Welcome to the Dorking Folk Club website and our programme page.
Membership can now be renewed for 2026 on the door when you attend.
We continue to have some restrictions in place following the Covid pandemic. Currently:
- People should not attend the club if they have any symptoms (no matter how mild) of any acute illness that could be Covid. These include symptoms associated with the common cold, flu, raised temperature and / or digestive upsets.
We will post updates here so please check the website regularly.
Please note that admission to the Club is by card payment only and that this is also the preferred method of payment at the bar.
For all evenings, doors open at 8pm and the entertainment commences at 8:30pm.
We cannot admit dogs or other pets to the Folk Club. Guide and assistance dogs are permitted and we would be grateful for advance warning of these.
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18 February 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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25 February 2026 Robb Johnson Entrance £13 Robb Jenner Johnson is a British musician and songwriter who has been called "one of the last genuinely political songwriters". He is known for his mix of political satire and wit. He has his own record label, Irregular Records, and has released more than 40 albums since 1985, either solo or in several collaborations. Come and hear him you will not be disappointed. |
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04 March 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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11 March 2026 North Sea Gas Entrance £13 North Sea Gas are a Scottish folk music trio founded in 1980. The current lineup is Dave Gilfillan, Grant Simpson and Ronnie MacDonald. The music includes their own compositions, as well as arrangements of traditional Celtic and worldwide songs. Most songs are in English, with some in Scots or Gaelic. We were fortunate to be able to book them. Guaranteed to be a great, lively, evening. |
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18 March 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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25 March 2026 Liz Simcock Entrance £13 Liz Simcock is a British singer-songwriter known for her autobiographical and emotive songs, who began gaining recognition in 1999 when she appeared on the "Playpen Album of New Acoustic Music" alongside artists like Eliza Carthy and Billy Bragg. She has a strong reputation for live performance and has been called one of the country's finest female singer-songwriters. A welcome return to the club. |
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Closed for Easter – club resumes on 8th April with a singers’ night. |
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08 April 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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15 April 2026 Pete Coe Entrance £13 Pete Coe has had more than 50 years of music making on the English folk scene. His contributions include traditional song research, song writing in traditional style, the founding of several seminal bands, plus solo and duo performances, dance calling, recording, field research and local folk activism. Together with his wife, Sue, he received the Gold Badge Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society for their outstanding contributions to folk dance, music or song. This will be a great unmissable gig. |
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22 April 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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29 April 2026 Clive Carroll Entrance £15 Clive earned a 1st Class Honours Degree in Composition and Guitar from the famed Trinity College of Music in London. He balanced his classical work with forays into the world of the steel string guitar and folk and blues music. He has toured and worked with guitar greats such as John Renbourn, John Williams, and Tommy Emmanuel. An evening with Clive is magical as he creates a sound world all his own, a signature blend of warmth and humour that belies his dazzling technical skill. His eclectic and wide-ranging compositions feature many influences mined from the delicate cadences of Elizabethan lute classics to hard hitting Delta Blues. A fantastic evening is promised to all who attend. |
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06 May 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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13 May 2026 Dan McKinnon Entrance £13 Dan learned his craft performing in coffeehouses, pubs, and bars during his early beginnings in Atlantic Canada. His rich baritone voice and command of phrasing, light and shade, bring to life the living tradition through finely crafted songs. He has toured widely in Canada, the USA and the UK. We are fortunate to have been able to book him during one of his trips to this country. Be part of welcoming him to Dorking Folk Club. |
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20 May 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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27 May 2026 Winter Wilson Entrance £13 This talented duo will give us songs derived from their take on literature and politics but they never get heavy or too preachy. Melodies are accessible and the instrumental backdrops subtle (just guitar/s or banjo with piano accordion). However, these instrumental elements sit perfectly with the often-hard-hitting lyrics and the duo’s voices, in harmony, prove the icing on the cake. As well as being thought-provoking and poignant, Winter Wilson can also do feisty and crowd-pleasing. So, come and be inspired and excited in a mixed evening of first-class entertainment. |
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03 June 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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10 June 2026 Opland and Freeman Entrance £13 Tania Opland and Mike Freeman are an acclaimed Anglo-Alaskan folk duo who have been performing together since 1995. They are known for their eclectic, multi-instrumental approach to folk music, including the hammered dulcimer, guitar, violin/viola, recorders, cittern, octave mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, Native American flute, and various percussion instruments. Tania Williams is recognised for her stunning gentle strong vocals; Mike Freeman adds irreverent humour to their amazing performances. These two are not to be missed. |
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17 June 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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24 June 2026 Keith Donnelly Entrance £13 Keith has been described as “the funniest thing to happen to folk music since the banjo!”. (Apologies to all banjo players) He has also been described as “a great singer songwriter, a stunning storyteller, a fine guitarist and the world’s cleanest comic”. So, a fun evening great musicianship and witty songs in prospect and it would be safe to bring your maiden aunt. |
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01 July 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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08 July 2026 Ian Brown Entrance £13 Ian is a UK-based folk singer-songwriter, manager from the New Forest. He is a former pig farmer and is known for his comedic, story-driven songs and work with artists like Fisherman's Friends and Show of Hands. He co-wrote Sand Thom’s number one single “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker”. He also co-wrote the lead song from the long running West End Show “Dream Boats and Petticoats”. He is a not the front man of The Stone Roses as is sometimes suggested but rather is often found in playing folk clubs and at festivals in the South West and North of England. And tonight, he is with us. Those who saw him last time he played the club will no doubt want to see him again. Why not join them, you will not be disappointed. |
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15 July 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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22 July 2026 Huw Williams Entrance £15 Huw is a singer-songwriter from the South Wales market town of Brynmawr, and in the 1990’s he was known for his duo with Tony Williams (no relation). Their songs were covered by many other artists in Europe and the US, and they had a close association with Ralph McTell and Fairport Convention, both of whom championed their music. Huw and Tony developed a large fan base and toured theatres and festivals, performing one final tour in 2001. Since then, Huw has continued to tour as a solo performer, and some of his most well-known songs include “The Summer Before the War”, “Rosemary’s Sister” and “I Can Jump Puddles”. You will be in for an evening of foot-tapping melodies, deeply moving songs and hilarious humour. |
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29 July 2026 Singers’ Night Entrance £5 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. |
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Summer break – club resumes on 9th September with a singers’ night. |
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