Programme
Here is a list of the guests coming up. Click on pictures to enlarge. To download the latest flyer from September 2010 (pdf format), click here. To get Adobe Reader, click here.
Right from his early days at the Beatles' Apple label (where he teamed up with Graham Lyle and wrote hits for Mary Hopkin among others) the sheer quality of BENNY's songs has shone through; When I'm Dead and Gone, Breakaway, Stay Young, I Wanna Stay With You, Heart in New York and Heart on My Sleeve were huge hits for Art Garfunkel, Garth Brooks, Bryan Ferry and many more, as well as for themselves. He has worked with everyone from Paul McCartney to Eric Clapton, and continues to write and tour, releasing in 2008 a splendid CD 'At The Edge of a Wave' (his first in 14 years), which is chock-full of class songs that sound as if they have always been around. Benny was aided and abetted by the Ram's own finger-meister BOB WOOD who will be joining him on stage tonight, along with (hopefully) a couple of other musicians too! A very special night in store to kick off our new season.
http://www.myspace.com/bennygallagher£9 members/£10 non-members
San Francisco-born KRISTINA is one of the most entertaining and powerful performers on the international folk circuit. A wonderful multi-instrumentalist (acoustic guitar, steel-body slide guitar, saxophone, concertina and piano) and songwriter with a big raw velvet bluesy voice, Kristina is a true troubadour. Her strong songs - from hilarious tales of love-gone-wrong to others of rare insight and compassion - have been covered by a multitude of stars but are most compelling coming from their maker. Cellist and long-time collaborator PETER takes an instrument rarely seen off the classical stage and weaves it through Kristina's songs, enriching the ballads with a gorgeous, mellow sound and driving along the bluesy numbers with punchy playing and recklessly passionate solos. He's been principal cellist with Australia's top Symphony orchestras but it's not often you come across a classical player who is also a great improviser with a solid grounding in folk, blues and rock 'n' roll! Tonight they'll feature songs from the CDs they have recorded together. It just works!
http://www.kristinaolsen.net/£9 members/£11 non-members
A Ram favourite, STEVE is a peerless guitarist, songwriter & singer in the true English tradition. Over the years classic songs have burst forth like a perpetual fountain, digging deep into folklore, historical events, modern-day dilemmas and characters and encapsulating them into vignettes of melodic wonder. Songs about beat-up old trawlers, statesmen, gold-diggers, outlaws, thinkers, drinkers, metaphorical banjos and naked highwaymen that linger in the memory and have been gratefully plundered by his peers and proteges. Songs like Slipjigs and Reels, The Naked Highwayman and Here's to Tom Paine to name a few. His excellent new CD Ziggurat features a dozen songs of love, loss, war and 'Filthy lucre', and is testament to a man at the top of his game.
http://www.steve-tilston.co.uk£9 members/£10 non-members
One of Ireland's finest - a true legend who 'never tires of the road', ANDY is a solo artist in the old style, a teller of stories and maker of music who continues to follow in the metaphorical footsteps of his hero Woody Guthrie as he travels the globe. His mandola and bouzouki playing is dazzlingly good and his pedigree is longer than an ol' freight train (Planxty, Paul Brady, De Dannan and currently Mozaic & Patrick Street). Andy's solo show features Irish traditional songs, ballads, tunes from Europe and America and many original songs in his own unique style. And after more than a decade he has finished a splendid new solo CD, 'Abocurragh', produced by Donal Lunny! Jump aboard and hitch a ride with a mesmerising performer.
http://www.andyirvine.com£9 members/£11 non-members
DAVE started out in Folk clubs in the 70s, taking his cue from, and hanging out with, guitar greats like Jansch, Giltrap, and Renbourn. Early success and an album led to Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC 'In Concerts', gigs at The Marquee and supports to Rod Stewart. Then he met BOO, who has one of those great voices that subtly blends rock, folk, soul and jazz into her own unique style - and she plays a nifty bass and guitar too! In the 80s they went 'electric', became The Reactors, did Rock and Big Hair and attracted interest from top managers but ...! Since 1998 they have been happily acoustic again, and as ever will be delighting us with their great original songs (with lots from their new CD 'Living on Light'), and musicianship of the highest order.
