:

Jez Lowe writes the songs future generations will come to know as “traditional.” Timeless observations, commentary both cutting and hilarious (and often both). A true master songwriter.

And there he was on January 15, a guest of the Carrington Triangle Folk Club, thrilling a few dozen of us with songs new and old. Dipping deeply into his bottomless catalog of songs and stories, Jez touched on songs from his Radio 2 “Radio Ballads” series and from classic albums like 2002’s “Honesty Box” through his 2020’s brilliant lockdown piece, “Crazy Pagan.” Hearing songs as gentle as “Louisa’s Choosing” or provocative as “Taking on Men” (recently covered by The Unthanks), “The Wrong Bus,” and “This Is Not My Tribe” is one thing — pairing them with the stories behind them is another experience altogether.

These all were superlative, of course, but the handful of new songs proved Jez to be one of the great songwriters of our or any other time. Opening the evening with the optimistic “Freebody’s Wake” then sprinkling the remainder of the show with the reflective “Old Man’s Eyes,” the genius “Message From A Mandolin,” and ending the night with the raucous “Frozen Roman,” Jez made the new songs as familiar as the favorites from his past.

I’ve run out of superlatives — he was that good — and to feel the music in an environment as warm and welcoming as the Carrington Triangle Folk Club surely inspired Jez Lowe and left your American guests humbled and delighted to be in the room. What an evening. All five gold stars to the Club for hosting such a fantastic night!

Our next guest, 15 January: Jez Lowe

Happy New Year to you all as it seems ages since our successful Christmas Party, but we’re back in action for January. Membership payments are due: you either pay £10 for membership for the full year, with free admission on singers’ nights, and a discount of £2 each 2025 guest night. Non-members pay £3 on singers’ nights.

JEZ LOWE is the first guest for this year on Wednesday 15 January.

Jez is a regular guest as he and his agent agreed a January date for us in both 2020 and 2023. Born and still living in the County Durham coalfield, his songs trace the life of the pit communities from ‘Back in Durham Gaol’ through ‘Black Diamonds’ and ‘Greek Lightning’ to ‘Talk to Me Dirty in Geordie’. He has also contributed songs to most BBC Radio Ballads, been the youngest Pitman Poet, and has written 4 novels, some of which we expect he will bring to the Club, along with his latest cd ‘Snow Dancing’.    

£10 for members, while non-members pay £12. You can pay using our card machine, so cash is only needed for the raffle. Doors open at 7.45 pm for an 8.15 start, and we finish by 11pm.

We have a wide variety of guests booked for the rest of 2025:  
Wednesday 12 February – Holly Clarke – young Cumbrian rising star
Wednesday 12 March – Steve Hicks & Lynn Goulbourne – excellent ragtime guitarist and singer-songwriter
Wednesday 9 April – Brian Peters – multi-instrumental expert on traditional songs
More coming soon.

We look forward to seeing you upstairs at the Gladstone.

October guest: Dan McKinnon

Dan McKinnon performed two strong sets on Wednesday 16 October in his laid-back Canadian manner, with superb guitar-playing and engaging storytelling. His songwriting gave a taste of the history of Halifax and the maritime provinces, and he made a good choice of other singers’ compositions (though he only sang one Stan Rogers’ song ☹ – on his pre-Covid visit he’d given us more of Stan) and we responded well with our choruses.
Thanks again to the nine other singers and musicians who added to a lovely atmosphere.

Dan McKinnon at Carrington Triangle Folk Club

Blind Eye support night, 2nd October

Bronwyn Westacott

Our night in support of Blind Eye on 2 October went very well. It featured Bronwyn Westacott and Dave Mooney. Bronwyn gave us songs from a variety of socialist and feminist traditions, along with some excellent songs of her own. She also attracted a wider audience than we normally get. Just what we needed.
Dave accompanied his powerful vocals with ukulele, mouth organ, nose flute, kazoo, fancy expensive kazoo with its own presentation box – and then added a jig doll for a bit of variety. Great.
Even better, the evening raised £185 for Blind Eye (https://www.blindeyesouprun.com/), who go round the streets of Nottingham every Sunday morning, with warm food, hot drinks, clothes and other supplies (and a little time and conversation) to support those living on the streets. Well done, everyone.

Dave Mooney

Our NEXT GUEST is Dan McKinnon (https://www.danmckinnon.ca/) on 16 October.

