Sponsored by The Orange Tree, Baldock
Coming up next…
BASS & TAYLOR, PETER CROSSLEY, CLARK & JOHNSON, PETER AND JANE
May 8, 2024
7:30 pm Free entry.
We have a jam-packed session this evening with four outstanding local acts – the very best of folk music from Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. We welcome three duos who are playing at Baldock Folk Club for the first time, and one of our favourite solo performers who is fast becoming a stalwart of the club:
Bass & Taylor consists of duo Anna Bass and Ray Taylor.
The couple have been together both romantically and musically since 2009, and live in the North Essex village of Great Bardfield. Both have dabbled in music for most of their lives and most recently were part of the touring folk band Two Coats Colder. From the end of 2020 the couple reverted back to being a duo and now perform at folk clubs, festivals and house concerts up and down the country.
Bass & Taylor perform a good mix of self penned songs plus some better known favourites by artists such as Karine Polwart, Joan Baez, Mike Silver, Anthony John Clarke and Kate Rusby. In their spare time Anna rides horses and they both build and exhibit model railways (well someone has to).
Peter Crossley is Hertford-based and displays impressive skills in singing, playing guitar and fiddle, and songwriting. His debut album, Rags to Riches, has been warmly-received with several radio plays. Peter has a powerful voice and a commanding presence – he wowed us all when he played at the club last year – and we’re looking forward to welcoming him back to Baldock.
Clark & Johnson entertain audiences in Hertfordshire and surrounding counties at festivals, clubs, and open gardens with an eclectic mix of covers and originals. Their highly entertaining and relaxed on-stage presence draws you into the beauty of Karen’s voice and the skill of Tony’s string-plucking. They convey warmth and humour in contemporary folk and country songs about life and death, family and love. Their covers are imaginatively arranged, and their original songs are catchy, poetic, and highly singable.
Peter and Jane are a folk duo from Suffolk playing original and traditional songs and tunes on a range of instruments, including Scottish small pipes. They’ve played as support act for Jackie Oates at Ely Folk Club and often perform within the Bury St Edmunds folk community including the Bury Folk Festival, Folk Collective and Milkmaid.
ODETTE MICHELL + JOHN WARD TRIO
May 15, 2024
7:30 pm
Odette Michell is an award-winning British singer-songwriter, guitarist and bouzouki player with rich foothold in the folk tradition. A dynamic live performer, Odette has performed alongside the likes of Show of Hands and Seth Lakeman, and has opened for folk legends Martin Carthy, Phil Beer, Boo Hewerdine, Nancy Kerr, Reg Meuross and BBC R2 Folk Award nominees Ninebarrow amongst others.
Born in Yorkshire with an Irish heritage, Odette grew up in a musical household and first picked up the guitar at fifteen. Inspired by the resurgence of folk and acoustic songwriters at the time, she began writing her own songs when she was just sixteen years old. Growing up in the vibrant city of Cambridge allowed Odette to take advantage of the many stages and performance venues there, including two early club stage appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival – her first appearance there being when she was just 22 years old. Having been recently based on a rural 18th century dairy farm in the English countryside, Odette draws on these rich influences and life experience and weaves them together to form the basis of many of her songs.
In January 2020 Odette won Female Artist Of The Year at the FATEA Awards, following in the footsteps of previous winners Kitty Macfarlane and Cara Dillon; and in May 2020 Odette was nominated for a Rising Star Award at the 2020 Folking Awards. In January 2021 Odette was invited to perform at Celtic Connections as part of the legendary Danny Kyle Open Stage.
John Ward has achieved an excellent reputation as a writer of powerful, thought-provoking and witty songs that draw upon his life in a gritty port town, his wider travels in the world, and often capture the spirit of the times.
John performs in folk clubs, festivals and theatres across the UK and beyond, mainly with wife, Lynne, and band mate, Les Woodley, as the imaginatively titled John Ward Trio! This line-up delivers powerful 3-part harmonies, with acoustic guitar, bodhran, harmonica, double bass, mandolin, accordion and recorder to bring a fuller sound to John’s excellent songs. The Trio also draws on its wider repertoire of traditional and contemporary folk tunes and songs, many of them suited to communal singing. The Trio’s performances are authentic and heartfelt, engaging audiences with their choice of material, thoughtful arrangements, versatility and humour, not to mention John’s blistering bodhran solos, which all blend to delight and entertain folk audiences in intimate venues and bigger stages alike.
The Tangler’s Irregulars Session
The Tangler’s Irregulars will be back at the Cock Pub on Sunday, 26th May from 2:30pm. Why not come and join us at this lovely, friendly pub and hear some great music? Irish Traditional Music, Americana, Old Time and Country, Irish and Scottish songs, with the odd popular classic thrown in. Musicians welcome to join in but please let Brian know you’re coming 07768 274037. Everyone else welcome to come along and listen. Free entry, and a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon! The Cock, High Street, Baldock. SG7 6BG.
Our regular club nights take place at The Orange Tree, Norton Road, Baldock, SG7 5AW every other Wednesday and are free unless otherwise stated. However do please bring some cash for the whip round for the performers – they’ve had a hard time recently and need our support! Doors open at 7:00pm, music starts at 7:30pm.
Check out our full programme of events here
Watch our previous Round-Up shows here