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Friday 18th December Pete Morton, Chris Parkinson and Maggie Boyle

Our Christmas show featured ace performer Pete Morton’s Christmas tree tour featuring Pete with virtuoso box player Chris Parkinson and the much acclaimed Maggie Boyle.

We hosted this tour in 2007 and I was so pleased to be able to book them again for this years Christmas show. The only change was Maggie in for Roger Wilson.

A novel idea having a Christmas tree on stage with scrolls of paper listing various songs and tunes. A member of the audience chooses a scroll and thereby the set list.

Lots of laughs, mince pies, crackers, hats and jokes. Hand applause made way for blowers and trumpeting sounds showing appreciation for the artists performance.

A fantastic night that ended our 2009 programme with style.

Support for the evening was arranged by our mercurial Dave Bartlett and Linda Baddley. These two lovely people are regarded as The Milkmaids resident performers. They sang a variety of songs based around Christmas inviting a few friends to help out on stage, brilliantly done they set the tone for the whole  of the evening. A big thanks to Jane, Moose and Mike Accott for their contribution.

We were also blessed by the surprise visit of a real superstar, who although extremely busy, making and wrapping millions of presents, took time out of his schedule to come and draw the raffle at the interval. I have to say his jokes were very nearly as good as mine. He disappeared as fast as he came but I’m hoping he’ll be here again next year.

Merry Christmas to you and a very Happy New Year see you in 2010

 

Friday 4th December Kiss The Mistress

Kiss The Mistress were our guests and what a lovely evening they gave us. Lots of tunes from France and Scotland, beautiful songs from all over and all performed exceptionally well.

They have several support slots in the past for The Milkmaid under their belt and have been a great success at The Milkmaid Thursday club a couple of times.

KTM are made up from John Ramirez (melodeon and accordion), Ginny Davis (cello and vocal) and Roy Jones (percussion). All top quality local musicians.

Support were Blackwing who used to put Secret in front of their name but dropped that when they became well known in the region. A very competent driving folk performance enjoyed by all.

The floor singer this night was American Gordon Olvera a great blues player that made the start of the evening memorable. I think we’ll see a fair bit of Gordon in the future.

 

Friday 27th November 2009 Singers night

This was an extra evening we put on because of high demand for an Open mic/Singers night before Christmas.

Unfortunately Steve had a previous engagement and we were unable to use the PA. So we went ahead as a Singers night. Brian organised the performers as only he can, exceptionally well, and by all accounts a great evening was had.

I say by all accounts because I didn’t attend because I was feeling poorly (wimp).

Brian hosted the evening and said we had great talent performing through the night and everybody enjoyed themselves.

The performers were Nigel Farthing, Steve Vaugn-Williams, Gordon Olivera with Chris, Ben Sayer, Pat Persse, Casey Chick, Alan Wycherly and Cathrine Legg.

 

Friday 20th November 2009 Eddie Walker

Unfortunately I wasn’t at this gig but I’ve asked Steve to report on the evening.

What a fantastic performer, Eddie held us captivated throughout his performance. His mix of background stories of the songs and a healthy sense of humour made this a truly memorable evening for the, once again, small audience. He engaged us from start to finish with a vast range of versatile guitar styles including blues, ragtime and bluegrass.

Supported by Claudine Le Moal a bubbly and energetic singer songwriter singing in both French and English sometimes in the same song. This local girl has so much enthusiasm for life and music and is a pleasure to hear.  

Our floor singer for the evening was Reb Capper on keyboard, guitar and vocals accompanied by Steve Calder on violin and viola. An excellent performance.

 

Friday 6th November 2009 Boo Hewerdine

Wow, wow and wow again! An absolutely amazing night. Standing room only, this was a concert that that had amazing atmosphere. Boo is such an amazing songwriter covering all aspects of life and love and pain. His exceptional performance on this evening had the whole audience enraptured. He’s really a top, top performer. It’s really great to have The Milkmaid so full which in turn makes for an electric 3 hours.

Antonia (Toni) Meshko opened the evening as our floor singer. Toni is Russian and she performed 15 minutes of lovely folk song in her native Russian. It was really lovely to hear these songs that she explained the meaning before hand. We will see a lot more of her in the future.

The exceptional Marina Florence came down from Norwich to do support. Marina has played here several times in the past and as always did a great set. Joining her on stage was two of her band members Mick Kennedy and Ray Taylor. Her songs are so good and with her great voice gave the audience a really good time. They are always welcome at The Milkmaid.

