Dulwich Folk

This workshop is a unique opportunity for fiddle players to learn some traditional Italian tunes. Duea are two sisters from Piedmont who play fiddles and accordion who play mainly traditional Italian dance music. They are on a short tour and today is their London debut . Check them out on Duea.info The workshop is open to anyone aged 12 or more. It will last until 5.30. Duea’s folk club gig starts in the same room at 7.30. The workshop costs £14 The folk club evening gig costs £13. Dual entrance £24. Reduced rates for age 19 or under - £10 workshop and £15 dual entrance. Numbers for the workshop are limited - To reserve a place email [email protected] Queries ring 07957789180

It's always a great pleasure to discover musicians of such verve and brilliance! Duea are two sisters from Piedmont who play fiddles and accordion. You can expect a lot of fabulous Italian dance music as well as slow airs and their own traditionally influenced tunes. Sara and Chiara tore apart the Purbeck Valley folk Festival last year so we are really delighted to welcome them on their London debut. Check them out on Duea.info. This will be a great Italian evening.

Macdara is already a hugely accomplished singer of traditional songs and is another great Irish singer! He's here to promote his new album "Traditional Singing from Dublin". Its a great album but he's even better live! Expect songs sung with sensitivity and passion either unaccompanied or with guitar. . Well known in Dublin, this will be one of Macdara’s first London folk club gigs and follows his spectacular debut at Sidmouth last year. Our residents are Shotley Crue. Entrance is £12.

This is a London folk club debut for the "Fire and Dust" song cycle, Reg's brilliant and very moving tribute to Woody which illuminates his life story. Reg will play the whole of "Fire and Dust" ( which does include a few of Woody's classics as well). In the second half he'll sing some songs from " Stolen From God" his previous award winning song cycle about the slave trade and other songs from his awesome back catalogue which includes for example songs about the NHS, Victor Jara, Emily Dickinson , Covid, Elvis , drinking, Dylan Thomas, and London ! Fire and Dust is a fabulous song cycle and cements Reg's reputation as one of our very best singer songwriters. Entrance is £12 .

A rare chance to see Hannah and Toby who are used to much bigger venues than ours! They are a unique duo combining the talents of Hannah an accordion playing singer-songwriter and and percussive dance champion and Toby Kuhn a French post-classical cellist and kalimba player with a taste for improvisation and folk music of all persuasions. Hannah is one of folk's outstanding talents who excels at music and dance and song. A distinctive singer (who makes up one third of the great Lady Maisery), she is also an eloquent song writer whose songs clearly flow from her knowledge of the tradition. Toby was initially a distinguished classical player who moved on from classical music. He has played in several acoustic bands, experimenting with the fusing of Balkan tunes and songs with other styles. He is also in a string quintet with fiddler and singer Kate Young.Toby lives and works in the musical crossroads that is Ljubljana, Slovenia. Check out Hannah and Toby's unique sound on their album " Sleeping Spirals" or you can find ten great videos on hannahtobymusic.org This is Hannah and Toby's only London gig so we getting to the Castle early is advised ( we don't sell in advance) Entrance tonight is £14

Take a mighty piper, add great singers and a brilliant fiddle player- expect a great one off evening of Irish music and song from Grace Lemon , four times All-Ireland Pipe Champion. Peta Webb and Ken Hall. Long time singers, promoters and advocates of Irish and English Traditional music, Ken and Peta will offer brilliant harmonies and superb singing. Rowan Piggott Plays fiddle and sings. Best known as one third of The Wilderness Yet, Rowan is an accomplished singer and songwriter as well as a very fine fiddle player. He is a record producer and the author of books on Irish, Swedish and old - time fiddle tunes. This is an Irish music night unlikely to be repeated anywhere from 4 fabulous musicians! Entrance is £13

A year or so ago Clementine played a couple of songs from the floor at Dulwich . Last year she formed her trio with percussionist Carmen Ruiz Vicente and fiddle player Duncan Menzies. Carmen’s plays regularly with Savannah Gardner and the Recovering Good Girls. Duncan Menzies is no stranger to Dulwich folk having played here with both Copper Viper and Club Debris. Clementine seamlessly knits together traditional, singer songwriter and folk-rock roots. She’s a very fine singer whose own memorable songs clearly relate to the folk tradition. I’d agree with the FATEA review that said ““Clementine has a great voice, writes her own very moving songs, and interprets traditional (and not so traditional) pieces in a new way” The trio has been a great success; it has sold out the last three gigs including a recent very full Green Note. Recording is in progress. This is an act on the way up. Come and find out why. Entrance tonight is £13 . Links:

MICHTY! started out 10 years ago as a group of musicians from all over London meeting to play Scottish music. For the last 3 years MICHTY! have provided the house band at the Dulwich Folk ”After Burns night” night . They have been essential in making the night memorable , which is why this year they are our headline act. This year they have expanded their singing as well , so MICHTY! now includes the Gaelic harmony group Adhoctet Ghaidhlig; this group met through Còisir Lunnainn (London Gaelic Choir), and includes two of the conductors and Simon Stallard the 2024 winner, of the prestigious Silver Pendant, at the Royal National Mòd. This is going to be a fabulous night of Scottish music and song , probably split two- thirds music and one-third song. Entrance tonight is £10

