FAVERSHAM FOLK CLUB

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PLEASE NOTE:

As of January 2025 Our opening time will change
Doors will open at 7:00 pm and music will start at 7:30 pm
Guest at 8:00 pm and finish at 10:00 pm

(Unless otherwise stated entrance = (£6 Members / £7 Non-Members)

Membership prices
Single: £5.00 / Year
Couple / Family: £8.00 / Year

PLEASE NOTE:- Doors Open at 7:00 Music starts at 7:30


And Booked so far for 2025
5^th March	Capella (£9 / £10)	Traditional and contemporary folk song in beautiful two part a Capella harmony. If ever two voices were meant to go together it must be those of Tony and Lesley Petty, whose amazing two part a cappella harmony singing has been enchanting audiences at clubs and festivals since 1996. Their songs are a mixture of traditional and contemporary, delivered in a relaxed and witty style with audience participation always encouraged.
		Future Guests include
19^th March	Southern Rambles (£8 / £9)	Southern Rambles, a delightful stroll in song and melody through Kent, Sussex and Surrey following the guide books of SPB Mais… poetry too… Kent Sing Collective’s sell-out original show for Broadstairs 2022 featuring Bob Kenward, Sue Watson, John & Di Cullen, Sue & Tom Evans and Laurie Jeal. Lots to sing and enjoy- fascinating and feel-good…
2nd April	Steve Tilston (£12 / £13)	The writer of such classic songs as *The Slipjigs and Reels* and the award-winning *The Reckoning, is also a published author. Steve’s first novel All for Poor Jack* is an historical tale set in Bristol and the New World, full of colourful characters. It’s a mighty good read and has been enjoyed by the likes of Bob Dylan no less! He’s toured with John Renbourn’s Ship of Fools, traditional singer Maggie Boyle (the classic recordings *Of Moor and Mesa* and *All Under the Sun), as guitarist with Ballet Rambert, with Maartin Allcock & Pete Zorn in WAZ! with Brooks Williams and with his daughter Martha. Plus collaborations with alt-country band The Durbervilles and old Bristol pals Keith Warmington and the late Stuart Gordon as the Steve Tilston Trio. His most recent project is Tilston & Lowe* a duo with fellow songwriter Jez Lowe, producing *The Janus Game* a CD of brand-new co-writes. Others have also recorded Steve’s songs. Here’s to Tom Paine is the adopted theme song for the Tom Paine Society of America and we’ve lost count of the number of versions of The Slipjigs & Reels!
16^th April	The Kimberleys (£9 / £10)	The Kimberleys are a multi instrumentalist duo based in London. Their repertoire is drawn from traditional folk songs of the British Isles. Their honest arrangements, exceptional musicianship and glorious familial harmonies combine to make an impact much greater than their two piece line up. It is magical to witness. The Kimberleys have recorded with folk icons Gordon Giltrap, Andy Cutting (Leveret, Blowzabella, 3 time BBC Radio 2 Folk musician of the year award winner) and Dave Swarbrick (Fairport Convention). They have toured and performed with Wolfscote (Telegraph Best Folk Albums, producer Jim Kimberley), The Albion Band, Julie Felix and cult acid folk innovators Comus.
