Folk me!

[the button]

Beverley Folk Festival is brilliant. Me and londoggy used to make a point of going. Even if we didn't go to any of the main bands, it was a great atmosphere in the pubs - especially Nellie's. Every real ale pub you went in had a singaround, or an impromptu ceilidh, or just a beardy bloke in the corner playing the accordion. It was a great weekend.

I was one of those beardy blokes.

I haven't been to a Beverley Folk Festival since about 2000, but one of the things that always struck me was how generous the "star turns" were with their time. As well as performing, and doing workshops etc (i.e. stuff they'd be getting paid for), they were in the pubs doing stuff for nowt, and generally not being precious.

 

[Roadkill]

That's the folk scene all over though, isn't it? It doesn't really have people who think they're superstars. Even big names like Maddy Prior will have a pint in the pub with fans: one of doggy's big boasts is that he's bought her a pint in the past.

 

[the button]

A quick google has just revealed that Sam Smiths has turfed the folk club out of Nellie's. Arseholes.

They're still meeting, like, but in a different pub.

 

[longdog]

I think the folk club stuff has moved to the Tiger which is a better venue. Great though Nellie's is its multitude of tiny rooms isn't really suited to live music. Once you've got a fiddle player and a singer in a room there's about enough space for a man and a dog before it starts to get a bit crowded.