At: Hullabaloo, 41 Westgate, Shipley, BD18 3QX

Est: 1956

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Topic Newsletter Archive

TOPIC FOLK CLUB, BRADFORD

At Glyde House, Glydegate, Bradford BD5 0BQ

Newsletter No 179- May 2017 

Hello all,

Happy May Day everyone: summer is icumen in so if you fancy a-roving one fair May evening, a-rove on down to Glyde House on a Thursday, see what's a-going on. For example....

4th May:  Singers and musicians night. 8.15pm. Free entry

11th May: Jess & Richard Arrowsmith.
Jess and Richard Arrowsmith are traditional musicians and singers who specialise in English music and song. They perform as a duo using voices, melodeon and fiddle, and also play with ceilidh band Hekety and concert band Melrose Quartet (with James Fagan and Nancy Kerr). Powerful vocals, subtle accompaniments and a broad spectrum of predominantly English traditional material are the hallmarks of this Sheffield-based duo.

Their latest project Off We Go Again!, released in November 2014, is a follow up to popular nursery rhyme & lullaby CD Off We Go! (2010); and in addition, Customs & Exercise, a full length studio album of songs and tunes (for grown ups!) was released in July 2012. £6/£5

18th May: Susan Herndon (USA)
Playing around 200 gigs a year for more than a decade, Susan Herndon has retained that true troubadour’s ethos, sharing her passion for song and stirring thousands of kindred spirits throughout Oklahoma, Texas, the American heartland, and in Europe.

Born in St Louis, raised in Tulsa and bred in Oklahoma, she earned several degrees including one in French.   Herndon’s youthful wanderlust took her to the south of France for many years, and while in that Gallic state of mind, she began her musical odyssey in the most humble – and purest – of ways:  busking for francs on the busy streets of Pau deep within the Pyrenees.

It was there and on other thoroughfares throughout Europe that Herndon honed the skills and presence needed of a dedicated working musician and an immediately engaging entertainer. “Music really is our universal language,” says Herndon today. “And I do believe that good songs – in any language – can truly touch souls.  I know they have saved my life on numerous occasions."

With an engaging smile and graceful charm, she touches upon themes both universal and deeply personal, from longing and loneliness, to home, family, faded memories and hopeful dreams.  And she connects with her listeners in a voice that conveys equal parts innocence and knowing savoir-faire.   £6/£5

Susan Herndon is one of the best singer/songwriters in Oklahoma and her artful music is getting better and better....at her best she is as good as anyone around - Greg Johnson, Blue Door Digest

Susan Herndon sings the kind of songs that make you feel like hopping in your car, taking a long and leisurely drive, taking stock in the important things in life. There's something mystical about the voice, the stories and the music, almost as if Herndon successfully captures a world of experience into a brief moment in musical time....Maria Gus - Bartlesville Monthly                

25th May:  Ben Savage & Hannah Sanders. 
Huddled round a single microphone, singing intimate duets with just mountain dulcimer, dobro and guitar Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage are a folk duo that look & sound classically timeless, yet feel refreshingly unique. Fleetingly, they may evoke a memory of Gram & Emmylou, Shirley & Davey, or Gillian & David but their warm distilling of influences from both sides of the big pond produces a refined sound that is decidedly their own.

Both hailing from folk singing families in the flatlands of East Anglia, Hannah spent much of her formative years touring Europe with her family band in a converted school bus, singing folk songs a capella in the street in order to make enough money to move to the next city. However, a sea change and relocation to the US saw her soak up the influences from the American North East and take up the dulcimer. Meanwhile Ben was writing and touring with celebrated UK folk band The Willows whose albums Beneath Our Humble Soil and Amidst Fiery Skies were championed by the likes of the BBC’s Bob Harris and Mike Harding.

Within weeks of moving back the UK, Hannah braved her first time out solo at The Black Fen Folk Club, Cambridge and as fate would have it, Ben had just returned from tour. Ben went on to produce Hannah’s solo debut Charms Against Sorrow, released in early 2015 to critical acclaim

Nurturing an intuitive musical understanding and a love of the duet whilst touring Charms Against Sorrow the pair caught the attention of award‐winning Canadian producer David Travers‐Smith (Ruth Moody, Wailin’ Jennys, Jason & Pharis Romero), with whom they made their latest album Before the Sun in 2016.   £6/£5

"Spellbinding… Hannah & Ben were born to play & sing together." fRoots

They have created an exquisite soundscape, which is the result of passion, precision and unbridled intimacy… R2 Magazine 

We have a Featured Support act this evening: Bernard Hoskin, a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based near Cambridge. He has released 11 CDs and opened for loads of people including Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee, Phil Beer, Pete Atkin, June Tabor and the Oysterband, Megson, Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar, Steve Tilston and the Amy Wadge Band.

technically brilliant guitar and vocals - Rock 'n' Reel

OTHER STUFF

A reminder about the "Mountain Minstrel" project:

A 10-day trek through the mountains of western Kosovo, southern Montenegro and northern Albania, carrying instruments -lightweight, eg  fiddle, uke, mandolin- (luggage is carried for you by jeep or horse), doing informal performances of folk tunes and songs in villages, sessions in guest houses, linking up with local musicians on the way.

Dates: July 3rd to 16th 2017

For all details including costs contact Richard Hargreaves on 01756 770346, or email him at: strand@hawkswick.ne

We receive details of far too many events and festivals, particularly for the summer months, to include on our newsletter but I'll mention two here briefly: if anyone one would like more details you can email me and I'll send you the information you require.

16th - 18th June - Soundpost Singing Weekend, Dungworth, Sheffield (www.soundpost.org.uk)

7th -9th July - Yorkshire Folk Dance weekend - Drax Social Club (http://yfdw.org.uk)

USUAL STUFF

For performers who may be thinking of approaching the club for a booking, please note that the bookings organiser is Rahel Guzelian, email address : rahel@guzelian.com

If you would like to become a member of the Topic Folk Club, it costs just £5.00 per year, running from 1st January. Being a member entitles you to the lower ticket prices shown in this newsletter, as well as the chance to become more involved in the workings of the club if you would like to.

If you’re visiting the club for the first time, be sure to come and say hello, and if anyone has any suggestions for the club, for example if you would like us to try to book a particular artist, we’d like to hear them.

The Topic runs on Thursdays at Glyde House, Glydegate, Little Horton Lane, BD5 0BQ 8.30pm start. (Singers & Musicians nights normally start at 8.15pm). Like all the clubs in the area, our aim is to provide good quality live entertainment to suit all tastes of those interested in folk music, and we thank you for your continued support.

Floor singers are always welcome, especially in the first half, though may be limited when we have a booked support act - please check. Please try to get there by 8.15 pm if you’d like a slot – it helps the MC to plan the evening.

To find the Topic on Facebook search for "Topic Fc".

Tony Charnock, Topic Newsletter Editor 

Topic Folk Club