We had a bonus act that started the second half for us. Scottish singer Jake Cogan did three songs. Jake is a female singer from Lanarkshire that Boo had produced her latest album. What a wonderful singer she certainly went down well with everybody. Ross Cockburn accompanied her on guitar and Emily Peppers on fiddle.

A great night that is typical of The Milkmaid. I still think I should have won the ‘best dancer prize’

Subscription renewal is coming up, for £10 a year (Jan – Dec) you’ll get £2 off ticket prices.

 

Friday 30th October 2009 The Sultans of Squeeze

Oh dear, something went horribly wrong between the artists and us. They didn’t turn up. I managed to get in touch with Chris Parkinson and by all accounts he and John new naught about the gig. I can’t get hold off the agent but it is Sunday as I write so I’ll wait ‘till tomorrow. (I’d left messages with them on Friday)

Anyway it turned out a good evening as we changed to a singer’s night. Adam Sewell started off the evening  followed by our own Linda and Dave. Mal Fry who was doing support did his half an hour. Then Richard Partridge (fiddler/singer from Monroe’s Revenge) gave us some great Bluegrass songs and tunes.. Brian Jeffles from Bedford borrowed Adams guitar and performed three songs as did the great Andy Wall. As it was his birthday ‘Big man’ Moose finished the night in his own inimitable way.

I’d like to say thanks to Adrian for his kind words and a huge thank you to those who didn’t claim a rebate on their tickets. I do love folkies!

 

Friday 16th October 2009 Monroes Revenge

The first Bluegrass band to play at The Milkmaid, Monroes Revenge didn’t disappoint. Fantastic musicianship and vocals this band is absolutely fantastic. This music is a particular favourite of mine and I’m pleased it was a great night. I intend to put on at least one Bluegrass concert a year.

Blues Vibe were our support and they definitely lived up to their name. They are Tom Garbutt and Andy Allen from down Cambridge/Ely way.

Tom was an original member of The Milkmaid 15 years ago and I always introduced him as our resident Blues-man.

Dave Cooper was meant do the floor spot but unfortunately traffic conditions made him late. Our lovely Dave and Linda stepped in and did a couple of songs for us and Dave performed in the second half with two songs delivered as only he can, superb.

 

Friday 2nd October 2009 Bram Taylor

Bram Taylor was thought off as the best act we had at The Milkmaid when our home was in Wymondham  Norfolk a few years ago. He is the consummate folk artist, beautiful voice, good guitarist and concertina player, extremely humorous with a vast repertoire to suit any occasion. He performed two lovely sets in front of another small audience who would have totally enjoyed them selves and left with smiles on their faces.

Pavlovs Cat was our support and they were fab. They must be the tallest support act we’ve had. James Hibbins and Milkmaid friend Bernard Hoskin make up the duo and they are both well over  six feet.  Good songs, good stage presence and great singing. What more could we wish for.  

Our floor singer for this evening was Chris Richardson who bravely started in front of a handful of people. Another ‘graduate ‘ from our Open mic/Singers nights. Good stuff!

 

Friday 25th September 2009 Hickman & Quinn (Nathan & Quinn)

These boys change their name faster than a Hollywood actress. They used to be The Badgers then became Nathan and Quinn but have settled on Hickman and Quinn.

None the less this duo is of the highest quality. They are both virtuoso guitarists, easily going from Bluegrass picking to Blues and then into complicated Jazz rifts and rhythms and back to gentle folk strumming for delicate ballads. They equally have good voices and harmonising is as natural as breathing. A great performance seen by a very small audience.

Support was by Al Lindsay who has supported quite a few acts at The Milkmaid over the years. Probably should be a professional as his song writing is really strong, has a great voice and is no mean guitarist. We love him here.

There was no floor singer this evening.

 

Friday 18th September 2009  Bella Hardy with Chris Sherburn

This was Singer/Fiddler Bella Hardy’s first time at The Milkmaid and most welcome she was. Ably assisted by our great friend Chris Sherburn on Anglo Concertina we listened to a delivery of songs sang so melodically and sometimes so melancholy it couldn’t help but stir even the hardest of hearts.

A great surprise we had when another great friend Denny Bartley arrived early evening and joined Bella and Chris on stage for the last 15 minutes. It was almost like ‘Last Nights Fun’ but with Bella on fiddle instead of the wonderful Scotty on pipes.

