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Leigh Folk Festival
Leigh Folk Festival is an annual music and arts festival, established in 1992 as part of National Music Day (UK), and is held at indoor and outdoor venues in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. The festival is known for being the largest free folk festival in the United Kingdom and it takes place on the last weekend in June. It has an eclectic mix of music programming and a wide definition of what might be considered folk. It is registered as a UK charity, devoted to "further ngpublic education and understanding of traditional and contemporary folk arts including: Music, Dance, Spoken word (poetry and storytelling)". The festival typically takes place on the last weekend in June, and follows the format of a series of evening concerts on Thursday and Friday, with a celebration of music in Leigh Library Gardens and the immediate surrounding area on Saturday, with curated music throughout Old Leigh on Sunday. In 2020, the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Will Varley was due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Music Day (UK)
Music Day UK, formerly National Music Day and National Music Festival, is the name for the British component of the annual celebrations of music that takes place around the world on 21 June. Originally launched in 1992, it was the idea of The Rolling Stones's musician Mick Jagger and Tim Renton MP, the at the time Minister of State for the Arts, it ran until 1997. After an unofficial hiatus Music Day UK was formed and is the organisation that has been coordinating UK events since 2012. The concept of an all-day musical celebration on the day of the solstice was originated in 1982 by the French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang and France continues it under its original name of ''Fête de la Musique''. It was this event that inspired the UK incarnation. Origins The British National Music Day was the idea of The Rolling Stones's musician Mick Jagger and Tim Renton MP, the at the time Minister of State for the Arts, and launched on 12 February 1992 at a press conference at the Royal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally as the Young Men's Christian Association, and aims to put Christian values into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit". From its inception, it grew rapidly and ultimately became a worldwide movement founded on the principles of muscular Christianity. Local YMCAs deliver projects and services focused on youth development through a wide variety of youth activities, including providing athletic facilities, holding classes for a wide variety of skills, promoting Christianity, and humanitarian work. YMCA is a non-governmental federation, with each independent local YMCA affiliated with its national organization. The national organizations, in turn, are part of both an Area Alliance (Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirley Collins
Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on piano and portative organ created unique settings for Shirley's plain, austere singing style. Biography Early life Shirley Collins was born in Hastings, East Sussex, England on 5 July 1935. She grew up, with her older sister Dolly, in the area, in a family which kept alive a great love of traditional song. Songs learnt from their grandfather and from their mother's sister, Grace Winborn, were to be important in the sisters' repertoire throughout their career. On leaving school, at the age of 17, Collins enrolled at a teachers' training college in Tooting, south London. In London she also involved herself in the early folk revival, making her first appearance on vinyl on the 1955 compilation ''Folk Song Today''. In 1954, at a party hos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copper Family
The Copper Family are a family of singers of traditional, unaccompanied English folk song. Originally from Rottingdean, near Brighton, Sussex, England, the nucleus of the family now live in the neighbouring village of Peacehaven. The family first came to the attention of folklorists in the late nineteenth century and received wider attention during the folk revival of the 1960s. They have a unique style of harmonised a capella singing, which is in stark contrast to the typical style of solo singing found among English folk singers. It is unknown whether this style is a remnant of something that was once popular, or if it is a unique phenomenon. Unlike many traditional singers, the family wrote down their own songs. Their unusual singing style has been passed down through several generations along with their huge repertoire of local songs. History The Copper family has lived in Rottingdean since the sixteenth century, where they have worked as farm bailiffs, publicans, police ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Missing Andy
Missing Andy is a British mod-influenced band based in Essex. The group comprises Alex Greaves, Jonathan Sharpe, Rob Jones, Steve Rolls, and Elliot Richardson. The band's debut single "The Way We're Made (Made In England)" reached number 38 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the UK Indie Chart in September 2010, after their status was confirmed as runners-up in Sky1's television talent competition, ''Must Be The Music''. Their debut digital only single "The Greatest Show On Earth - Act I" was released on 4 October 2010, with four tracks. It is said to be part of a compilation of an unspecified number of singles. Missing Andy have released three studio albums (''Generation Silenced'', ''Guerrilla Invasion Pt. 1'' and ''Guerrilla Invasion Pt. 2''). History 2008–11: Early years Missing Andy were good friends when they formed to make a band in 2008. They played in local pubs and clubs in Essex, and gained some popularity on the internet, both through Facebook popularity, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Digance
Richard Digance (pronounced DYE-jance; born 24 February 1949) is an English comedian and folk singer. Early life Digance was born in Plaistow, East London. After his family moved to nearby East Ham, he attended Vicarage Lane Primary School and then Thomas Lethaby Secondary Modern. After gaining two A-Level passes in English Literature and Modern British History, he moved to Glasgow, where he studied mechanical engineering during which time he was inspired by Billy Connolly. Career In the 1970s, he toured the United States. Though failing to make much of a name, he supported Steve Martin, whilst in Britain he also supported Jethro Tull on two British tours, Steeleye Span, Tom Jones, Elkie Brooks, Supertramp and Joan Armatrading. From 1974-78 Doug Morter, guitarist and singer with Hunter Muskett joined Digance as accompanist on vocals and guitar. Richard Digance began his TV career on Sound of The City for Thames TV, produced by Richard Newman, in the early 1970s. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stick In The Wheel