30 April	Twangtown Paramours (£9 / £10)	Nashville-based husband-and-wife duo Mike T. Lewis and MaryBeth Zamer, known on stage as The Twangtown Paramours, have made a name for themselves defying boundaries with their award-winning catalogue of Americana, Folk, and Blues anthems. With a slew of accolades for their first three full-length albums, they’ve earned a loyal following, balancing serious instrumental and vocal chops with witty stage banter and a lighthearted approach to life. With their third album, Double Down on a Bad Thing, The Twangtown Paramours shifted gears to showcase a full band, electric, groove-oriented, upbeat, soul-infused, and retro blues sound. Their soon-to-be released fourth album, The Wind Will Change Again, is an acoustic Folk record consisting of a collection of songs that the Twangers call their best to date. Hit songwriter, session musician, and producer Mike Lewis was born in NYC, but his sound is informed by a mix of experiences across the country’s major music centers, including NYC, L.A., Austin, and Nashville. He began learning classical and jazz guitar at age eight, studying under Leonid Bolotine, William Matthews, and Barry Galbraith, before earning degrees at Columbia in New York City and the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. He wrote a #1 platinum pop hit ranked the 2nd biggest-selling female ballad of all time in Korea, and occasionally plays upright bass for Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Born in Washington D.C., lead singer MaryBeth Zamer was raised on a mix of opera and American songbook music, singing along to Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald, before discovering Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, and the blues in high school. A fixture in the Washington, D.C. club scene for years, MaryBeth performed with popular local cover band, Ignition and sang backup vocals for Eva Cassidy’s band, Method Actor. “Eva was a huge influence on my singing style,” MaryBeth says. “She taught me to go beyond having fun and hitting the right notes, to sing in a way that conveys real emotion.” MaryBeth and Mike met and started dating in 2009, while both were working on separate musical projects. “The relationship came first,” says MaryBeth, “but I kept hearing songs he’d written that I loved, and I wanted to add my own vocal spin to them. I felt like I could interpret and deliver Mike’s songs the way he intended them to be.” The Twangtown Paramours released their debut self-titled album via Inside Edge Records just a year later in 2010, a well-received, pop-infused folk album that rose to #11 on the Folk charts. In 2012, they released their second full-length project, The Promise of Friday Night, a narrative-driven, acoustic folk album that hit #2 on the Folk charts, #150 on the Americana charts, and #7 on Deep Roots Magazine’s top 50 albums of 2012. In the following years, the pair became three-time finalists at the Kerrville New Folk Competition in Kerrville, TX and winners of the Wildflower Contest in Richardson, TX. They also had the honor to open for major acts such as Joe Ely, Claire Lynch, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. In February of 2022, their third album, Double Down on a Bad Thing came in at #11 on the UK indie Blues chart and #18 on the U.S. RMR Contemporary Blues chart. The Christmas bonus track was played over 215,000 in 16,000 U.S. stores and malls last December, and another song from the album is currently being played about 60,000 times a week in over 20,000 U.S. stores and malls. In addition to their elaborate musical pedigrees and critically-acclaimed release history, what makes The Twangtown Paramours unique is the purity of their priorities: They are committed to making top-notch music. Their new album, The Wind Will Change Again, released to the public and to radio in the U.S. and U.K. on January 3, 2025, is an acoustic exploration of some of the best songs the duo has written and that they often play live. Included on the album are emotional and thoughtful songs such as “The Garden” and “Old Friends”, the fun-loving bluegrass influenced tune, “Sincerely Yours No More,” and heartbreaking ballads co-written with well-known Nashville songwriters, Paul Craft and Fred Koller. Also on the album are two of the Twangers’ favorite songs to perform live: Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s “Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown” and Adam Schlesinger’s “That Thing You Do.” The Wind Will Change Again also features some of the best musicians to be found anywhere. Players include Rick Lonow (Poco)on drums and percussion, Grammy winner Jim VanCleve on fiddle and viola, Rave Tesar (keyboardist and music director for the band, Renaissance), Ed Alstrom (renowned session pianist and organist), and #1 accordion Nashville session player Jeff Taylor. The Wind Will Change Again was acoustically and eclectically produced by Mike Lewis with songs that run the gamut of emotions from fun to heart-breaking to the philosophical. This is what David McGee, editor of Deep Roots Magazine had to say about the upcoming album: "In the performances’ acoustic majesty, we hear the Twangtown Paramours as we’ve not heard them before, thereby bringing into bold relief the depth of their messages and the beauty of their art. Right on time for a most chaotic time in our collective history, The Wind Will Change Again is built to last. And so it will.
