Come out and enjoy a good evening’s folk! Lots of variety and a warm welcome awaits in our venue at Dorking Golf Club (click here for directions).
The club meets each Wednesday at 8.30pm except for breaks during August and over Christmas.
Club Re-Opening
We were pleased to re-open the club on 15th September 2021 and we look forward to seeing you over the coming months and into the new year.
Club Operation
To mitigate the risk of Covid-19 transmission at club meetings the following will be implemented.
• People must not attend if they feel unwell with recently developed (acute) symptoms that could possibly be related to a Covid-19 infection. These include high temperature, fever, runny nose, cold, sore throat and digestive upsets.
• Attendees must show proof of having had two vaccinations and participate in “Test and Trace” recording (either scan our barcode using their NHS Covid app or provide name and phone number). Members are encouraged to allow us to keep this data on record to speed up future door entry.
• Attendees must wear masks while moving round the Golf Club premises (please let us know in advance if you cannot wear a mask). This applies to club entry, socialising, going to the bar and to the toilets. Masks can be removed once attendees are sitting. Attendees are asked to queue in a single line and observe social distancing when waiting to pay admission and when using the bar.
• Maximum attendance will be limited to 50 persons; seats will be arranged with increased spacing between all rows and performers will be distanced from the front row.
• The door will operate on a cashless basis; please pay admission by card (raffle tickets will still be sold for cash, but we may review this).
Ticketing and Admission Prices
The committee has decided to revert to a singers’ night admission of £3 for members (£5 for non-members) to mitigate against the possibility of reduced attendance. We will review this regularly.
In light of the reduced maximum attendance we will operate an advance ticket system for “big-name” guests.
Tickets for members only will be sold on the door (during the interval) up to 2 weeks before each event. Any remaining tickets will then be put for general sale on the Ticketsource website at non-member price (plus 7% Ticketsource fee) www.ticketsource.co.uk/dorkingfolkclub . All ticket sales will be on a first come, first served basis.
For details of how to purchase tickets please refer to the latest club newsletter, or email dfczoom@shires.me.uk
Note: You should only purchase tickets for members and only if you are willing to comply fully with club Covid-19 requirements.
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01 December 2021 |
Entrance £10 |
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Dave Ellis & Boo Howard |
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In the 70s, a very young Dave left Liverpool and headed to London with his guitar. He released a solo album in 1973, which was rated as a classic acoustic guitar record of its time. This led to him touring with his hero Bert Jansch. In 1979, he formed an electric band The Reactors and Boo joined on bass and vocals. They soon became a solid songwriting team. In the early 2000s Dave and Boo developed an acoustic act, which returned them to their folk club roots. Their debut album as a duo, Maybe I Might Fall, was critically acclaimed and featured a simple acoustic performance, with several more albums have been recorded since then. The songs are at the heart of it all, served by imaginative and stylish arrangements and by the singing and playing of two seasoned, wholly in-tune musicians and their most recent release is Great Pleasure. No doubt, we can look forward to songs from that CD tonight. |
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08 December 2021 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night – with our special Christmas Raffle |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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05 January 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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12 January 2022 |
Entrance £10 |
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Bob Wood |
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Bob hails originally from the west coast of Scotland but has long been based in London. An engaging solo singer and performer with an easy-going sense of humour, he’s known as an accomplished finger-style guitarist. Exploring a range of open tunings, his playing and song interpretations have been described as displaying rare sensitivity, lightness of touch and great technique. A seasoned and experienced performer, Bob has appeared at countless clubs and festivals throughout the UK; he has played on the albums of various other artists and has featured on many radio programmes. He has also hosted and organised a number of guitar workshops, focusing on alternative guitar tunings and song accompaniment. |
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19 January 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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26 January 2022 |
Entrance £10 |
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Steve Turner |
