Tag Archives: Carrington Triangle Folk Club

Recent Guests: Clarke Camilleri 11 June

The welcome return of Clarke Camilleri to the Carrington Triangle proved to be a delightful evening.

Clarke actually joined the club in 2016 and became a regular performer here, where, with a background in the blues, he was introduced to British traditional music. Since then he has travelled widely, both as a solo artist and with other musicians, including Angeline Morrison’s band. He features on her award-winning album, The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience.
Clarke has returned as an experienced and charismatic performer, very much at ease with the audience, who responded warmly to his excellent musicianship, stories and humour, even enjoying the times he interrupted himself with bursts of laughter during a couple of his songs! We were delighted to welcome him back.
He brought with him two guitars, a banjo and a harmonium. He began the evening with Anji on guitar, followed by Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream, an anti-war song by Ed McCurdy. Worried Man’s Blues came next, a traditional song recorded in 1930 by the Carter Family, based on the post-Civil War era when plantation owners, still on the lookout for cheap labour, were keen to get black men arrested for the slightest offence to work in chain-gangs.
Clarke performed several British folk songs, a couple by Cyril Tawney, and MacColl’s ‘Shoals of Herring’. He also included a Beatles, and a Dylan song. Before he sang Bert Jansch’s arrangement of Blackwaterside, he told us that he first heard it played here by a regular performer Phil Harrison, who was also in attendance that night.

At one point in the evening, he brought onto the stage Jinda Biant, a blues/folk musician and a ‘best mate’ who accompanied him in a song called Nice to meet you Syrilla, a very lively and fun experience, seemingly, for both of them, and also for us!
I haven’t yet mentioned Clarke’s original songs. Several that he sang are on his 2020 album, The Rollin’ Hills of Home. The title song is about his walks in the Peak District with his mother and brother. The Spirit is an inspiring song about not allowing the establishment to crush us. The spirit will always rise again! Keep the World Singing Round reminds us that no matter what awful things are happening in the world, singing can help bring people together in solidarity.
In conclusion, I found Clarke’s performance entertaining, joyful, and full of messages in relation to justice and fairness, and a desire to make the world a better, kinder place for us all.

Maureen McGuinness, on behalf of Carrington Triangle folk club

Our next guest is Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne on 16 July

Recent guests: Wayward Jane

May 28: It was a full house for a wonderful evening with Wayward Jane. The band played a mixture of American Old Timey tunes and songs, flavoured with their own unique Scottish and Irish influences. They also played their own tunes and songs such as The Flood written by Michael Starkey, who played fluid clawhammer banjo all night. Sam Gillespie, a consummate guitarist, who also played wooden flute and bouzouki, was the main vocalist and his high plangent tenor was an important feature of the night. He wrote several of the songs such as the beautiful Everything Changes, backed by perfect four part harmonies from the rest of the band.
Tara Cunningham on fiddle, trained in the Scottish tradition but also fluent in the Old Timey style, spent all night duetting with Michael Starkey on the banjo to great effect. Dan Abrahams on stand up bass and guitar added a mellow punch to the evening.

The band worked together intuitively and clearly enjoyed themselves greatly. This came across to the audience making the evening hugely entertaining. There were too many highlights to mention them all but the last anthemic song Liberty got the whole club singing and the encore Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor was a rousing example of the band’s unique approach. Mike Wareham

One of our floor singers that night was Phil Harrison. Phil has been very busy with other things lately, and hasn’t been able to come to the club for some time, and we were all very pleased to welcome him back, and to hear that he should be able to come more frequently again.

Recent Guests: Hase Waits 14 May

Hase Waits are sisters Hannah Bainton and Heather Thomas & Heather’s husband James. As our May guests Hannah and Heather both played flute and a range of whistles, backed by James on rhythm guitar.
The two sisters have been playing together since they were about six, and that experience showed itself in wonderful coordination and collaboration on the tunes they played. They played in various combinations: flute duets, high and low whistles, or – my favourite – two low whistles with lovely harmonies. The precision and interweaving of parts in the faster tunes was great.

There were a few songs, both traditional and modern. I would have liked more, but since we don’t have a PA, it was a bit difficult for Hannah’s voice, however good, to cut through the accompaniment.
James did a couple of pieces on hurdy-gurdy, with Heather on flute and Hannah doing lovely lively percussion on cajon, which worked really well. The second one was by audience request, because we enjoyed the one in the first half so much.
A good night, full of lively music. Hase Waits will be at The Gate To Southwell Festival. 3-6 July, probably with an expanded lineup. They will be worth seeing.
p.s. some of us really liked the Green Man fabric design of Heather’s dress.

Hase Waits were backed up by some of our floor singers, as usual. Here’s our longest-standing member, Phil Hind, leading the room in chorus.

Coming guests for May

14 May: Hase Waits

The trio’s name is formed of two words – ‘Hase’ being the name in the Domesday Book of the town that the band was formed (Hessle) and ‘Waits’ the name the town musicians were called in medieval times.
Hannah & Heather, the sisters, draw inspiration from Celtic music. Growing up surrounded by musical influence from their mother Liz, they developed a profound love for traditional music, by attending sessions in pubs, playing with the family band ‘Shiftipig’ or playing the Great Highland Bagpipes in ‘The City of Hull Pipe Band’. Their expressive playing styles capture the essence of the old while injecting a fresh vitality into the new.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWlLryrhwgA
Website: https://www.hasewaits.com/about

28 May: Wayward Jane

Wayward Jane’s music is a modern interpretation of American folk and Old Time traditions, blending roots music with fresh, nuanced arrangements and original songs. Their rich sound features fiddle, clawhammer banjo, double bass, guitar, wooden flute and close vocal harmonies.
Wayward’s live shows have a joyful energy, expressing the fine musicianship and playful chemistry of the four musicians and friends. Ranging in mood from bouncing, energetic tunes to tender and soulful songs, Wayward Jane tend to leave audiences with a glow in their hearts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWP9O_2n67s

https://www.waywardjane.com/the-band

Recent guests, April: Brian Peters

Brian Peters

While acoustic music of all genres is always appreciated at the Carrington Triangle, the evening of April 9th was especially dedicated to a celebration of the traditional folk idiom, powerfully presented by our guest performer, Brian Peters.
     Brian has been described as one of the English folk scene’s great all-rounders, a compelling singer and multi-instrumentalist, and he certainly lived up to his reputation that evening. With his vibrant, clear voice, anglo-concertina, guitar and melodeon, he put the traditional material across in a skilful, relatable manner, and, seeming very much at ease, appeared to enjoy himself as much as his audience did, introducing his songs and tunes with humorous anecdotes and well researched knowledge of their origins.
    His repertoire included Child ballads, songs collected by Cecil Sharp, and one or two relatively recent songs, for example Chris Foster’s ‘Trespassers will be Celebrated’ about the mass trespass in the Peak District in 1932 in support of opening up the land again to ramblers, which, he told us, was a subject close to his heart as a walker himself.
    Brian sang several humorous songs including a music hall song ‘Chips and Fish’, and ‘ The Molecatcher’. Many of the songs are of course well known to folk club audiences, but he seems to have discovered self-styled ‘obscure versions’ which included his final song, The Wild Rover’ from Hampshire. Other songs included ‘Turpin Hero’, ‘Adieu my Lovely Nancy’, and ‘The Manchester Rambler’.
     I believe, judging by the favourable comments from members of the audience, that Brian’s charismatic performance was much appreciated.

Maureen McGuinness, on behalf of the Carrington Triangle folk club