http://www.daveandboo.com£7 members/£8 non-members
CHRIS WHILE and JULIE MATTHEWS are quite simply two of the best contemporary female singers you're likely to hear! Chris's soaring soul-influenced vocals and Julie's gutsy, bluesy delivery support and combine with each other in a match truly made in heaven. The pair are also brilliant songwriters in the acoustic rock/folk idiom covering life as they see it, from the industrial waste lands of the north, to injustice and freedom, matters of the heart and everything in between. They also have the instrumental talents to make the songs shine, and their talent was recognised in 2009 when they won 'Best Duo' at the BBC Folk Awards. Such is their standing that they rarely play folk clubs these days, so we have had to expand to accommodate them! Tonight they will be showcasing songs from their new CD 'Hitting The Ground Running' as well as old favourites, but as ever they will take you on a roller-coaster journey through the emotions.
http://www.whileandmatthews.co.uk/£10 members/£12 non-members
Steve graced us with a spot a little while ago and amazed us with his fingerstyle guitar playing. Folk, Ragtime, Celtic, acoustic pop, Classical, Blues, singer songwriter, jazz standards - he does the lot! In 2007 he met Lynn at a gig in Staffordshire. An outstanding vocalist and harmonist who can handle everything from the most demanding traditional songs or jazz standards to the gentlest of lullabies, they hit common ground after playing a few songs together and she sang on Steve's CD 'Guided by the Grain' released in 2007. Now a fully fledged duo, this is their Ram Club debut and no genre will be left unpolished!
http://www.myspace.com/hicksandgoulbourn£7 members/£8 non-members
The Magnificent Five from Guernsey return once more for another night of rampage, pillage and spillage. One of them, our very own IAN PALMER, is already here of course, and ROB McGHEE, PETE PURSLOW, STEVE LE TISSIER & DAVE JOLLY will be ready to walk the plank with him! Named after a pointless war with the Spanish over a severed ear, they met at sea in the days when press-ganging was still legal. And their songs are of the sea - well known and rousing shanties, songs from Cyril Tawney, newer ones like The Last Trawl, sad ones and a few originals. JE can be heard at seafaring festivals in many a port, and with their rugged charm, handsome looks, fine harmonies and fearsome instruments, they really are rather good. Nautical but nice!
£8 members/£9 non-members
BARRY, JIM and LESTER present a radically different, modern face to English 'a cappella' singing, with 'Trad' songs reworked so they shine and strong, original songs with memorable tunes, soaring harmonies and sometimes radical words that strike a chord and make you listen. CBS sing it as they see it, be it the futility of war, industrial and rural decline or the glories of our traditions and history. Their new CD 'As If' has gained rave reviews and airplay, and as special guests on Radcliffe & Marconie's Radio 2 show in June they opened the ears of an entirely new audience who hadn't realised 'Folk' could be this good!
http://www.coopeboyesandsimpson.co.uk/£9 members/£11 non-members
Canadian CARA is a dynamic performer with deep roots in both folk and rock 'n roll. An ace guitarist and vibrant, captivating singer, her shows flow with engaging, witty stories and powerful original and traditional songs. A founder member in 2002 of The Wailin' Jennys (here in '06), she was with them for three years, bagging a Juno Award for the album '40 Days'. Her last CD 'The Light Fantastic' is contemporary, evocative and highly-accessible - Carole King and Karine Polwart meet unplugged Led Zep - taking in Folk, Rock, Country and Spiritual along the way. Tonight Cara brings her new accompanist SCOTT, a multi-talented instrumentalist (guitar, lap steel, mandolin) who can sing beautifully too! A welcome return.