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Steve Turner is a multi-instrumentalist and pioneer of highly sophisticated English concertina song accompaniments, stretching the boundaries of traditional forms. He has one of the best voices in the business and accompanies himself on the cittern as well as playing mandolin and banjo. Steve began his UK career on the Manchester folk scene at the end of the ‘60s, with the Geordie band “Canny Fettle”, touring with them for eight years. In 1979 he won the UK Melody Maker’s national “Stars of the 80s” competition, which persuaded him to turn professional. For the next 12 years he toured solo, both nationally and internationally, releasing four albums with Fellside Records during that time. After 13 years away from the folk scene, Steve made a welcome return in 2004, performing in folk clubs and at festivals and releasing further albums. His latest much anticipated 8th album “Late Cut”, features Eliza Carthy, Martin Simpson and Sam Carter and was released in January 2019. |
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02 February 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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09 February 2022 |
Entrance £10 |
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Winter Wilson |
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When Mike Harding dubbed Winter Wilson one of the hardest working duos on the circuit, he'd clearly done his homework. In 2019 aside from touring around the UK, Winter Wilson performed in Australia, Spain, Belgium and Canada. They also released Live & Unconventional, the long-awaited live album, recorded on tour and at Cropredy Festival with folk rock icons Fairport Convention. Reviews have been exceptional. Live performance is where these two really excel. Kip Winter and Dave Wilson bring a sense of intimacy to every venue, blending superb, often hard-hitting original songs, stunning harmonies and musicianship with sometimes hilarious humour and tales of life on the road. Kip (vocals, accordion, guitar, flute) "simply has a voice to die for” ( John Roffey, Maverick Magazine), whilst Dave (vocals, guitar and banjo) is now rightly recognized as being amongst the top tier of British songwriters, with his songs sung in folk clubs across the UK and beyond. Together, their voices are sublime. You will laugh; you may cry. You will certainly want to see them again! |
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16 February 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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23 February 2022 |
Entrance £tbc |
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Miranda Sykes |
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Miranda Sykes, the acclaimed singer and bassist with ‘Show of Hands’ is returning to her roots. After a career spanning over 20 years, during which time she has played with many of the top musicians and singers within the folk world, she is touring as she started out: one woman, one bass, and one guitar. Building on the success of her Borrowed Places tour, Miranda Sykes is back with a completely new project: Behind The Wall. Where Borrowed Places opened a window into the past, explaining where she had been, physically & spiritually, Behind The Wall is a Roller Coaster Ride exploring where we are going; Miranda, you, me, all of us. What does it mean to be human today, living in our communities & societies & where will our actions lead us? Powerful and hard-hitting but also poignant and beautiful, this show gives us all a chance to reflect and maybe even empower us. |
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02 March 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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09 March 2022 |
Entrance £tbc |
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Phil Beer |
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‘Phil is one of the most popular ambassadors for acoustic roots music. A dazzling instrumentalist, he is perhaps best known as a top-flight fiddler’ Whilst that may be the perception, I take issue with that statement. I didn’t write it. I’m very good at what I do. The trick is to design what you do in order to accommodate your limitations. That’s why I don’t teach. I leave that to the pros. I’m too busy gigging or making albums anyway. How to describe yourself is a perpetual problem, the most onerous task being to big yourself up and exaggerate past exploits. I’ve now been ‘on the road’ for 45 years; I’m amazed I’m still standing. I’ve made hundreds of albums with bands/singers/ musicians and done gigs with them. Some are world famous, some you will never have heard of. The most pathetic thing is to see a musician’s CV that lists the people they’ve ‘worked with’ when they may just have been on the same bill, on the same day at some festival. Whilst I ache in the places I used to play (L Cohen!), I’m still up for what is about to happen, not what has been and gone. Hopefully, myself and my compatriots have still more to contribute before we shuffle off. This is why my catchphrase is: Phil Beer. Plays guitar and fiddle, sings a bit. Sums it up. |
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16 March 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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23 March 2022 |