Support by Alex Highton was really well delivered. Songs of quality and good content ended the first part of the night on a real high. Alex has often appeared at our Open mic/Singers Nights and is well worth seeing.

The very bubbly Claudine Le Moal was our floor singer this evening and she performed three of her own songs in her native French. Great stuff!

Another well attended evening.

 

Friday 4th September 2009 Dana & Susan Robinson

These two lovely people made a welcome return to The Milkmaid. Their last time here was in October 2006 nearly three years ago. A great evening as we knew it would be. It was the first folk club back after the summer break and a fantastic attendance made the evening quite special.

Our good friends BOF did support and showed us their absolute quality in performing French tunes and songs and own compositions in their own inimitable style. They are Paddy Butcher, Simon Haines, Phil Lyons and Val Woollard. Well worth seeking out the Bury Bal’s they organise with Linda Lyons.

Dave Rushton opened the evening as our floorsinger. He is one third of the popular local Irish  band The Molly McGuires. This evening Dave resorted to his Blues roots and gave a stirling performance as only he can.

 

Friday 4th September 2009 Welcome back

Welcome back to our Autumn and Winter programme.

Steve and I have had a good summer working at the Ely and Cambridge folk festivals and me Mcing at Shrewsbury and Bromyard. I’m also taking a more active member role on the Ely  Folk festival committee.

I’m still chasing funds to keep The Milkmaid Thursday Club (for people with disabilities) going for another year. This club has been a great success having attendances of over 55 people. The Folk Arts Centre project is still in full swing and we hope to make a breakthrough regarding funding etc very soon.

 

Friday 31st July 2009 Singers Night (No PA)

As Steve and I were working at the Cambridge Folk festival we decided to go ahead with this evening in the capable hands of Brian, Dave and Linda ably assisted by Barry and Marion.

The evening turned out to be a great success and enjoyed by all who attended. The performers were:

Alex Highton, The Larks, Chris Aylmer, Marc Bartram, The Lullabys, Dave Cooper, Dave and Linda, Paul Vaes, Adam Sewell, Colin Snell, Mike Acott and Daniel Banham

Friday 13th November John Renbourn and Jackie McShee

I’m pleased, thrilled, excited and nervous to announce that I’ve booked John Renbourn and Jackie McShee to appear at The Milkmaid on Friday 13th November.

They have decided to do a short tour in November and December this year. They want to play at The Milkmaid and having these two giants of folk music perform as a duo for us was too good to turn down.

The big problem we have is The Constitutional Club is booked on that night, so I’ve got to look for another venue. So check the web-site regularly to keep up to date with events.

 

Saturday 25th July Disability Club

We have changed the name of the Milkmaid Disability Folk Club to The Milkmaid Thursday Folk Club. It sounds much nicer and we feel it’s more appropriate.

 

Friday 17th July 2009 Peter and Barbara Snape

A traditional duo from Lancashire I had the pleasure of Mc’ing at Bromyard last year.

I really liked the way they combined Gracie Fields music hall songs with traditional songs from all over the British Isles. Peter’s melodeon and Barbara’s vocals combine so well. A very small audience I’m sorry to say enjoyed a great evening, the worry beads are out again!

Peter Twitchet was the support act and wow he did a great job. Peter is a folk singer from the old school of performing at clubs. Lots of humour, great songs that ranged from serious to funny and lovely guitar playing. You go back to the early folk club days of the 60’s and 70’s when you listen to Peter.

Pema Clark an American lady living locally was one floor singer. Pema has come to some of our Open mic/Singers nights and has greatly impressed us with her songs. She brought along a very accomplished keyboard player who added greatly to her sound.

We had the pleasure of listening to the great Andy Wall from Ely Folk Club and Festival open the evening. I’ve run out of words to describe Andy, he’s such a fantastic performer and a really good friend. He’s been coming to The Milkmaid for 15 years and has never let us down. Love the boy!

 

Friday 3rd July 2009 The Liz Simcock Band

Liz for me is one of the loveliest songwriters around. She should have a much bigger stage than the one she has now. I missed this one due to being on holiday in France but have been told how good it was. I’ll let the best sound engineer in folk music (I really shouldn’t encourage him) comment on the evening…. over to you Steve!

Thank you Terry for permitting me to comment on what must be my favourite band.

