Songs & Tunes Night

 Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

“Sam Carter is a brilliant guitarist and songwriter who combines the observational with social comment and personal reflection”— Songlines

“Fans of acoustic music rejoice, the UK ‘s proud tradition of folk singer-songwriters is in safe hands.” — Guitarist Magazine

“Really wonderful” — Jools Holland

Midlands-born Sam Carter is a BBC Folk Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. Renowned for his lyrical storytelling, Uncut once described his songs as being “as penetrating as Richard Thompson’s best work”. For over 15 years, he has been stirring audiences from Camden to Canada, from major festivals to intimate clubs. Carter’s expressive fingerpicking led Jon Boden of Bellowhead to call him "the finest English-style fingerpicking guitarist of his generation," while Ivor Novello-winner Nitin Sawhney has praised his "killer voice."

With a discography that spans six solo albums and two releases with the folk-rock band False Lights, Carter’s music reflects a blend of traditional English folk, shape-note singing, and rock. Notable highlights in his career include a spellbinding performance on Later… with Jools Holland, where he played songs from his shape-note-inspired album The No Testament alongside renowned fiddler Sam Sweeney.

His latest album, the acclaimed Top 40 Folk Chart release Silver Horizon, cements his reputation as a skilful blender of ancient and modern, with songs that are impressionistic, dreamlike, and deeply human.

Sam Carter’s live performances are nothing short of captivating, filled with the raw honesty, humour, and skilled musicianship that underscore his standing as one of contemporary folk’s brightest talents.

Sam Carter website

 Long Time Travelling- official Video- YouTube

A Place to Call My Own- Live in Session- YouTube

This unique collaboration draws from the strengths of two of the UK’s most highly regarded folk acts: The Shackleton Trio and Christina Alden & Alex Patterson. With a shared passion for thoughtful songwriting and intricate arrangements, Kitewing brings a fresh and powerful voice to the contemporary folk scene, rooted in tradition but unafraid to explore new ground.

Kitewing brings together soaring harmonies and roaring fiddles, blending guitar, mandolin, and banjo to deliver songs steeped in stories of the sea, migration, and environmental struggle. At the heart of the band lies a deep connection to the natural world — its rhythms, its challenges, and its beauty. Energetic tune sets and evocative instrumentals thread through their performances, carrying audiences on a journey that is both grounded and uplifting.

For our December concert we are promised a 'festive show'; repertoire will be a mixture of traditional carols, self penned seasonal material with an environmental leaning, seasonal tunes, and re-workings of some East Anglian carols. There will also be a handful of material that is performed year round in the set.  

Kitewing on Facebook

Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

Tom and Jennifer will perform their celebrated show Bitter & Mild, as well as other material from their individual repertoires.

Bitter and Mild

Choruses! Ballads! Monologues! Potatoes!

Tom Kitching and Jennifer Reid present their new show, ‘Bitter and Mild’, a tongue-in-cheek celebration of their native North West of England, through songs, stories, and a skeletal horse.

"I feel the same about Bitter and Mild as I do about one of those wind turbines… Big big fan!" - Keith Donnelly

Flitting between timeless rural Cheshire and ever-changing industrial Manchester, ‘Bitter and Mild’ is a fast-paced, anarchic, singalong ramble and rant through those steadfast and vital traditions upon which we lean as we seek to make sense of the bewildering changes wrought by industrialisation and modernity: singing, dancing, drinking, making giant puppets out of expired farm animals.

Having appeared together in BBC costume drama, ‘The Gallows Pole’, and with a shared upbringing that included alarmingly heavy early exposure to the songs of Harry Boardman, and Gary and Vera Aspey, not to mention the explosive exploits of ‘Blaster’ Bates, something like this was bound to happen in the end.

Bitter & Mild promo video

Tom Kitching is an author and musician whose work explores the everyday connections between people and place. Born in Macclesfield, he learned to play fiddle in the Harrington Arms in Gawsworth and is a dedicated member of the Alderley Mummers play. With over 2000 gigs under his belt and a flourishing writing career, Tom is highly in demand as a fiddle player, speaker, performer, and teacher.

Jennifer performs Victorian and Georgian Lancashire dialect work song and broadside ballads sung on the streets of Manchester. After collaborating with Jeremy Deller at the Venice Biennale in 2015, she has performed internationally and locally to support communities to express their identity and heritage by understanding global capitalism through song. She performs, researches, collects, teaches, writes, sings and talks to make sure the tradition is preserved in a way that everyone can access.

Blurb coming soon...

Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

Blurb coming soon...

Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

Blurb coming soon...

Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

Blurb coming soon...

Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

Blurb coming soon...