KentFolk News April 2007

Following on from the bad news about the planned closure of the Royal Theatre Margate (now to be closed for 6 months - 01843 293877), some good news from the Astor Theatre Deal - see below in the Venues section for an excellent season of gigs there throughout 2007.

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ...
recognise that music and dance should not be restricted by burdensome licensing regulations." :

An increasingly fast erosion of pubs in Kent, but the music seems to be hanging on in there, with some potential new venues being tried out.
What is your perception of the effects of the new licencing laws ? In particular, how do they seem to be affecting the music ?
There is an official e-petition regarding these laws, see the entry in the Jobs, Auditions, Funding + Licencing section, as well as this text below.

This e-petition shows signs of being a possibly very influential petition - the number who have signed are growing rapidly - when the letter was sent by Doug Bailey the petition had accummulated 2,800 signatures, and was in position 19 - as of Sunday evening, 4th February, with 7,738 signatures and in position 12 - in mid March it had over 50,000 signatures, and was in position 3 - now in mid April it has nearly 70,000 signatures and is in position 2. So please keep up the impetus and go sign it if you have not already.

The Live Music Forum (LMF) was established in 2004 following the passage of the Licensing Act, 2003, to monitor the impact of the Act on live music, and to promote live music performance. It comprises representatives from across the industry and non- commercial sectors, as well as local government and the hospitality industry.

The Department for culture media and sport, in association with the Live Music Forum contracted Ipsos-MORI in July 2006 to carry out a survey focused on the experience of smaller venues in applying for new licenses following the introduction of the new Licensing Act 2003. The research brief and the resultant reports are discussed on the department's website.

If you like live music - as opposed to just canned and pre-prepared entertainment, which is un-regulated - and believe that live music and dancing should not be treated as though they were dangerous to the public, then this e-petition to the prime minister is your chance to make your views known : http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/

For the monent, if you want to put on nearly any form of musical or entertainment event - even for charity, or in a school - then, for single events you probably need to fill in a Temporary Events Notice (TEN) form, pay £21, and tell the police.
The Temporary Events Notice (TEN) forms should be available from your local area council - for Canterbury, go to their page on : Serving A Temporary Events Notice, and download the form.

Fiddlers Various 2007 - Tommy Peoples : Master Irish fiddler Tommy Peoples from Donegal has accepted an invitation from KentFolk to visit the South East of England in the Summer of 2007, as a Fiddlers Various special event. Tommy will hold an all-day fiddle workshop at the Lewes Arms, Lewes, near Brighton, Sussex, on Saturday 9th June, 2007, and then give an evening concert. The following day, on Sunday 10th June, 2007, Tommy Peoples will come to Kent, and hold a full afternoon's workshop at the excellent Littlebourne Thatched Barn, near Canterbury, followed by an evening concert. Further Information and Tickets.

Saskia Tomkins and Steafan Hannigan are current and recent All Britain Fleadh winners for Fiddle (Slow Air), Uilleann Pipes, Flute, Whistle, and Bodhran.

On Sunday 1st April: Saskia Tomkins held a fiddle workshop, and Steafan Hannigan held whistle and bodhran workshops, as part of a long weekend of music :

On Sunday 1st April: a Session in the Anchor, Faversham. was packed, and the session was really cooking all evening.

On Monday 2nd April: a Concert in the Littlebourne War Memorial Hall, Littlebourne, Nr. Canterbury was excellent, with many people commenting since about how much they had enjoyed it.

Saskia Tomkins fiddle workshop outside barn

Session in Anchor Inn, Faversham

Saskia Tomkins & Steafan Hannigan - Concert

A fuller set of photos are at : www.kentfolk.com/gig_reports/2007/2007-04-01to02_Saskia-Tomkins+Steafan-Hannigan/

Selling individual MP3 tracks over the web :
For some time KentFolk has been using PayPal to sell local musician's CDs. A new technology that I have wanted for some time, is now in place: - KentFolk can now sell individual MP3 tracks, either directly from the KentFolk web pages, with paynent by CC or PayPal, or via the highly respected eFolkMusic in the USA.

If you are a band that would like to sell your tracks over the web, and of course this is particularly good for both CDs that have all sold out, as well as new tracks that are not yet on a CD, then please email me : Beau@KentFolk.com

I am limited in my time available to "turn the handle" on these, but will do what I can. As a preliminary offering, the 2003 Deal LifeBoat House shanty recording now has a few tracks on the web - all net profit to the NLRI, after the CC/PayPal deductions.

Multi-level directories of News :
Do keep sending me news and items for both the calendar and this news section - now that I have built this new format news section things are flowing much easier.
Please see the info at the bottom of the news pages for guidance as to good formats to send me news items for these pages, and for event listings for the calendars.
cheers, Beau.