Liz was her normal wonderful friendly self and had the audience with her from the first note to the last. With Warwick Jones on guitar and Ian Newman on double bass it would be hard to find three nicer and more talented people. They started the evening with Beachcomber and (one of my favourites) Pink & Silver Sneakers and later introduced the magic clarinet of Adrian Black. Liz sang an excellent solo number called Blow me Home, maybe this will be on the next CD along with Penny Lane (which they did not play). Unfortunately Liz didn’t bring her new guitar as the tuning was not quite right but see her web-site for details of how it was made. All in all just a truly wonderful evening, you missed a good one Terry.

With support from Martin Kaszak on Guitar(s) including a National which he assured us was supposed to sound slightly out of tune and Phil Pearce on cuatro, mandolin and guitar, what a brilliant combination.

There were no floor singers tonight but I must especially mention Linda for her first endeavour at MC’ing. Terry should go on holiday more often (she doesn’t tell terrible jokes).

 

Friday 19th June 2009 Wizz Jones

A really good turn out which I was pleased about for Wizz’s sake. The man has been such an influence on the likes of John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and Eric Clapton, amongst others, he deserved a good audience.

I’m never disappointed when I see Wizz perform, veteran that he is, he still plays guitar as only a genius can and his vocals are still as strong as ever.

A real super star!

Where are the new young Wizz Jones’s hiding?

Support by Kiss the Mistress was extremely impressive. They are Ginny Davis, John Ramirez and Roy Jones and will be a big hit in the folk world for years to come. They also played at our Disability Club and were great there too.

Floor singers were Linda & Dave who have entranced us before as a trio with Heather and do not disappoint as a duo with their lovely harmonies. Thank you.

 

Friday 5th June 2009 Nathan Rogers

Unfortunately we had the smallest audience ever at this concert featuring Nathan Rogers and sadly we lost £263 on the night.

Nathan is a fantastic talent and I’m sure his dad (Stan Rogers) would be very proud of him. If you like Dana Robinson you would have loved this guy.

One consolation, Nathan thought that this was his best performance on this tour of the UK. He had not felt so relaxed and comfortable since his arrival in the country a couple of weeks ago. He thought the atmosphere of the club was, in his words ‘special’.  Pity Bury St Edmunds doesn’t think so!

The wonderful Penni Mclaren Walker was support. She is a remarkable songwriter and performer. It was great to hear her perform and she gave us a half an hour of exquisite delivery of song and guitar work.

Floor singers were Alex Highton and John Wright (no not that one).

A great opening to the evening, we are blessed with lot’s of local talent and these two didn’t disappoint.

 

Thursday 18th June 2009 WARNING BNP

This was sent to me via a folk club organisers network I belong to. It was sent by Tom Bliss.

You may or may not be aware that the BNP are allegedly specifically targeting the English folk scene to garner support and blur their public image.

N.B. Web Site Editor has added the word “allegedly” to the text above and removed other text as it is potentially libellous. See the facebook and myspace links below for the full text.

Quite a few folkies are deeply uncomfortable about this and so have set up a number of websites to counter this move:

You might want to read about the issues here (there has been discussion about whether clubs should be booking ' other-ethnic' music, for example): http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=121472&messages=206

If you have a facebook, you might want to know about this: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=114616997574

Or if myspace then this: http://www.myspace.com/folkagainstfascism There is a 'proper' website on the way.

 

Friday 29th May Open-mic/Singers night

This really was a marvellous evening. Eleven acts which were exceptional. They all performed two songs/tunes in the first set then came back to do one more after that. New faces, some old faces but all lovely faces. The performers were, Pema Clark, Adrian Black, Griggsy, Liz Miller, Moose, Lester Sturgess, Chris Aylmer, Alex Highton. Marc Bartram, The Lullabies, Dave Hardy. A good night enjoyed by all.

 

Friday 22nd May 2009  Suntrap

I’m particularly proud of Suntrap. 15 years ago they performed on my stage at Cambridge at 1 00am on a Saturday morning and they blew me away. So much so I booked them on the spot for the folk club. In fact I booked them twice the following year, the only artists to have appeared twice at The Milkmaid in the same year. I am also so pleased how their band careers have soared over the years and have established themselves as firm favourites around the country. I boast of the fact that I introduced them to East Anglia where they are particularly loved but in truth it’s really their wonderful talent that has got them where they are today. Beautiful voices, beautiful harmonies, beautiful musicianship and beautiful faces what more could you want. They are very special.

Gary Breeze supported them with his usual brilliant musical style. He performed an excellent set as always.