Stick in the Wheel are a band with its origins in working-class East London, UK. It consists of vocalist and artist Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter, their producer, arranger and Dobro player. They bring a contemporary approach to folk music with raw minimalism, setting vocals to simple accompaniments and handclaps, along with progressive synths and beats informed by the street music of their heritage. History Early EPs Stick in the Wheel was formed by Ian Carter, Nicola Kearey and Rachel Thomas Davies, who had previously worked together on other projects including the dubstep group Various. The group recorded their debut EP, ''EP1'', in their kitchens. Davies moved to Wales in 2013, at which point Nicola Kearey took on all the main vocals and Fran Morter was recruited.Interview: Stick in the Wheel M Maga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Owl Service (band)
The Owl Service is an English alternative folk music collective formed in 2006 by multi-instrumentalist Steven Paul Collins (who has led the band for its entire duration), named after the 1967 novel by Alan Garner. History The Owl Service originally began as a studio-based solo project for Steven Collins in June 2006. While working on the first Owl Service release (the Wake the Vaulted Echo EP from 2006) he met Dom Cooper of The Straw Bear Band who was drafted in to provide lead vocals on the song The Two Magicians. Dom remained involved with The Owl Service until March 2012 singing, writing songs, and co-ordinating the band's graphic design. The Wake the Vaulted Echo EP was warmly received in psych-folk circles and this led to Collins being asked to record a track for the 2007 compilation album John Barleycorn Reborn on the Cold Spring label (for which he also contributed sleeve notes). For the JBR album Steven recorded the traditional song The North Country Maid with session ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerry Andrew
Kerry Andrew (born 5 April 1978) is an English composer, performer and author. She has a PhD in Composition from the University of York and is the winner of four British Composer Awards. Her debut novel, ''Swansong'', was published by Vintage in January 2018 and her second ''Skin'' was published by Jonathan Cape in 2021 She was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2018. Career From age 3 to age 6, Andrew lived in Canada with her family. The family subsequently returned to the UK and settled in the Buckinghamshire area. Andrew earned a BA in Music, MA and PhD in Composition, all from the University of York. Andrew was Composer in Residence at Handel House Museum during 2010-12, and was Visiting Professor of Music at Leeds College of Music in 2015-16 and 2017-18. She won her first British Composer Award in the Making Music Category in 2010 for her choral work 'Fall', and won two awards in 2014, in the Stage Works category for her wild swimming chamber opera 'D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dagenham Girl Pipers
The Dagenham Girl Pipers are a female pipe band based in Dagenham, Greater London. The band was founded in 1930, and toured extensively as a professional organisation before and after the Second World War, with several members performing during the war for the Entertainments National Service Association. It is now an amateur band under the leadership of pipe major Sheila Hatcher. History The band was formed in 1930 by Revd Joseph Waddington Graves, the minister of Osborne Hall Congregational church. He chose 12 girls from the Sunday school with an average age 11, and they had their first practice on 4 October under the direction of Pipe Major Douglas Scott-Taylor. The girls were initially taught in secret, as Taylor thought teaching women would damage his reputation. The band's first performance was 18 months later, to an audience of journalists, who filmed the event. The band wore the Royal Stewart tartan. By 1933 some of the girls had reached the school leaving age of 14 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trembling Bells
Trembling Bells were a Scottish folk rock group formed in 2008 by drummer Alex Neilson, a musician with a history of free and improvised playing with several artists. Based in Glasgow, the group released three albums through Honest Jon's Records. A fourth, ''The Sovereign Self'', was released on 29 June 2015, followed by an EP in 2016, both on Tin Angel Records. Their last album, ''Dungeness'', was released in March 2018. In September 2018, frontwoman Lavinia Blackwall announced she was leaving the band after 10 years. Following a further run of gigs, the band announced they were to split, with members focussing on their individual projects. Career Neilson had previously collaborated with early music vocalist and musician Lavinia Blackwall, in the free improvisation folk music project, Directing Hand. Neilson gathered a group from members of his previous musical projects, consisting of bassist Simon Shaw (formerly of Lucky Luke) and guitarist Ben Reynolds along with occasional pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as Richard Thompson, since he emerged as a young musician in the early days of the folk revival in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. Early life He was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, and grew up in Hampstead, North West London. His mother was an active socialist and his father, from a family of Thames lightermen, went to grammar school and became a trade unionist and a councillor for Stepney at the age of 21. Martin's father had played fiddle and guitar as a young man but Martin was unaware of this connection to his folk music heritage until much later in life. His vocal and musical training began when he became a chorister at the Queen's Chapel of The Savoy. He picked up his father's old guitar for the first time after hearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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