Start the new Year by checking out someone we think is destined to be one of our finest singers. Seb is a traditional singer from the Peak District. In 2022 he won Bromyard Folk Festival’s ‘Future of Folk’ award. He draws on a varied repertoire of traditional English and Irish songs, focussing on the stories they have to tell, and their relevance to our modern world. Seb is also a member of Culverake and when not performing can be found poring over broadsides or field recordings, or playing sessions. Seb’s album “Young Tamlyn’s Away” is definitely one of the best of the year. Check out his version of Tamlyn and you'll see what I mean. As a bonus Seb plays the Uillean Pipes! ( and whistle) Entrance tonight is £10

Niamh is one of Irelands very finest singers and Dulwich are delighted to welcome her back together with her longtime partner the great guitarist Graham Dunne . Niamh is renowned not only as a brilliant interpreter of traditional songs but also for the way she can transform modern material. The great Archie Fisher described her as a singer “who only comes along once or twice in a generation”. Niamh has released nine albums over the course of her career, all of them infused with tenderness, conviction and beauty. Niamh is also President of the Irish Musicians Union. She has been performing with Graham on guitar since 1999. Their relationship has been described as a “fathomlessly deep musical and yes, spiritual bond…which draws out the essence of the songs.” When not accompanying Niamh Graham is usually seen playing jazz guitar (and even Flamenco!). Niamh and Graham don’t make it to England too often, so make sure you don’t miss them. You can check out Niamh’s singing at niamhparsons.com Entrance tonight is £13.

Pete and Richard (described by Sarah Coxon as “ Two superbly innovative musicians at the height of their craft”) were one of the very first acts we booked so we are very pleased to welcome them again. Pete's fiddle and Richard's cello will fire through an amazing set of dance and other tunes rooted in England but also including lots from around the world as well, complemented by the odd song from Pete. Pete and Richard's recent CD “Burning Bright” is terrific and is doubly welcome as it features artwork on the cover and on the cd which was done by Abel Kesteven our resident artist when they visited us last time. Pete and Richard don’t perform together often enough so take this opportunity to see them . It will be a terrific evening Entrance tonight is £12.

We don’t have many songwriters as guests at Dulwich, but we are delighted ( and lucky) to be able to welcome Angeline, whose songs, uniquely for a major British folk artist, combine an obvious love of traditional music forms with a retelling of the experiences of black British ancestors whose voices had been ignored or supressed. Her the 2022 album The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience was described by the Guardian as “...a startling record of resistance, rebellion and celebration” and was their no 1 folk album of 2022. As well as a songwriter and singer Angeline is also a multi instrumentalist playing among other things dulcimer, autoharp , shruti and kalimba. She will be accompanied on some songs tonight by Clarke Camilleri on guitar. Angeline is also half of the Psych-folk duo Rowan:Morrison and half of the alt-folk duo We are Muffy. Angeline doesn’t usually play venues as small as Dulwich and as I write this I notice she has already sold out the Green Note on 21st, so I am expecting a full house. Get here early! Entrance tonight is £13.

We’re very pleased to steal Kevin for the night from Walthamstow folk club where he otherwise be MCing.. Some of his anecdotes may even be true! Kevin is as excellent singer who will take us though his choice of the myriad of London songs. Taking London songs from "The Critics Group" as a starting point, Kevin takes us through London, loosely following the Thames . with songs and stories of places we pass. Some of the songs are traditional, some recent some comic, some serious , and you should expect some surprises. Kevin Sheils came to folk music in the mid 60s. Since that time he has been a regular singer and resident at many folk clubs . He is a regular concert MC at some of the country's major Folk Festivals and for the last 20 years he has presented the weekly "Traditional Music Hour" radio show on London based Arts Radio Station - Resonance FM. Expect an amusing, entertaining and informative night. Entrance tonight is £10

The great Irish harpist and the brilliant Stevenage guitarist! Not for the first time we are putting on musicians who by rights should be in a much bigger venue! Mairi is one of Ireland’s most important and influential traditional musicians . Her seminal 1985 album “The New Strung Harp” has just been re-released. This was described as “ An intensely passionate and intelligent record... a masterpiece of virtuosity... a milestone in Irish harp music" CORK EVENING ECHO Chris joined up with Mairi in 1987 and they have made at least seven albums together . As a live act they are rooted but eclectic, emotional but adventurous: a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, coupled with striking new compositions and Chris’s delightfully subversive wit My favourite review from the Belfast Telegraph gives you a flavour of what to expect ““This celebrated harp/guitar duo took the place by storm. Stately Carolan tunes, jazzy Django-ish numbers, dazzling Doc Watson style flat picking fliers, driving Irish dance tunes - this pair can nonchalantly do the lot. Their musicianship was enviable. Guitar players applauded and went sadly home to burn their instruments!”
 Chris has also made at least four solo albums . His most recent “Breaking Bach” was described as “Groundbreaking - a magnificent tour-de-force... a toweringly impressive achievement" by Living tradition magazine . This will be an evening to remember. Entrance tonight is £14

This is a multi-media show with film footage complemented by songs. Martin, who is from Hull, is a fine singer well known to many London folk clubs. It is a show about Hull’s deep-sea fishing fleet – the practices, the people and its demise. It is a story of how a group of Hull women took action which forced the government to improve safety in the fishing industry following the loss of 58 fishermen in less than a month in 1968.. Songs by folk artists including Mike Waterson, Richard Grainger and Dave Evardson are woven together with Martin’s video footage of those who were there and readings from sources including Rupert Creed’s "Turning the Tide" and "The Headscarf Revolutionaries" by Brian W Lavery. A CD of Songs from the show will be available on the night. This will be an unusual and moving evening. All money raised tonight will be going to Medecin Sans Frontieres. Entrance tonight is £10.