Cellar Upstairs folk club
cellarupstairs@aol.com

Cellar Upstairs folk club

Traditional music and song 

in central London 

Monday evenings at 8pm

Venue: The club meets in the Alpaca, 84-86 Essex Road, N1 8LU (020 3417 7224).  Nearest underground: Angel; railway station: Essex Road; various buses
Access: The club is in an upstairs room.
Entrance: Pay on the door (cash only), no need to book. Members: £8, non-members: £10, except on nights marked *, when it will be £9 and £11 respectively.  
Membership: £4 for the year (from September)
Information: E-mail cellarupstairs@aol.com or phone the organiser on 020 7281 7700
Resident performers: Peta Webb & Ken Hall,  Amanda MacLean, Frankie Cleeve, Dave East & Doreen Leighter, Alison Frosdick
Floor-performers are always welcome.

Programme from February to Easter 2025

3 Feb: Wendy Lanchin & Simon Prager: Simon (guitar, vocal) and Wendy (vocal) play an exciting mixture of acoustic music from country blues to ragtime, jazz, skiffle, swing and novelty songs, always with feeling and humour. Wendy’s background was in musical theatre and cabaret before sh came to jazz and folk music. She has sung in clubs and bars across London including Pizza Express, Hugo’s and the Vortex, and studied folk song with Hazel Askew. Simon has been involved in the British blues scene since the ‘60s. His musical hero was gospel and ragtime player Gary Davis. He has performed in duos, trios and bands, playing mainly acoustic country blues with Steve Rye, “Doc” Stenson and others. He once accompanied Sonny Terry on tour when Brownie McGhee was ill.

10 Feb: the Waite Collective: Mal Waite and her two daughters, Rebecca Holmes and Katrina Turner, each with an “exceptional” voice, sing with belief and commitment. With a repertoire that is varied, not to say eclectic, their voices seem to blend effortlessly as they take turns to sing the melody and harmony roles. Their obvious enjoyment in singing and performing together spills over to include the audience in the warm rapport they clearly have together.

17 Feb: Damien Barber, raised in Norfolk and heavily influenced by such earlier Norfolk singers as Walter Pardon, Peter Bellamy and Tony Hall, is a stylish and distinctive singer, either a capella or accompanied on guitar or concertina. Though he has lived in West Yorkshire for more than 20 years he retains a strong East Anglian identity.

24 Feb: the Scan Tester Fan Club: Will Duke – well known to lovers of traditional music through his membership of various bands and a duo with Dan Quinn – is joined by Jonathan Burrows on one-row melodeons and Liz Evans on fiddle. They specialise in tunes from the varied repertoire of the great Sussex-born traditional musician Scan Tester, and Will plays Anglo concertinas and sings songs from traditional sources, plus some comic and music hall songs.

3 March: Thomas MacCarthy is an Irish Traveller and an award-winning singer who comes from a long line of traditional singers and musicians. He learned most of his songs from his mother. Though long resident in the UK, he has travelled back and forth to Ireland since he was very young. When he went there as a child, he would stay with uncles and aunts who all sang, and he also learned most of his songs from them. He has been named the Traditional Singer of the Year at the Gradam Ceoil Awards, and he is an advocate for the rights of travelling people (NB: his branch of the family has always spelt their surname MacCarthy, not McCarthy).

10 March: the Rosewood Acoustic Trio: Val Woollard, Phil Lyons and Simon Haines sing and play traditional and contemporary songs and instrumentals, some of which they write themselves. Their unique features are the variety of their source material and the range of instruments they play, which include bandoneon, hammered dulcimer, bagpipes, bouzouki, concertina and deskbells. They also play or have played in Bof! and the Hosepipe Band.

17 March: Marianne McAleer and Jacquelyn Hynes: For St Patrick’s Day, singer Marianne, who has won many awards at both the All Britain and All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil, has twice been the British champion in both lilting and singing in Irish, and is best known for her delightful singing of traditional Irish songs in English, shares the evening with highly regarded flautist Jacquelyn, who is rooted in Irish and English traditional music, and has played support for Martin Hayes, Michael McGoldrick, Lunasa and John Doyle. Her CD Silver and Wood was awarded four stars by the Telegraph, which described it as "haunting, wonderful... an Album of the Year".

24 March: Ben Paley & Robin Gillan, formerly two-thirds of the New Deal String Band, now playing as a duo, are among the most respected musicians working in the American tradition today. Both have lived and played in the United States, and have worked with the greats of the UK scene — Tom Paley, Joe Locker and Kate Lissauer, to name but a few. Their repertoire includes old-time dance tunes from all over the US as well as traditional ballads, blues, early country music and more. Expect an eclectic show from fiddle-player Ben and multi-instrumentalist Robin.