14^th May	Dan Walsh (£11 / £12)	BBC Folk Awards Best Musician nominee Dan Walsh combines ‘virtuoso playing and winning songwriting’ (MORNING STAR). Describing what Dan does is no easy task but at the heart of it is British, Irish and American folk music delivered with a healthy dose of funky grooves – all performed with his unique and dazzling take on clawhammer style banjo helping to challenge all preconceptions about the instrument. Add to all that poignant songs, astonishing musical departures and lively humour and the result is a truly memorable live show which has wowed audiences across the world from intimate seated rooms to huge dancing crowds in festival fields. Walsh has recorded seven solo albums to much critical acclaim. Most recently he returned to his first love and recorded ‘O’Neill’s Tunes’ – a collection of traditional Irish tunes played in his unique take on clawhammer style which was described as ‘expertly played’ and ‘difficult to find any fault with’ by Songlines magazine as well as receiving airplay on BBC Radio 2. He is an in demand performer with a hectic touring schedule in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and throughout Europe. He has also released two banjo tablature books including a very successful book of clawhammer arrangements of Irish folk tunes which inspired the O’Neill’s album. Session work Dan is also an in demand session musician and has recently worked with Universal Studios for an upcoming film soundtrack. Dan is also an in demand session musician with recent guest appearances, on stage or in the studio, with the likes of Ward Thomas, Imelda May, Joss Stone, Seth Lakeman, the Levellers, Duane Eddy, Martin Simpson and even the City of London Sinfonia. He has recently added a home studio setup so is busier than ever. Other previous work has included tours with sensational Indian sarangi player Suhail Yusuf Khan and Canadian country singer Meaghan Blanchard. Teaching/Outreach He is also greatly in demand as a teacher and teaches banjo both in person and over Skype/Zoom and is the only international banjoist to be invited to teach at the Midwest Banjo Camp in the USA. He also teaches at Newcastle and Sheffield universities. Dan also retains a passion for outreach work and has performed throughout the UK in hospices, hospitals, special needs schools and care homes.
21^st May	Jez Lowe (£12 / £13)	A double nomination in the 2015 BBC Folk Awards – for best singer and best new song – was a timely reminder of Jez Lowe’s standing in the UK folk and acoustic music scene. Not only he is one of the busiest live performers in the country, but his songs are among the most widely sung by other performers, whether by long-established acts like Fairport Convention, The Dubliners and Bob Fox, or by the new breed of stars like The Unthanks, The Young Uns, Megson and The Duhks. Jez’s own long-established band The Bad Pennies (featuring Kate Bramley, Andy May and David De La Haye) continue to attract a huge following, and his other collaborations with The Pitmen Poets (with Billy Mitchell, Bob Fox and Benny Graham), The Broonzies (alongside fellow-veterans Maggie Holland, Chris Parkinson and Roger Wilson), Men at Words (with James Keelaghan and Archie Fisher) and with fellow-songwriter Steve Tilston, show a willingness to push boundaries and venture boldly into pastures new. Meanwhile, his involvement in the award-winning BBC series The Radio Ballads continues, with his song The Wrong Bus singled out for inclusion on Radio 4’s Pick of the Year in 2018, and five more of his contributions included in the BBC Radio broadcast featuring the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in November 2019. Many of these songs also featured on his 2016 solo album, The Ballad Beyond, the success of which prompted a feature in fRoots magazine and glowing reviews the world over. Jez’s ongoing partnership with fellow-singer/songwriter Steve Tilston reached fruition in 2016, with the release of a duo album, The Janus Game, consisting entirely of new, co-written songs by the duo. Another long-term partnership, with Canadian singer-songwriter James Keelaghan, will bring the two men together again in 2024 for a tour across Canada in March. Their joint-album “Live In Australia”, recorded at a concert in Fremantle, was released in 2017. Jez’s role as musical director for Badapple Theatre is also an ongoing concern, and he will be contributing songs and music to their next production, due in Spring 2021. The publication of Jez’s first novel, “The Dillen Doll”, in 2017, with an accompanying CD featuring a “suite” of traditional