Entrance £10 |
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Odette Michell |
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Odette Michell is an award-winning British folk singer-songwriter, guitarist and bouzouki player with a stunning new take on the acoustic tradition. She has a voice capable of demonstrating the finer points of both folk and traditional song with genuine craftsmanship. Things have been moving at something of a pace for Odette ever since she released her debut EP 'By Way of Night' in 2018. This showcased a bold and emerging talent within the British folk and acoustic music scene and garnered high praise, earning Odette her first national and international radio plays. In April 2019, Odette released her debut album ‘The Wildest Rose’. It features notable musical contributions from Phil Beer (one-half of multi-award-winning acoustic folk band Show of Hands), and Toby Shaer (Cara Dillon, Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys). The result is a compelling, highly impressive debut that both soars and impresses and the album has gained widespread acclaim. A dynamic live performer, Odette has performed alongside Show of Hands and Seth Lakeman, and has opened for folk legends Martin Carthy, Reg Meuross, Phil Beer, Boo Hewerdine and BBC R2 Folk Award nominees Ninebarrow amongst others. She is currently touring the UK in support of the new album, both solo and with her trio. |
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30 March 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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06 April 2022 |
Entrance £10 |
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Hunter Muskett |
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Chris George, Terry Hiscock and Doug Morter formed Hunter Muskett in 1969 whilst still at college. The band was lucky in having access to the clubs and colleges of London, including The Marquee and The Troubadour, where they were finally spotted.Decca Nova was a short-lived venture and albums on the label gained ‘collectable’ status; of these ‘Every Time You Move’ was the rarest. Finally in 2009, growing interest in the band’s music led Cherry Red records to release the first official CD of the album, featuring master tape quality, the original artwork and a 16-page booklet on the history of the band. “First reissue from new Cherry Red offshoot is a folk blast. This debut from little-known, but highly regarded folk trio Hunter Muskett is an underground gem. The opening title track lays out their stall perfectly: layers of acoustic guitars, a delicate beat and some lush vocal harmonising. This is a quintessentially English folk record that has waited a long time for the audience it deserves. Highly recommended.” - Jan Zarebs, Record Collector magazine. Their most recent release, ‘Unafraid and Sober’, features guest musicians and one track has lead vocals by Jacqui McShee. |
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13 April 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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20 April 2022 |
Entrance £5 |
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Singers’ Night |
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Our singers’ nights are open to anyone wishing to perform one or two acoustic items for the enjoyment of all. Each floor spot should take no more than 10 minutes. Our regular singers' nights are often well attended. Although the MC tries to accommodate all performers, this cannot be guaranteed on busy nights. If you are keen to perform, please arrive in good time and let the door person know. For the time being, we regret that we won’t be including the Tunes spot in our Singers’ nights. |
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27 April 2022 |
Entrance £12 |
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Wizz Jones |
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Acoustic Guitarist, Singer-Songwriter, Bluesman. “Inspired by hearing Big Bill Broonzy and Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Wizz Jones learnt his guitar licks from the likes of Davy Graham and Long John Baldry whilst playing in the coffee bars of London's Soho in the late 1950's. He then followed the time-honoured buskers' trail from the streets of Paris to the markets of Marrakech during the early 1960's and returned to Britain with a unique acoustic guitar style, an eclectic repertoire and a 'right hand worthy of Broonzy'! John Renbourn, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards have all named him as an important early influence and in May 2012 Bruce Springsteen opened his Berlin show with Wizz's song 'When I Leave Berlin'. Furthermore, in October 2019 Wizz was presented with a life-time achievement award at the BBC Radio Two Folk Awards held at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. After more than 60 years 'on the road' Wizz is now officially retired but most probably can still be persuaded to play a local gig, sometimes with his son Simeon on Sax, Flute and Harmonica.” |
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Important Information
Notice: Dorking Folk Club reserves the right to change, re-schedule or cancel events.