ARTIST INFO

JOHN ALDERSLADE

We welcome back an old friend to the Valley Folk Club. John started performing in folk clubs in 1968, at first fronting various groups with long time friend Pat Drinkwater. During the 1970s he formed the well travelled group Stonegallows with Pat and Alan Briers. This group lasted quite a few years with different personnel, John being the only constant. Then after balancing solo performance with a puppet / live action folk group The Old Will Folk Entertainers Company he formed a couple of duo acts with Joffre White and Tony Batten.

Long time organiser of folk events he was in at the start of the Village Pump Folk Club which is running successfully again after a break. He was chairman of the committee that set up Trowbridge Village Pump Folk Festival which he helped run for more than 35 years and he was one of the main movers in reawakening this giant in a new format.

Still happily doing things in his own inimitable fashion he continues to captivate his audience in folk clubs and festivals with songs collected from friends over the years, side splitting humour and a nearly 50 year wealth of stories. He performs solo again for our July guest night, accompanying himself on various stringed instruments.

DnA

DnA by name, DnA by nature: music is in the very DNA of this hugely talented mother-and-daughter duo from Swansea, Wales. Both enjoy international reputations not only as soloists but as members of such bands as Calan, Brethyn, Aberjaber and Cromlech. Whether they’re vamping up a traditional oldie or minting something entirely new, there’s a timeless beauty to these intimate and irresistible conversations between harp and fiddle.

“…this music is rooted in tradition but altogether original 
sounding and beautifully written…” Cerys Matthews
https://www.dna-folk.co.uk/

JANIE MENEELY & ROB VAN SANDT

Janie Meneely & Rob van Sante

Biography: Chesapeake songster Janie Meneely and traditional balladeer Rob van Sante join to perform maritime music from the Bay and Beyond. Commonly seen playing with the likes of Alan Reid (of Battlefield Band) or John Connolly (who penned "Fiddler’s Green"), Rob adds his virtuoso guitar to the array of Janie’s “Bay-spun”originals, while Janie adds vocal harmonies to Rob’s traditional ballads.

Janie has been singing about Chesapeake people, places and history for going on (gasp!) 30 years now, chronicling the stories of Bay watermen or poking fun at sailors’ traditions. The death of her husband in 2013 left her without a musical partner, so this collaboration heralds the start of something new (www.janiemeneely.com).

Dutch-born Rob is a guitarist of skill and subtlety. His mother was a child prodigy on piano, so it’s no surprise that music has played an important part in his life. During the 1970s, 80s and 90s he toured extensively throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, working with such stalwarts of the British folk and jazz scene as Danny Thompson, Jon Strong, Tom Napper, Tom McConville, Kate Rusby, John McCusker . . . the list goes on (www.reidvansante.com).

Both are delighted to bring you a few hours of maritime music, merriment and mayhem, and invite you to sing along.
 

IAN BRUCE

Ian Bruce is a superb writer and performer of haunting and compassionate material while remaining a stalwart of the Scottish folk tradition. He exhibits a huge presence which invariably has his audiences singing, laughing and crying sending everyone home with a song in their heads and warmth in their hearts.

Ian Bruce is one of the best known faces on the Scottish folk scene and a wonderful ambassador for the Scottish singer/songwriter genre, all over Europe and beyond. His voice has strength and accuracy, his guitar playing is excellent and his songs are beautifully crafted. In these days of amazing instrumentalists and controlled, tuneful singers, Ian is very much a performer to be reckoned with, a gem of the scene who presents his songs with raw emotion, backed up by a joyful and interactive relationship with his audience. 

Ian McCalman, (The McCalmans) January 2018

XMAS PARTY with ROCKY ROAD

Rocky Road are a 4 piece Celtic folk band.

Band Members

- John Honour (guitar, vocals and whistles)
- Larry Richmond (violin, mandolin, tenor banjo and vocals)
- Rhian Clement (flutes, piccolo, whistles and vocals)
- Clive 'Wes' Reynolds (bass, guitar, five string banjo, ukulele and vocals)

Please bring buffet food to share as usual.

KEITH CHRISTMAS

Between 1969 and 1974 Keith Christmas recorded 5 vinyl albums, played 3 tracks on David Bowie’s first album and was booked for the first ever Glastonbury festival.

He released his latest CD ‘Crazy Dancing Days’ in December 2016. Early versions of 8 songs that were posted on the internet have been played over 47,000 times, 14,000 of them an appeal for tolerance to refugees, ‘Cross the Water’.

SOLASTA

Solasta are an outstanding new folk ensemble who are fast building a name for themselves with their inventive arrangements, unique sound and exhilarating live performances.

Comprised of award-winning Scottish fiddler Elisabeth Flett, Welsh cellist Hannah Thomas and English guitarist Jamie Leeming, their dynamic interpretations of Celtic based material are rooted firmly in tradition, whilst incorporating elements from diverse musical worlds including classical, jazz and early music.

Their self-titled EP, released in April 2016, is an excellent showcase of the trio’s rich and unified sound, a seamless blend of each member’s distinct artistic voice. Notable performances include Celtic Connections Festival, closing the 2016 Cecil Sharp House Fiddle Convention, Sidmouth Folk Week (as EFDSS Folk Rising Plus Artists), The Green Note and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. They have featured on BBC Radio Wales (Celtic Heartbeat), RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Resonance FM, and The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast in the USA.

“Utterly superb, breathtakingly good, consummate young musicians with true flair and imagination” Sheena Wellington, Honorary Life Member and Patron of the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland

Solasta are comprised of award-winning fiddler Elisabeth Flett, cellist Hannah Thomas and guitarist Jamie Leeming. Notable performances include Celtic Connections Festival, Sidmouth Folk Week (EFDSS Folk Rising Plus Artists), Cecil Sharp House, The Green Note and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. They feature regularly on folk radio shows and podacsts, including BBC Radio (Celtic Heartbeat and Genevieve Tudor’s Sunday Folk), RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (ROI), Resonance FM, and The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast (USA).

Each member is an outstanding instrumentalist and sought after performer in their own right. Elisabeth Flett has performed with a variety of bands and ensembles, including folk duo Shamblestone (BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2017 Semi-Finalist) and sea shanty band The Mead Men, supported bands such as Breabach (Letham Nights, 2013) and won the 2015 London Fiddle Convention Senior Fiddle Championship. Cellist Hannah Thomas regularly performs on the West End production of Wicked, and has played at venues such as the London Palladium and Hackney Empire. Guitarist Jamie Leeming has a host of international tours and recordings to his name, and has performed at venues such as the Hammersmith Apollo and BBC Music Big Weekend. ​

Solasta are also Live Music Now Musicians providing interactive concerts at care homes, hospitals, SEND schools in and around London.

Solasta’s debut album, “A Cure For The Curious”, is a bold reimagining of Celtic sounds, and a meeting point between virtuosity and curiosity. Firmly rooted in tradition, the trio draw upon elements of classical, jazz and early music in their evocative and exhilarating arrangements. Fiddle, cello and guitar blend together seamlessly, taking the listener on a spellbinding journey from raucous plate smashing at a Greek wedding to the songs of water sprites from the shores of Inishvickalline.