The United Kingdoms of Folk!

Grayshott Folk Club is offering The United Kingdoms of Folk, a new indoor festival at Grayshott Village Hall featuring music from around the British Isles.
Colm Mac Con IomaireColm Mac Con Iomaire
Colm Mac Con Iomaire

Organiser Des O’Byrne said: “After the Brexit vote and other moves towards greater separation, I could see the world fragmenting, so I decided to put together a musical antidote to all this divisiveness. And so the notion of The United Kingdoms of Folk was born. The idea was to put together an indoor festival of musicians representing each of the homelands of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Sadly, I wasn’t able to find any Welsh musicians who were available for us at the right time. Still, we’ve got some exceptional musicians to play for you, some of whom have travelled considerable distances to be here.”

The festival kicks off on Friday, November 4 at 7.30pm with Colm Mac Con Iomaire with Catherine Fitzgerald.

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“Colm is a wonderful Irish fiddle player. His new album And Now The Weather has just been released, and he’s doing very well in Ireland. He was nominated for the Choice Award this year, the Irish equivalent of the Mercury Prize. The album is a collection of really beautiful instrumental tracks used to accompany traditional poems but in a very modern style.

“In a crowded field of outstanding Irish fiddle players and interpreters of traditional music Colm Mac Con Iomaire is unique. His voice is unmistakably his own and his music bears distinctive creative hallmarks which have as much to do with his personality and character as with his impressive technical mastery, musical authority and exquisitely-expressive playing.

“Colm recently performed as part of the 2016 Centenary concerts in the National Concert Hall. Tonight Colm will be accompanied by Catherine Fitzgerald who is a gifted keyboard player and is touring with him from Ireland.”

The festival continues on Saturday, November 5 at 7.30pm with The Robyn Stapleton Band: “When top Scottish musician Patsy Reid (ex-Breabach) recommends an up-and-coming young musician, you just have to sit up and take notice. So it was with Robyn Stapleton.”

Tickets from Des O’Byrne on 01428 607096.

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