http://www.caraluft.com£8 members/£9 non-members
JACK and CHARLIE met while studying at the Birmingham Conservatoire and started playing together as a duo in 2007. During this time they were mentored by none other than Joe Broughton! Both have now completed their degrees and are on the road delighting audiences at festivals and clubs up and down the country. 'BBC Young Folk Award' finalists in 2008, their new album, 'The Northern Road', is out now, taking in a multitude of influences. 'Playing of the very highest standard, delivered with commitment and passion - gloriously upbeat and beautifully atmospheric', says 'Rock 'n' Reel' mag.
http://www.myspace.com/jackmcneillandcharlieheys£7 members/£8 non-members
ALLAN is the consummate performer, a writer of literary gracefulness who chronicles the realism of otherwise unsung heroes and uncharted lives. His songs are written from a lifetime of travelling; always the observer passing through, each song is a vignette of life. Like a story told over a drink in a bar, the characters come to life like people you know and places become as familiar as if you had been there. His songs have been recorded by more than a hundred other performers of various nationalities (there are more than sixty cover versions of his song 'It's Good to See You', in ten different languages), and every concert by him is an experience to remember. His new and 20th album 'Leaving at Dawn' is quintessential AT, instantly recognisable with a warm, inviting sound and a return to the more folk-inflected style that characterised his earlier years.
http://www.allantaylor.com£8 members/£9 non-members
TATTIE JAM are SEYLAN BAXTER (vocals, 5-string electric cello, percussion) and RUARIDH PRINGLE (vocals, guitar, banjo, didgeridoo, mandolin, percussion). Seylan is a graduate of Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where she studied Scots cello and song and now teaches. One of Scotland's best-known and most accomplished traditional cellists, she collaborates with several of the country's foremost artists.
Ruaridh is an accomplished singer and multi-instrumentalist with a highly distinctive style, as well as a prolific and prize-winning writer of both songs and traditional-style tunes. Tattie Jam offer a distinctive brew of songs, from dark ballads and protest songs to off-the wall humour, and tunes ranging from slow airs to kinetic jigs and reels. Much of their material has a playful or funky contemporary twist, with contrast provided by the odd starker unaccompanied song or tune. A refreshingly new sound from these Ram debutants.
http://www.tattiejam.com/£7 members/£8 non-members
Throughout his career, guitarist and singer REG has played the role of musical straight man with fun outfits like the Panic Brothers and Hank Wangford, but he has always had a parallel career as a major writer, performer and actor. Now firmly established as a solo performer, Reg's gently-rocking, melodic, country-tinged songs are never 'in your face' but seem to plant themselves in the mind. His new CD 'All This Longing' is an all-acoustic album containing 12 beautiful original songs. Featuring Reg on a variety of instruments and also Andy Cutting on accordion, Bellowhead's Paul Sartin on violin, Jackie Oates on viola, Fairground Attraction's Roy Dodds on percussion and Simon Edwards on bass, it's one of Mike Hardings faves!
http://www.regmeuross.com/£8 members/£9 non-members
Few Scottish folk bands have made such an impact in recent years as Malinky. Born out of the Edinburgh session scene of the late '90s, the band soon emerged as the leading young group focusing on Scots song. Over the last decade Malinky have gone on to become one of the most distinctive and accomplished bands on the Scottish and International folk scene. Comprising STEVE BYRNE (vocals, guitar, bouzouki), FIONA HUNTER (vocals, cello), DAVE WOOD (guitar, bouzouki, vocals) and MIKE VASS (fiddle, vocals) their song-based repertoire features tastefully inventive instrumentation and sparkling freshness, combining a deep knowledge of tradition with a subtly creative approach. They breathe new life into centuries-old ballads from Scotland's north-east, alongside original songs and fiddle tunes and are one of Scotland's best young groups. "If indeed it is the destiny of every child born in Scotland to be a folk musician, Malinky should be added to the milk" said R2 magazine.
http://www.malinky.com/£10 members/£12 non-members
That rare commodity - a comedian who doesn't swear, offend or annoy but who is extremely funny! Suitable for all, this is mayhem of the gentle kind. And he sings and plays guitar too! Bold, frank, incensed with myrrth.
http://www.keithdonnelly.com