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)
13 Jan: John Foreman
evening: The Broadsheet King, a great performer of traditional, music hall and other songs, remembered with songs and anecdotes on what would have been his 94th birthday by fine singers Andrew Frank, Peta Webb, Ken Hall,
Matthew Crampton
and others. To listen to John’s LP The 'Ouses In Between, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snUyV4tS2fI; John Cain’s biography of John Foreman is at https://folklondon.co.uk/2024/09/john-foreman-1931-2024-farewell-to-the-broadsheet-king.
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.
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, organiser 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 January
to Easter 2023
6 Jan: Notts Alliance’s repertoire is a well chosen, eclectic mix of the old and new, with both well-known traditional material and interesting arrangements of songs from writers such as Richard Thompson, Michael Marra and Sydney Carter. Sometimes subtle and moving, often humorous and with various full-blown, rousing chorus songs, their performances are honest, never dull and always enjoyable. They have their roots in the Nottingham Traditional Musical Club of the 1970s and ’80s, where they were the club residents in the ’80s. The current line up is Stephen Bailey, Phil Hardcastle, and Chris Orme. Their well-crafted, tight and inventive harmony singing, excellent delivery and ability to engage with the audience have earned them a position of high respect on the UK club and festival circuits.
20 Jan: Beskydy
is a band from London that plays eastern European, Klezmer and Balkan music. They have been performing since 1994, have toured extensively throughout the UK, Europe and the US, and have appeared at major festivals such as Womad, the Cambridge Folk Festival and the London International Festival of Early Music. Their music embraces the dance rhythms and songs of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Hungarian plains, the Danube basin, and all the way down to the Black Sea, inspired by the centuries-old trade routes that crossed these lands. Beskydy is known for its high-energy performances and its ability to get audiences dancing. They are a must-see for fans of traditional folk music.
27 Jan: Dan Stewart and Chan Reid (Bold Reilly): Dan, from Rattle on the Stovepipe and the Long Hill Ramblers, plays banjo, guitar, fiddle and sings, and Chan, from Hastings Comhaltas, sings sean-nos songs in Irish and English and plays guitar and fiddle; together they play and sing traditional Irish songs and tunes, and some sea shanties.
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
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.