 

Friday 8th May 2009 Steve Ashley

A poor turnout particularly as Steve is such a legend in the folk world and highly respected amongst his peers.

A good two sets with some time honoured songs and some not so familiar. Steve being the absolute professional that he is delivered his stuff with power and humour a really enjoyable evening for those that were there.

The support act was the Parisian based Duo Synkro. Over in the UK to perform at The Bury Bal the next day we took the opportunity to ask them to play for us at The Milkmaid. Great stuff, Linda, Phill and Paddy really do get great French bands to their Bals. We will always if possible offer them a support slot when we can.

Floor singer this evening was the magnificent Phil Lyons, member of BOF and leading player in the local French dance activities. He is also a very accomplished folk singer/guitarist and as he always does gave us twenty minutes of excellent songs. We love him!

 

Friday 24th April 2009  Robin Williamson and John Renbourn

Wow, wow, wow and wow again. What a fantastic night! These two consummate professionals took me back to 1998/99, I was seventeen/eighteen all over again. John played guitar in the way only John can do it, he’s been the best for so long but it still amazes me how effortless he makes it all look. He is such a great performer allowing his partner (who ever it may be) in the duo to take the lead.

Robin was amazing, particularly playing the Blues on a Harp, quite outstanding. Incredible days not only the band but that particular era came flooding back. Didn’t we live through some amazing times!!!!! 100 plus in the audience too.

Support by Daisy Windsor and her new band Wytchazel was outstanding. A long time support act for the Milkmaid with The Floozies, Daisy performed some familiar stuff as well as new material with great skill and talent. This band is going to make an impact.

 

Friday 17th April 2009  Open-mic/Singers night

Another successful Open-mic/Singers night. The performers were Adam Sewell, Marc Bartram, Dave Cooper, Chris Richardson, Dave Bartlett and Linda Baddely,

We really are blessed with these local performers all around us.

 

Friday 3rd April 2009 Steve Tilston

What an incredible evening this turned out to be with Steve Tilston. We’ve had three guest nights in a row of top quality premiership performers. Steve for some is England’s finest singer/songwriter, and he didn’t disappoint. His delivery of his self penned songs is second to none and his guitar playing is up their with the greats. Top quality indeed.

The beautiful Floozies were our support act and as usual were fantastic. The half an hour spot was full of great songs lovely vocals and absolutely brilliant musicianship. I’m going to give them a headline gig next year, they thoroughly deserve it.

Josh Bowker on his birthday was invited back to fill one slot and Blackwings Secret from Peterborough duly gave 15 minutes each.

 

Friday 27th March  2009 The Tom McConville Band

We were blessed and privileged  to have the winner of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of The Year for 2009 perform at the club. Although it was an embarrassing turn out for one so accomplished.

He had with him Claire Mann and David Newey and what fantastic musicians they are in their own rights. Tom for me, has one of the best folk voices under the sun and I could listen to him sing all day long. His fiddle playing is exquisite and no wonder he’s regarded as one of the best fiddlers in the UK, (some think he is the best).

A wonderful evening in front of a wonderful audience, it’s a pity there weren’t more of them.

Andy Wall an original member of The Milkmaid Folk Club in it’s Willingham days, organiser of the Ely Folk Club and fellow committee member of the Ely Folk Festival was support act.

Launching his new CD on the night he gave us half an hour of rich entertainment that Andy is well known for. Andy is a local star in the folk world and richly deserved.

The floor singers were Josh Bowker from Newmarket making his first appearance at a folk club and Mike Acott  a wonderful conertina/singer 9as well as concertina restorer extraordinaire) from Ipswich.

 

Friday 13th March 2009 Chris Sherburn & Denny Bartley

We turned back the clock for this concert. Chris and Denny have reformed their original act as a duo, long before Last Nights Fun materialised.

They were in fact only the second artists to appear at the then fledgling Milkmaid back in the mid nineties.

I have to say I do enjoy these guys and I am kind of biased, as they are good mates of mine now but what a great evening. We were the first gig they had done as a duo for years and the first of a tour of 16 days. All the humour, the virtuosity and the enjoyment were there in abundance. They already have bookings for festivals this year and next you can see why.

Support by The Duo Na-Mara was indeed quite lovely. Their performance nicely blended with the main act. These guys are really going to make a mark in the folk world and deserve to have success in clubs and festivals.

