Celebrate Epiphany with The Crew at Ryde’s ‘folk hub’, The Star Coffee and Ale House, 7pm. This delightful little venue is also home to the Star Folk Club on the second Tuesday each month.
On the same date ( Friday 6th), Giddygander have their first outing at the First Friday Figgy Gig, in CHOYD, Yarmouth, 7pm start.
Monday 16th sees music afternoons resume at the Unity Hall, Newport, after a long break, 2.30pm, also on zoom.
Lovers of traditional songs and tunes will be pleased to see a new monthly singaround start at The Bugle, Brading, on Sunday 22nd at 7pm.
Finally, West Midland’s storyteller Peter Chand visits Cafe Isola, Newport, on Friday 27th. This is a ticketed event, details awaited.
Each year, Ruth Wyman organises a concert to collect funds for the Salvation Army appeal for the homeless. This year’s ‘Christmas Reflections’ concert is on Friday 2nd December at The Salvation Army hall in Pyle Street, Newport, at 7pm. Among the performers are The Watch, see above, Sheshells, Maureen Shaw and Ruth herself
On Sunday 4th, the Oyster Girls are once again dancing to raise money for the charity Shelter. They will be performing in Cowes from 2pm.
The Sail Pattern folk rock band, pictured below, visit Porchfield Cricket Club on Sunday 4th. Their concert is raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society. Phone 07969 735728 to find out if there are any tickets left.
On Boxing Day, the courtyard at The Dairyman’s Daughter will once again be filled with the jingling of morris bells. The annual mummers’ play will be performed by Mr Baker’s Dozen.
If you missed last month…
Quay Folk Club held their very first ‘Special Guest Night’ in November with Drywood Duo, pictured below, supported by Second Time Around. The evening was very successful, so the plan now is to bring guests over from the mainland approximately twice a year. December’s offering on Sunday 18th will be Christmas themed, featuring a performance by Mr Baker’s Dozen of ‘The Christmas Boys’ mummers play. The club organisers, aka. the Quay Cabal, have their own spot, followed by a festive medley led by The Watch and Sheshells.
The long- awaited reopening of the weekly Tuesday singaround at the Dairyman’s Daughter in Arreton took place in November. The format remains the same as that before the pandemic, a mixture of song with a good scattering of playalong tunes. At the packed first meeting there were tributes to Den, who used to run the evening. A small group of volunteers will take turns to direct meetings in future. It is a big responsibility – deciding which way around the circle of performers to go.
The morris sides are brushing up their dances ready for the long summer season. Clubs and Folk Nights are filling up as Covid recedes, it appears. More one-off events are being planned, like 2nd Time Around entertaining at the Lord Louis Library this month and a concert by Slainte Va at the Mountbatten Centre early in April.
Slainte Va
The omicron wave did result in one or two postponements so there is more to look forward to later on. Quay Arts put back the Cara Dillon date to April 30th and Outside Track to 29th June and they are bringing Rachel McShane and the Cartographers over for a return visit.
If comedy is your bag, don’t miss Steve Love’s Island Songs as you sip your morning coffee at Monkton Arts Cafe, Ryde. Steve performed there fortnightly last year and it looks like his ‘world tour’ is back on again.
See Events for details of all these happenings and many more.
Folkonwight wishes you all a happy and music-filled New Year!
Boxing Day at Arreton Barns was quieter than usual but there was plenty of dancing
Quiet start
Not surprisingly, recent uncertainty means fewer gatherings at the start of 2022, but there are plans under discussion for possible new clubs and folk nights later in the year……
Or perhaps not so quiet
Meanwhile, there are two major events at Quay Arts Centre to look forward to. Vibrant five-piece band The Outside Track visit on Friday 28th January. The Outside Track’s blend of Canadian, Scottish and Irish music and song has brought them an enthusiastic following. Expect an energy-packed mix of fiddle, accordion, harp, guitar and flute plus step dance and vocals delivered by virtuoso musicians. Not to be missed! https://www.quayarts.org/event/the-outside-track-2/
On Friday February 25th, Peter Knight and John Spires, two of the most gifted musicians on their chosen instruments, the violin and the melodeon. Together they create inspirational performances based on musical folk traditions, particularly the rich heritage of dance tunes. This will be a night to remember, well worth spending your Christmas present money on! https://www.quayarts.org/event/peter-knight-and-john-spiers/
Christmas went ahead
Tony Nicol in the ‘Christmas Boys’ Mummers Play at Arreton Barns, Boxing Day
Here are a couple of highlights…….
The Festive FolkiesMorris dancer Dilys at Arreton Barns, Boxing Day Men of Wight, Boxing Day, Arreton Barns
With the return of live music, most music Zoom sessions are closing down, but Open Mic Monday on Zoom is continuing as a permanent feature of the Island’s music calendar.
It is hosted from the Isle of Wight by Steve Love, pictured above with his latest CD all ready for launch. Steve’s Open Mic zoom welcomes all kinds of music, poetry and other performance, as well as watchers. Most of the participants are from the Island, but there are some from the North Island and around the world. Steve has decided to keep it going because he has noticed that a number of the participants like music but for medical or domestic reasons can’t go out to pub events, with or without a lockdown – while others (like himself) just have to have their extra fix of music every week.
The format will be familiar to Isolation Row and folk club participants – the host ‘goes round the room’ to give everyone a song/spot, then goes round again if there is time or if not draws names from a hat.
Open Mic Monday takes place every Monday from 8pm till 10.15pm on Zoom , Anyone is welcome, either regularly or as a drop-in, or bring-a-friend, to perform or watch. The links are all on the folkonwight Events page.
Zooming into the past
There have been 61 Isolation Row zoom sessions, run by John Hacker or, very occasionally, by John Bentley. These have now come to and end, but the Monday Open Mic zoom is continuing, see above. John Hacker’s contribution to the lockdown folk music scene has been immense. Apart from the regular committment of the zooms, he produced three days’ worth of festival and several Quay Folk Clubs too. What a star!
John Hacker, complete with halo!
Just a few
Some folk clubs have been able to restart whereas others are still waiting. The problem is space, of course. Those with suitable outdoor areas or a good sized indoor room are now up and running. All eyes are fixed on June 21st! Meanwhile, the morris sides are getting organized again. Men of Wight met in (almost) secret to dance in the May. Bloodstone Border Morris are about to resume their practice nights and Moonshine assembled outdoors for a dance and catch -up, see below.
Finally, live folk is able to start up again. The Travellers Joy Folk Club is in full swing fortnightly on Thursday afternoons. Their first performance resulted in a splash by the County Press, valuable publicity for the Island’s folk scene. Evenings in a marquee at the Waverley have started up. Folk at the Porter Club is planned to re-start on 10th June, with a possible earlier date at the end of May. Exciting news is expected soon about the Chillerton Folk Night, too.
On the gig scene, Second Time Around already have a number of dates listed on the Events page and Andy Roberts is offering live music plus refreshments most Saturdays in Freshwater (see Clubs etc.)
Second Time Around
Morris dancing activity may take longer to resume as a spectator sport, but the Men of Wight were rumoured in January to be discussing a possible programme for this summer!
May Day morning at the Longstone before the virus struck
New projects
Paul AT Wilson, a scriptwriter with BBC credits to his name, is starting a mumming and storytelling performance troupe on the Isle of Wight, called, appropriately enough, Wight Mummers.
Now that live outdoor practising is possible again, several new musical collaborations are rumoured in the pipeline…..
folkonwight 