songs inspired by the story within it, was met with widespread acclaim. This project sees him return to his roots in the folk music of his native North East England. His second novel, entitled “The Corly Croons”, was published in October 2019, and is a “continuation” of the first, rather than a follow-up, and introduces readers to a new hero, Evan Piper, “the stranger from the South”. In 2022, Jez’s third novel “Piper’s Lonnen” has been published, featuring more of Evan Piper’s adventures, this time with Northumbrian songs and tunes serving as the backdrop to the plot. A five-track CD featuring Jez and long-time Bad Pennies piper Andy May, has been released to coincide with the publication of the new book, including several new songs and two instrumental tracks. A special anniversary was celebrated at the beginning of 2020, when Fellside Records released a five CD set of Jez’ solo albums, forty years since the release of his debut LP in 1980. “The Jez Lowe Fellside Collection” contains every track that Jez ever recorded for the label, up to 1993, and also includes extensive liner notes by producer Paul Adams. Jez shows no sign of slowing down – following a solo American tour last September, the “Farewell” tour by The Pitmen Poets, last October, the year ended with The Bad Pennies joining him for their annual Christmas tour. Lined up for 2020 was a tour of Canada with James Keelaghan, followed by summer Canadian festival appearances for the duo, and another US solo trip, plus an enviable list of UK solo dates and a UK tour with Steve Tilston. It seems for the moment that most of these will have to be postponed. However, a new solo album, “Crazy Pagan”, his first for six years, and recorded during the lockdown of 2020, has just been released. Twelve new songs, with Jez playing all the instruments and doing all the vocal work, this new CD is a solo album in every sense. The new album is a tantalising, not to say hopeful glimpse towards the future, when once again, Jez Lowe will be coming to a venue near you.
4^th June	Steve & Julie Wigley (£9 / £10)	Julie Wigley is a prolific songwriter from Derby. Steve and Julie have recorded ten albums of her songs and they regularly perform at Folk Clubs around the country. Julie’s songs always have a story to tell, whether it be of their Derbyshire home or songs of the sea and air, or drawn from their love of history and its characters. They have performed at Derby Folk Festival, Moira Furnace Festival, The Isle of Wight Sea Songs Festival, Lincolnshire Day of Folk and numerous folk clubs around the country. Steve & Julie are also members of acapella trio Stonesthrow,
18^th June	James Keelaghan + 1 (£12 / £13)	Since 2011, I’ve been the Artistic Director of the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival in Owen Sound, Ontario. and since 2018 I’ve been the AD at the Stewart Park Festival in Perth. The job has given me a new passion for programming. I have to book the artists and program 6 daytime and two nighttime stages. The walls of my office end up looking like this: I was born in Calgary but have lived in Toronto, Winnipeg and now, a charming little town called Perth in Eastern Ontario. I’m trying to say at home more these days, as I have a couple of boys at home, aged 16 and 12. I want to spend as much time with them before they fly the coop. If you know my music, you know that I love history. I studied at the University of Calgary, though I never actually completed my degree. I concentrated on the history of science, under the tutelage of the dear, departed Dr. Margaret Osler and was influenced and inspired by Dr. Shel Silverman – one of the great storytellers of our time. While I read a lot of history on many different topics, my areas of specialty remain science and World War One, especially the Battle of the Frontiers, 1st Marne and Verdun. I prefer Irish to Scotch but never developed the drinking gene, so I am good for about 1 shot if I ever have the urge. I am omnivorous. My favourite meal is breakfast. Followed by lunch and then dinner. I’m more comfortable on the plains than in the mountains. I once met Harry Belafonte in an elevator in Saskatoon. I am a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. I was added to the college in the same year as Margaret Atwood and had the pleasure of singing her a song on her birthday at the annual Fellows dinner.
3^rd December	John Kirkpatrick Price TBC
All Wednesdays without guests.	Singers Nights. Admission £2 for everyone.	Bring your instruments, poems, stories and particularly your favourite songs and join in - or just listen or sing the choruses.