31 March: Calum Gilligan is a songwriter and guitarist from Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, now based in Liverpool. Influenced by the likes of Christy Moore, Paul Brady, Paul Simon, Joan Baez and Woody Guthrie, he plays a subtle blend of Scottish, Irish and American folk music with captivating imagery and lyrical maturity. His guitar playing provides such intricate melodic accompaniment to his singing that he can easily command a stage and captivate an audience on his own. Calum has been described as a “gifted musician, playing the guitar beautifully” by the Liverpool Echo, and as “a gifted songwriter with a voice to back it up” by Folk Radio.

7 April: Jim Woodland and Mike Bettison were half of the Fabulous Salami Brothers, a wonderfully entertaining and thought-provoking group of performers. Jim’s serious and funny, political, social and emotional songs have been widely sung by other performers, including Roy Bailey. Mike was a member of the popular band Flowers and Frolics and has been the musical director of a number of theatre companies. Together they did a great night at the club a few years ago.

14 and 21 April: closed for Easter

28 April: Fraser-Coope: Sisters Jo Freya and Fi Fraser are singers and multi-instrumentalists (fiddle, saxophone, clarinet and whistles) who have been performing since they were young teenagers. Individually and together, they have sung and played in various bands and groups, including Blowzabella, the Old Swan Band, Narthen, Token Women and Polkaworks, as well as with Coope, Boyes & Simpson and Sir Michael Morpurgo. Tonight they are joined by Fi and Barry Coope’s daughter Katy Coope, who will add a third voice to their lovely harmonies.

5 May: Rebecca & Laura Woolf (the Woolfs): Laura and Rebecca bring together their contemporary musical influences with the traditional folk songs of their father Clive’s archives, bringing a new perspective to some well-known, and some more esoteric, repertoire. With satisfying blood harmonies and a variety of instruments to call upon, they seek to broaden the scope of interpretations, while keeping the tradition firmly in their hearts.

 12 May: Andy Turner and Mat Green both play with Oxfordshire band Magpie Lane. A Bampton Morris dancer for 50 years, Mat has played for country dancing for very nearly as long, principally with the Woodpecker Band. His instantly recognisable fiddle style is utterly danceable, and quintessentially English. Andy, a very fine singer and the first ever winner of the prestigious Sidmouth Singer competition, is also an experienced dance musician, playing anglo-concertina with bands such as Polkabilly, Geckoes and Oxford NAGS, and more recently as musician for Headington Quarry Morris Dancers. He has a punchy, rhythmic concertina style, but can also play in a slower, smoother style to accompany his own singing. Together, they play mainly traditional English dance tunes, specialising in little-known tunes from 18th- and 19th-century village musicians' tune books. The tunes are interspersed with songs – again, mostly from English traditional sources. Their first album as a duo, Time for a Stottycake, was released at the start of 2024.

19 May: Oxford's much-toured four-piece band Moonrakers (Celtic harp, cello, stringed instruments, whistles, female and male vocals) pride themselves on having brought traditional and contemporary folk music to new audiences in village halls, churches, arts centres and festivals across the UK in recent years. With songs and tunes from the English, Irish and Scottish traditions as well as their own compositions, they’ve been described as “startlingly talented” (Oxford Times), with five albums of "exquisite music” (BBC) and "truly wonderful" performances (Wycombe Festival). Their most recent album, Green to Gold, received glowing reviews in the music press (“The real deal”, The Living Tradition; “Uplifting, sensitively crafted songs and tunes”, FATEA magazine). Their music also featured in the new BBC television drama Beyond Paradise.

2 June: Brian Peters is one of the English folk scene’s great all-rounders, a highly entertaining performer, a compelling singer and an outstanding multi-instrumentalist on squeezeboxes and strings. Well known for towering renditions of Child ballads and other songs from the English tradition, including a good few infectious choruses, he adds beautifully played instrumentals to a repertoire full of variety, fire and humour. Brian has played most of the major folk festivals in Britain, and works all over the world, including regular tours of the USA and several appearances at the Australian National Folk Festival.

9 June: Tamesas are a London-based female folk trio consisting of Emmie Ward, Kate Jones and Aimee Leonard, who have a wealth of musical experience, from Somerset to Orkney and sing traditional songs with bodhran, fiddle and flute. Tamesas play folk songs and tunes from all over the UK and beyond, and enjoy creating quirky arrangements with strong vocal harmonies and funky rhythms.

16 June: Tom Reid is an Irish songwriter who’s popular in London folk clubs. He was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, grew up to the sound of his mother singing, and can’t remember a time when he wasn’t singing himself. He writes powerful songs with highly singable choruses – I Want to Go Down to the Sea, End of the Line, Take a Chance and many others.

then closed till September
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