Our two floor singers were local legend Paddy Butcher who has done the folk scene proud in Suffolk over the decades and Adam Sewell a singer songwriter who has moved into the folk/acoustic world from the Rock scene.

Great turn out the best for six months by far, keep it up.

 

Friday 6th March 2009 Open mic/Singer night

What a fantastic night this turned out to be. This was definitely the best turn out for a Singers night we have had since we moved to The Constitutional Club nearly three years ago. It’s all down to Brian and Dave’s hard work in making sure the event was publicised in the area. Well done lads!

The performers were: 

Dave Rushton and Ray, Liz Miller, Lester Sturgess, Marc Bartrum, Moose, Adrian Black,

Paul Vaes, Dave and Linda, Dave Cooper and Mike Acott.

 

Friday 27th February 2009 Kenny Speirs and Judy Dinning

I was in France for this one so I am going on what Brian and Steve have told me regarding the evening.

“Friday was good, very enjoyable they went down very well with the audience. More, more was the cry”.

Phil Lyons as support as always excelled himself, he’s a great local folk singer that is never out of place with the so called ‘big boys’

Floor singers were. Dave Rushton and Chris Richardson who I am told were magnificent.

 

Friday 13th February 2009 Roland Chadwick

Half guitar, half man is what Aussie Roland’s publicity states and I have to agree with it. His repertoire from Blues classics through classical pieces to his own compositions and an odd folk song was pure class. Roland’s a virtuoso guitar player and has a good voice for Blues material along with a wicked sense of humour. Put this lot together, you get an evening of fantastic entertainment. ‘Good on yer Sport’.

Support was by Blues and Ragtime guitarist Peter Jackson. Considering he was supporting Roland Chadwick he performed a really good half an hour of accomplished playing and wasn’t out of place in front of a master. He’ll certainly be back for another support slot later in the year.

The two floor singer spots went to Phil Lyons and Dave Bartlett and Lind Baddeley which made for a lot of quality at the beginning of the evening.

 

Friday 30th January 2009 Sound Tradition

A really great night musically but an absolute disaster regarding audience. Just 9 people turned out for this evening.

Sound Tradition as always gave a cracking performance of lovely songs, banter and wonderful harmonies. They really are great supporters of The Milkmaid and as long as we’re still here they will always have ‘a home’

BOF were our support act or rather ¾ BOF. Lovely Paddy Butcher couldn’t make it so Val Woolard, Simon Haines and Phil Lyons gave an admirable half hour of tunes and songs from La France as well as their own compositions.

Mike Acott and Penni Mclaren Walker were our invited floorsingers. Penni opened the evening with three songs delivered with absolute perfection. Mike is a wonderful concertina player and great singer his performance was top quality indeed.

 

Friday 23rd January 2009 Flossie Malavialle

Oui, oui, oui, formidable, what a wonderful entertainer this lovely French woman is.

Flossie has a great voice, full of power and soul and then gentle and subtle as she goes through a variety of songs that ranges from Edith Piaf to The Eagle; from Jacques Brel to Janis Ian. Throw in a Spanish folk song and that wicked humour tinged with a French accent that smacks a lot of Geordi-ish and she shows us why she is so popular up and down the country. Flossie, je t’aime xxx

Joe Bardwell, Lizzie Doe and Kate Locksley were support and boy were they quite special. I can see that these three lovely young people will make a big impact on the folk scene for years to come.

Our two floor singers were the eccentric local legend George Hollick who reminded us what singers in pubs and the like were really like in past history and Peter Twitchett who is a very accomplished folk performer. All in all two first class acts to start the evening off.

 

Friday 9th January 2009 John Ward and Mario Price

Sadly I couldn’t make this evening due to the fact it was Jane’s mums funeral down in Essex. She died on the Sunday after Christmas and has knocked us for six.

I’ve MC’d John and Mario before at festivals and I know what quality musicians they are.  John was a regular performer at our pub in Wymondham and also has adviced me in the past regarding funding and support from The Musicians Union.

Steve gave me the low down on the evening:

“These guys rock, what an excellent duo, they performed with humour and professionalism and kept the audience captivated

Marina Florance was as good as ever with Mick Kennedy on guitar & Ray Taylor on percussion

Floor singers were Colin Snell (Guitar & vocals) & Peter Jackson (ragtime guitar)

 A very disappointing audience at the beginning, but a crowd of people arrived during the first part of John & Mario’s set, probably delayed by the freezing fog outside.”