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Pedant's Revolt

Wicket Brood

DANCE VENUES from approx. 10.45am- 4.00pm
1 – Market Square. 2 – The Priory Centre 3 – Pig N Falcon. 4 - Rowley Arts Centre(Cinema plaza)

Pictures of some of the sides who appeared last year below All photos by Patti Pitt

Sutton Masque

Ely & Littleport Riot

A massed band!

Chiltern Hundreds

Slack ma Girdle

Fenstanton Morris

Black Annis

8.00pm SATURDAY EVENING

Concert with

Jez Lowe

Jack in a Barrel AND The Shackleton Trio

Tickets: Early Bird £20.00 or £22.00 after April 25th. U18's half price

unreserved seating.

Concert begins at 8.00pm.- doors open 7.30pm

A SUPERB AND VARIED EVENING IS IN STORE!!!!!

Jez Lowe

Jez Lowe has long been one of the UK’s busiest folk performers, playing for audiences the world over, either solo, (with guitar, cittern and harmonica accompaniment), or with his band The Bad Pennies. His Men At Words tour of North America saw Jez joining forces with James Keelaghan and Archie Fisher for much-acclaimed concerts across Canada and the USA. And as part of The Pitmen Poets (with Bob Fox, Benny Graham and Billy Mitchell), Jez has helped to rekindle the fire in the tradition of mining songs and culture of his native region in a series of sell out theatre performances around the UK.

Over the last couple of decades, the likes of Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The Unthanks, Wizz Jones, The McCalmans, Mary Black, The Duhks, Bob Fox, The Young Uns, Enda Kenny, Cherish The Ladies, Tom McConville, The Clancys and scores more, have queued up to adopt his songs for their own repertoires. No wonder no less than Richard Thompson has called him “The best singer songwriter to come out of the UK for a long time”, and personally invited him to play at Thompson’s Meltdown Festival at London’s South Bank Centre in 2010.

Jez Lowe’s contributions to the on-going BBC Radio series The Radio Ballads has cemented this reputation, with a Sony Radio Award among the many accolades coming its way. The project culminated in a live BBC Radio 2 broadcast In November 2018 to commemorate The Great War Centenary that featured Jez alongside the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and narrator Michael Morpurgo.

As BBC Radio DJ Mike Harding said recently, “No-one else writes or sounds like Jez Lowe”, and chances are, even if you’ve never heard the man himself, you’ll have heard his songs, sung at festivals, club-gigs, open-mikes or on CD, by the great and good, the professional and the enthusiast, the young and not-so-young. What higher accolade could a songwriter hope for?

JACK IN A BARREL

Jack in a Barrel are a seven-piece acapella group from Turvey, Bedfordshire.
They sing a range of traditional and “sounds traditional” songs, from standards like John Ball to more reflective numbers like John Tams’ Devonshire Carol, taking in the odd shanty and music hall number along the way making the most of the seven voices in their arrangements, whether it’s to create a Wall of Sound or to produce close, squishy harmonies.
There are always plenty of opportunities to join in, so come ready to sing. And watch out for their Spotty Dick.
They rehearse every week with the aid of a child’s Casio keyboard and gin!

Formed in early 2018, JiaB came together as an offshoot of their larger, multi-instrument incarnation, Twangling Jack. The motivation may have had something to do with the appeal of rocking up to gigs with only a concertina to get notes from (compared with TJ’s van-load of kit), but whatever the reason they’re all agreed that this was a Good Thing.

From the outset, something clicked about the sound. Having seven voices has so much scope. The Wall of Sound is pretty much expected, but still impresses when it hits you. Less expected is the detail in the harmonies. Arranging for seven voices allows close harmony with a squishiness you can’t get with a smaller group, and JiaB make the most of this.

The Barrellers all bring something different to the band. Some are time-served folkies with 40+ years on the scene, some have a background in music for the theatre, some are writers, some are composers and arrangers. Some are smart-arses who do several of the above. They’ve all worked together in lots of combinations in the past, which all adds to the mix.

www.jackinabarrel.co.uk

The Shackleton Trio

Captivating songwriting and fiery tunes that combine mandolin, fiddle, guitar and banjo with powerful three part harmonies. The unmistakeable sound of The Shackleton Trio brings to life the stories of their native East Anglia, and beyond.

Touring their brand new album 'Mousehold', the trio features Georgia Shackleton (fiddle, vocals), Aaren Bennett (guitar) and Nic Zuppardi (mandolin and banjo). Collectively the band draw influence from British, American and Scandinavian folk traditions, whilst Georgia’s flair for sourcing largely unsung material from East Anglia keeps the band firmly rooted in their local tradition.

Seven years performing together has seen the band played on BBC Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio 4, with gleaming ????? reviews, an appearance on Cambridge Folk Festival’s prestigious main stage, a host of UK and European festivals and international tours, and many miles in the Mondeo.