Our next guest: Dan McKinnon 16 October

Our next guest, on 16 October, is Dan McKinnon, a performer from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who we have already enjoyed at the club in pre-Covid days. His warm voice, superb guitar and original compositions have won him widespread praise. Dan’s thoughtful songs and smooth melodies cover the entire folk spectrum, traditional, historical and contemporary, but above all they are stories in song.
https://www.danmckinnon.ca

(photographer unknown: sorry)

We Mavericks: guest night 11 September

We had a lightly attended meeting for We Mavericks on 11 September, which seemed a shame, since those who were there said how much they enjoyed the evening, and that they would like to see the duo again.
Both are first rate musicians who work very well together. Lindsay’s fiddle playing is superb and Victoria is an excellent singer with a great range and variety in her voice. The subjects of the songs were varied and interesting, helped greatly by the introductions. Their warm and enthusiastic approach to the music came across really well to the audience – and they seemed to enjoy the club and the floor singers (always good to see) which made for a really good atmosphere on the night.

We Mavericks: Wednesday 11th September

Every so often we are approached to see if the club would like to offer a booking to folk artists from abroad who are on tour in a particular month. We Mavericks ( https://www.wemavericks.com.au/) are Lindsay Martin and Victoria Vigenser. Lindsay’s masterful strings and vocals complement songstress Victoria’s magnificent voice and driving rhythms. Originally from Riverina in New South Wales and Auckland in New Zealand respectively, they first played together in 2018, but have since had a fast rise to Australian festivals, music awards and as the Australian choice to attend Folk Alliance International. Ambient Light NZ sums them up “glorious harmonies and touching melodies of We Mavericks. Together they craft exquisite folk music, evoking spirits originating from Appalachia to Alba.”   

Admission is £12 or £10 for current members. Please bring cash as we don’t yet have any card facilities.  Doors open at 7.45 pm for an 8.15pm start and we finish by 11pm.

We are open every Wednesday until our party on 18 December, with singers and musician nights apart from the guest nights below. Membership is now £5 for the rest of the year.

Our July guests were Lizzie Morris & Dan Watson

Lizzie and Dan are a fine duo who communicated lots of enthusiasm with the audience and showed a strong rapport between the two of them. They gave us plenty of strong fiddle playing, both in song accompaniment and a variety of interesting tunes, and a range of songs with some lively sing-along pieces in the second half. They brought in an enthusiastic audience and gave us a very enjoyable evening. (https://morrisandwatson.net/)

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MORRIS AND WATSON

Our Next Guests: Wednesday 17 July

Back in 2020 our committee agreed to book this young duo to perform on 18th March, but we agreed to postpone two days before as the lockdown was announced. Lizzie Morris and Dan Watson from Barnsley have been playing together since their studies at Leeds College of Music, graduating in 2015. They perform a mix of traditional and self-penned songs interspersed with fiddle tunes, capturing the entire frequency spectrum, driving their songs and tunes directly into the hearts of their audience. Kate Rusby says “They’re fantastic” but aye she’s a Barnsley lass isn’t she.

Admission is £8 or £6 for current members. Please bring cash as we don’t have any card facilities. Doors open at 7.45 pm for an 8.15pm start and we finish by 11pm.

We have guests booked for the rest of the year as follows:
Wednesday 11 September – We Mavericks – touring from Australia & New Zealand
Wednesday 16 October – Dan McKinnon – return visit of Nova Scotia songsmith
Wednesday 13 November – Chris Sherburn, Denny Bartley and Emily Sanders
Wednesday 4 December — Jim Causley from Devon including seasonal songs

See you any Wednesday in our comfy redecorated room upstairs at the Gladstone.

Next Guests: Richard Grainger and Chris Parkinson 19th June

Richard Grainger is a prolific and diverse artist, a singer, songwriter and musician who has been performing on the British Folk Scene since the 1980’s. He sings songs of Teesside, the moors and the coastal communities. Richard Grainger is an internationally recognised song writer.
Chris Parkinson was a co-founder of the British folk band The House Band (1984-2001), playing accordion, harmonica, melodeon and keyboards. He has played with John Kirkpatrick in Sultans of Squeeze, as well as accompanying Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson and Ralph McTell, amongst many others.

The Ballad of James Readman

Upstairs at The Gladstone, 45 Loscoe Road, Carrington, Nottingham, NG5 2AW
Doors 7.45 for 8:15 start
We don’t have advance tickets: just turn up and pay on the door (cash only) £12/£10 members

Carrington Triangle Folk Club meets every Wednesday for singarounds, with guests once a month