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January News from Des O'Byrne at Grayshott Folk Club

Dear Grayshott Folksters,

Wow, what a way to start our musical year at Grayshott Folk Club!

Almost a sell out and some amazing performances from our Canadian visitors made it a night to remember and a very pleasant surprise for us all. Back in February last year, when I first considered booking Showman & Coole of The Lonesome Ace String Band (from Toronto), I thought it might be of niche interest and doubted we’d get many people along to see them. But we do niche and we do different in order to try and keep things fresh so I thought I would take a chance on them and it was great to get so many people out last night to support our event. Thank you all for coming along.

Then last October, I was contacted by someone representing Rube & Rake (from St. John’s, Newfoundland). They were scheduled to come over here for a few days to attend The UK Americana Week showcase event. It is set up in order to give upcoming and new acts a chance to perform to promoters, agents and music bookers, so that the musicians get more future bookings and thereby make trips over here more viable. As you can imagine, it is quite a big investment to fly over here from Canada and have to pay for accommodation, while they are here. Rube & Rake were due to be here for just a few days and needed to do as much paid work as possible whilst still making the showcase their prime reason for being here. Their visit coincided with our already booked Showman & Coole gig so it seemed to make sense to devote the whole evening to Canadian musicians. Those of you who have been coming to our gigs over several years will already know that we have had some very fine musicians from all over Canada, in the past.


First up were Rube & Rake. They are an Americana/Bluegrass/Folk acoustic duo. They sing wonderful harmonies together around a condenser microphone and play with either two guitars or guitar and banjo, excellently. They also give good banter with a “good guy/bad guy” theme to it. The heartless incomer from British Columbia, who kicks his kid sister out of his accommodation, contrasted with the thoughtful, dependable “Newfie” and it made for some belly laughs among our audience.


Rube & Rake are very comfortable on stage and in each others’ company, having been together since 2017. So far, they have released two albums; “Back and Forth” (2017) and the more recent “Leaving With Nothing” (2020). I suspect this visit will raise their profile in the UK and that they will be getting a lot more gigs over here and reaching a wider audience. I had no idea until last night that their appearance at Grayshott was their first-ever live performance in the UK.


Had we had more time last night, we would have given them longer to play. The audience seemed to really warm to them and their set went by, way too quickly. Highlights for me included their first two songs “Some of Mine” and “Somewhere”but the audience were rapt throughout their performance. I am always so proud of  our audiences who are discerning, respectful and appreciative; even though they may not be familiar with the music on offer and I feel sure that word gets out among musicians that it is a great place for them to come and play.


I so enjoyed listening to Rube and Rake and they seemed such genuine and warm people who are deserving of much greater success than they have so far achieved. I fully expect to hear more from them and about them, in the future.


Showman & Coole have been around the block several times and as two-thirds of The Lonesome Ace Band, they have built up considerable live experience and have a dedicated following.


John Showman is a masterful Fiddle player; he bows it, plucks it, strums it and teases all manner of sounds from his Fiddle. His incredible dexterity and fast fingers make it sound different to any other fiddle playing I’ve heard before. He does conventional and then takes unconventional to a whole different level.


Chris Coole plays the Banjo but again, he plays it brilliantly and together, their amazing energy and innovative playing meant there was great variety in what they performed for us last night. Whether it was a tribute to fellow Canadian, Robbie Robertson (of The Band), who passed away last year when they played “Stagefright”, or the hilarious cover of Roger Miller’s “Don’t Leave Records In The Sun”,a tribute to Hank Williams or their biggest influence John Hartford, every song and tune Showman & Coole played was delivered with great skill and real passion. You couldn’t help but be impressed by their singing, their harmonies and their playing.


They set out to entertain and that’s just what they do, so well.


However, they also appreciate how fortunate they are to do what they love doing and to make a living from it. They also know from great experience that in performing Music, they have some good nights and some not-so-good nights. It was heartening to hear them say that they counted their night at Grayshott as a real “high”........and they got to spend a comfortable night in a bed at The Devil’s Punchbowl Hotel.


We were even treated to a sung recipe, when John sang “Smoke On The Shoulder”, which was seemingly written when he had writer’s block but the lyrics tell you how to cook Pork Shoulder. I’ll have to look up them up and give it a try........

From sublime instrumentals to the cor blimey (“Do Wacka Do”), Showman & Coole had it all covered.

With one gig down and eleven more planned for this year, let’s hope we can continue to keep the bar high throughout 2025.....


Next Up at Grayshott Folk Club:

Please Note:

Ed Blunt support for The Tannahill Weavers (08/02/25)


THREE confirmed gigs for March 2025

Grayshott Folk Club

www.grayshottfolkclub.co.uk


Grayshott Village Hall, Headley Road, Grayshott,

Nr. HINDHEAD, Surrey GU26 6TZ

Saturday 8th February 2025 @ 7.30pm

THE TANNAHILL WEAVERS

https://tannahillweavers.com/home

The Tannahill Weavers first played for us in November 2021 and what an excellent night we all had!

So it's great to welcome back one of Scotland's finest and most enduring bands.

Over more than 50 years, The Tannahill Weavers have established an international reputation for their special brand of Celtic music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms.


I challenge you to sit still as you listen to:

"The Geese In The Bog": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FANYQIFdtE

The "Tannies" are one of Scotland's premier traditional bands whose diverse repertoire reflects their country's rich musical heritage. Traditional Scottish music at its best-as tight and versatile as any band on the Celtic music scene, they can summon up Rock-n-Roll intensity or haunting introspection, at will.


The band and their music are an eloquent and intoxicating mixture of the old and the new.

Featuring:

Roy Gullane - guitar, lead vocals                                                               

Malcolm Bushby - fiddle, bouzouki, harmony vocals

Ian Magillivray – Highland bagpipes, fiddle, whistles

Phil Smillie - flute, whistles, bodhran, harmony vocals


The Tannahill Weavers will be playing at Grayshott as part of a UK wide tour. They then travel to Italy for a short tour before heading out to the U.S.A. where they will be on tour for a whole month and playing here, there and everywhere.

Clearly, they are in big demand and are still “hot” after all these years.


+ Ed Blunt                                                                                                                                                             https://edblunt.co.uk/

We had hoped to bring you Ed last November as support for Bella Hardy but things didn't quite work out how we had planned them. Now we are putting that right.

Ed has recently been capturing and exciting the ears of local audiences and when you are told by three different local musicians independently, whose opinions you respect, that “you should book this guy!”, you have to sit up and take notice.

So here he is; local singer/song writer/guitarist Ed Blunt for your delectation and here’s a reminder of his Christmas song called:

“The Dome of St. Paul’s”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvx7poy-yXw

Tickets £18

Available (in person only) from Grayshott Post Office

By phone from Des O'Byrne on 01428 607096

Online from Ents 24 at:

https://www.ents24.com/hindhead-events/grayshott-village-hall/grayshott-folk-club-welcomes-back-the-tannahill-weavers/7223575

Des O'Byrne

Grayshott Folk Club

phone-icon  01428 607096
email-icon grayshottfolkclub@btinternet.com
website-icon www.grayshottfolkclub.co.uk

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