Isle of Wight Folk Music – June 2024

Winter Wilson

Here are some of the highlights for June.

Winter Wilson are at the Medina Bookshop, Cowes, on Monday 10th at 7pm. £10. Tickets Booking essential BYOB 

Storyteller Holly Medland Lees presents ‘Middle Age Crisis’ – stories of drunken monks, wily women and ill-fated deals for 16+ on Thursday 6th. A bargain at only £5 including refreshments at Babushka Books, Shanklin. Booking essential- 07511220038/01983 652880

Enjoy a Barn Dance with The Caulkheads and caller at Camp Hill Clubs, Quarry Hill, Camphill, Newport, PO30 5ZA, 7pm on Friday 7th. Tel 01983 7722796 or chc5c.uk@outlook.com

On Sunday 16th there is a Special Guest Night at Quay Folk Club. A rising young star on the national folk scene, uilleann piper, whistle player and award winning singer Seb Stone is performing, with multi-instrumentalist Dave Godby in support. Quay Arts Centre, 7pm. Drop a donation in the Fez.

Seb Stone

Isle of Wight Folk Music – April 2023

Aggiefest is in full swing, enjoy! Well done to Maureen Forster and team for all their hard work.

A Star is Reborn

Glenn Koppany has at last been able to revive his successful folk night at the Star Ale and Coffee House in Ryde. This charming little venue will now play host to a Folk and Music session on the second Sunday each month, from noon. Well worth delaying your Sunday lunch for!

Get your dancing shoes on

It must be Spring, there are two barn dances in April! The first is on Saturday 8th at Bluebells, Briddlesford, and the second on Friday 21st in Ryde. Full details are on the Events page.

Music all the way

Last year’s Irish and Traditional music weekend was so successful that they plan to do it all again this year!

Dave Harris

It was very sad to learn of the death of Dave Harris, recently. Dave and his wife, Caroline, performed at folk clubs as The Bilge Rats. The couple lived on a houseboat for a number of years until the structure eventually succumbed to old age. Later on, the couple lived in Somerset.

Merry Month of May 2021 – Isle of Wight Folk Music

At Last!

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.)

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…..