This is a band that clearly enjoy playing together, and are not to be missed.

Manor Mill

Mixed Slack ma Girdle & Fenstanton!

Ouse Washes

Lynne Heraud & Pat Turner

Between them they play guitar, recorder, English concertina and a variety of whistles (including swanee, policeman's and referee's), list a spoons workshop in their hall of fame, and are not in the least averse to dressing up or dancing when a song requires it. They both agree, however, that their voices are their most important instruments. Their resulting style is a unique blend of stunning song and harmony, and a humour which takes their audience on a roller-coaster ride - "everything from high tragedy to ingenious smut in glorious vocal harmony!”

Den Miller

Anna Hester has a ‘powerful and confident voice’ and moves ‘effortlessly between genres, but always with an emotional core’. Originally from Milton Keynes, Anna lives in Cambridge. She has performed in Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, London, Milton Keynes, and Berlin, in a range of venues including The Stables (Milton Keynes), Cambridge Junction, and four times at Milton Keynes International Festival. In 2020 she played a livestream gig for The Stables and #SaveOurVenues, which has had over 3000 views. Anna has released two EPs: In the Meantime (2014) and Towards Today (2018). She was featured in the Fatea Showcase Sessions in 2019, and her music has been played on BBC Introducing Cambridgeshire and the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Folk Show.
Anna Hester’s debut album Postcard Songs was released in August 2021. Postcard Songs is the culmination of five years of creative work and collaboration, including a successful Crowdfunder campaign. The 10 songs all use postcards as a starting point, and together they tell a range of intertwining stories. The postcard project began in 2016 when Anna attended an Arvon songwriting retreat. She received guidance from tutors Kathryn Williams and Samantha Parton and guest speaker Boo Hewerdine. Inspired by the course, Anna set to work writing songs about postcards: about the images, the messages, and the people and places behind them. Postcard Songs was recorded and produced at Gladeside Recordings by Dan Wilde

Strong melodies, catchy sing-along choruses and intelligent lyrics, are the trademark of songs composed and performed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Den Miller. Den is an engaging and entertaining live performer, delivering his music and his message with clarity, energy and a good deal of humour.

His latest album "Join All The Dots" presents a quirky outlook on modern life's issues and challenges, including relationships, parenting, war and terrorism. Den shares an unusual viewpoint that entertains and is thought-provoking, to make connections between situations and events that seem to be unconnected.

During his performances you can expect songs “from wildly comic to deeply poignant”, backed by guitar, keyboard, harmonica, autoharp and, often, the audience. “An experience not to be missed.”

New Roots Finalist - Conor Reynolds

Young Kentish multi-instrumentalist, singer, and New Roots Competition 2023 finalist Conor
“Conker” Reynolds is already making his mark on the UK folk scene with his vibrantly earnest
blend of original tunes and traditional songs. ‘He sang like an angel, and he played that box like
he knew what he was doing.’ (Joe McBurnie, Folk O’Clock)
At 14, he attended the Burwell Bash Traditional Music Summer School where he was introduced
to the massively influential folk music luminary Brian Finnegan and other distinguished folk
musicians, and very quickly had his “lightbulb moment” – the sense that he’d arrived home, and
that he wanted to spend his precious time on this earth exploring the traditional music of the
British Isles, and beyond. Conor now works on the committee for the Bash, hoping to give a new
generation of young musicians the same life-changing opportunities afforded to him.
Conker soon developed a passion for the tin whistle, before quickly falling in love with the
diatonic button accordion watching the mesmerising playing of Andy Cutting, who has since
been a teacher and major musical influence, along with other leading contemporary folk artists
like Nancy Kerr and Spiers & Boden.
Conor particularly enjoys writing his own music, with an understated and emotionally complex
tone present throughout both his original compositions and traditional selections, which he
creatively ties together with a refreshing flair, seeking to illuminate new perspectives in the
music.
He’s currently in the process of recording his debut EP, Silhouettes, which is due to release this Spring.

Friday 9th June: 8.00pm - 10.45pm

A Showcase Evening with: Anna Hester, Lynne Heraud & Pat Turner, Den Miller

plus a finalist of the New Roots competition - Conor Reynolds

Tickets :Early Bird:£10.00 (before 25th April) then £12.00. U18's half price

available from the Club, Priory Centre, on the door or ticket application form

Tickets for all events will be available online (with booking fee)

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/st-neots-40th-folk-festival-june-9-10-11th-the-priory-centre-st-neots-tickets-594557065187

or from the Priory Centre, Club or by ticket application form plus sae to:

The Festival Office, The Mill House, St Neots Road, Bolnhurst, Beds. MK44 2ER

Cheques payable to: 'St Neots Folk Festival'