ARTIST INFO

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/

CARADOG JONES & GERAINT ROBERTS
Tunes, Songs and Stories with Geraint & Caradog
Alawon, Caneuon a Straeon 'da Geraint a Caradog...

Both locals of the Tawe valley, Geraint Roberts and Caradog Jones are usually to be found in the nearest Welsh folk session. Tonight they’ll be entertaining all with a couple of tunes, songs and stories. As well as playing the Welsh bagpipes, Geraint is a captivating story-teller and knowledgeable local historian. Caradog is a traditional harpist, and after many years busking a living on the streets of England is glad to be back playing once again in the valley. They make a duo full of character, passionate to share and continue the traditions of Wales. Come one and all!

Dou frodor o Gwmtawe yw Geraint Roberts a Caradog Jones. Yn hoff o ganu yn sesiynau gwerin Cymreig, daw nhw heno i‘ch diddanu ag ambell i alaw, ambell i gan ac ambell i stori. Yn ogystal â chanu’r pibau cwd Cymreig, mae Geraint yn dipyn o chwedleuwr a hanesydd lleol. Telynydd traddodiadol yw Caradog, ac wedi sawl flwyddyn o glera ar strydoedd Lloegr mae’n braf ganddynt ganu unwaith eto yn y fro. Dyma ddeuawd llawn angerdd i rannu a chynnal ein traddodiadau fel cenedl. Dewch yn llu!

We loved them so much we have asked them back. Who can forget Cân Yr Ysbridion?

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.

LES BARKER - Let these plaudits speak for themselves.

Les Barker writes strange poems, parodies and monolgues and comes from originally from Manchester, but he's now Welsh. He was an accountant before he became a professional idiot. He's written 85+ books, some in Welsh, which sell in large numbers at his gigs because people don't quite believe what they've just heard. His poems have spawned a number of folk heroes venerated throughout the folk scene in Britain and overseas.

...he may be the best writer of parodies and wordplays that the English-speaking world has ever heard.
-Tom Nelligan, Dirty Linen

There are subtleties which you didn't notice the first time round, and there are clever puns and turns of phrase so good you look forward to hearing them again.
-Caroline Walker, Folk Roots

This man is a genuine genius of comic rhyme who appeals to people of all ages with a truly entertaining family show. I have seen him reduce a whole marquee full of festival goers at Victor Harbor to a mass of helpless laughter and aching sides.
-Ron Ashton, Port Lincoln Times, Australia

Les Barker is the greatest comedy talent we possess....This is probably the funniest tape I have ever heard. He's a master at exploiting the idiosyncracies of the English language, weaving in myth and history to build bizarre stories.
-Agraman, City Life

Idiot Returns
South Australian newspaper headline

The Lancashire monologist equivalent of Tom Lehrer....Scintillating daftness, absurdity run amok.
-Ken Hunt, Q Magazine

'Mrs Ackroyd Explores her Roots' is not about national or regional identity. Radio 2's gentle, modestly off-the-wall comedy is a discovery...mild-mannered presenter Les Barker blends Edward Lear's nonsense, Stanley Unwin's wordplay, the surreal inconsequentiality of Reeves and Mortimer and the demotic robustness of Stanley Holloway monologues.
-Martin Hoyle, Financial Times

...his jokes, having slipped the surly bonds of earthly logic, go marching on.
-Nick Beale, Folk Roots

The man's a comic genius with a solid presence in folk music and at folk festivals.
-Don Mills.

Depending on your state of health this man could be a real tonic to your wellbeing or fatal. Mostly he's a ray of sunshine capable of brightening up the darkest day.
-Kevin Meehan

He proved a masterful wordsmith, captivating listeners with his quirky verse and playful personality, touching on occasional tables, snails in a fast food restaurant and dachshunds with erections. His gallery of unlikely heroes included Cosmo the fairly accurate knife thrower, Arnold the Armadillo and Spot of the Antarctic. Truly a prince of the pun and sultan of the surreal.
-Jo Laval

Les Barker proves that poetry can indeed be entertaining, dazzling the audience at Artworks with poems from his huge range of published works. His cardigan clad, unassuming manner on stage as he peers shyly at the audience through his spectacles, and his soft Manchester accent delivers the brilliant flow of words and ideas, leaving the listener gasping with laughter.
-Gulf News, New Zealand

At his best, he is an inspired genius. The only man who could produce work to match 'Deja vu' was the late great Spike Milligan.
-Dai Woosnam

...a piquant mix of hard to categorise skewed humour with purple flourishes. Stories of small animals and large furniture...
Clive Pownceby

...a poetic onslaught of humor and thought....able to go bouncing through ludicrous situations.
-Sing Out

Les Barker is more than silly; he is probably one of the silliest performers ever to grace Godfrey’s stage, and in a way that only a Brit could be silly. Part poetry, part monologue, but surely one of the most side-splitting evenings you can have. If you enjoy hearing the pun elevated to a true art form, this is the place to be. How can intelligence be so damned funny?
-Mike Space, Godfrey Daniels