You're having a laugh!
NEIL INNES and
RICHARD DIGANCE
at Centre Stage - see below!


Festival tickets are available at folk club gigs

2012
Sunday 5 February three brilliant duo / trios Two that we know well THE PAPER SHADES THE DOUGLAS FIRS and (from Bath, previously known as the Carousel) PENNY RED	Thursday 9 February GLENN ROSS a brilliant local songwriter with Gavin Lewis (cello) support: Jojoca Trio  (world-jazz-folk)  Jon Lloyd: soprano saxophone and bass clarinet,  Cathy Stevens: electric viola,  Jon Leadbeater: tablas and percussion.
Sunday 12 February LATIN QUARTER   The video is from Top Of The Pops 1986. Latin Quarter are re-forming and play a home gig prior to their 2012 European tour + Catherine Burke	Thursday 16 February GLOWGLOBES + Pete Thompson admission £5 (students £3)
Saturday 18 February STEVE KNIGHTLEY Among England's greatest folk songwriters, Steve is one of award-winning outfit Show Of Hands	Saturday 18 February supporting Steve Knightley: Philip Henry and Hannah Martin stunning young duo from Devon on tour with Steve Knightley
Sunday 19 February LESTER ALLEN The video is from Buckingham Palace as part of BBC TV's "Goldie's Band". Lester is a very talented and prolific songwriter. + Nick Evans (on UK tour from Berlin) + Alex Beds (of Fearne) + Damian Clarke (of Pressgang)	Thursday 23 February SHOWCASE OF SONGWRITERS Solent University special   THE WIDOWMAKER featuring Ian Easton - (above) headline + ++
Sunday 26 February CONTRABAND bluegrass band from Southampton	Thursday 1 March O'HOOLEY & TIDOW Belinda O’Hooley (The Unthanks) and Heidi Tidow are the dapper gentlewomen behind the groundbreaking Silent June; one of MOJO Magazine’s Top 10 Folk Albums of 2010. Hailed as pioneers of innovative chamber-folk, their music defies easy description, crossing folk and classical boundaries with a hint of burlesque theatricality. Their beautifully unusual songs touch on everything from dark folk tales, cross-dressing historical figures through to the invisibility of the elderly and the global economy, yet are always sure to tug on your heart-strings. Their new album The Fragile, released in February 2012, sees them touring the country with their irresistible blend of striking arrangements, sublime harmonies and cheeky Northern banter. A MOJO Magazine Top 10 Folk Album of 2010 ‘Striking and refreshingly ambitious. A bold, unsettling debut.’ The Observer
Sunday 4 March ALEX ROBERTS Here is an artist who represents all the best aspects  of the songwriter’s craft. A casual observer of the  world that surrounds him, he draws on its roots, its  past and present; he is a story teller in the age-old  tradition, a balladeer, poet and a writer of  impressively prolific output. Alex Roberts blends genres from baroque to blues,  with a warm soulful voice, finger-style guitar, some  fine lapsteel playing, mandolin, and a stompbox to  boot.	Thursday 8 March Celebrating women songwriters and musicians! KRISTA GREEN KIMARI RAVEN THE DOUGLAS FIRS FRANZISKA PRETSCH KATIE McLEOD & YASMINE STEPHENS +
Sunday 11 March FEARNE info soon!	Thursday 15 March CHARLIE HOLE INFO SOON!
HOT TICKETS in April
Thursday 5 April RORY McLEOD   Rory Mcleod - ex-circus clown and fire eater. A one man soulband, poet and storyteller, singing his own unique upbeat dance stories. A modern travelling troubadour using tap shoes, acappella, harmonica, guitar, trombone, spoons, finger cymbals, bandorea, djembe and various percussion instruments! Rory has travelled the globe for different reasons at different times, from Asia to the middle East from Gambia to Cuba, Central America, Australia, North America, Canada, Europe and other nooks and crannies of the earth.	Thursday 12 April NEIL INNES   This man's comic genius has graced Bonzo Dog Doodah Band Monty Python The Rutles .... And he can play a bit! Do we need a biographical paragraph? Neil's website