From: Folk in the Barn [debs_at_folkinthebarn_dot_co_dot_uk]
Sent: 19 March 2010 12:02
Subject: The longest ever mailout - but worth it I promise!

Hi Everyone

Sorry to interrupt your training for the Sport relief mile this weekend, but if you're taking a break, why not print off this letter - Yes its a very long one..! find a cosy corner, get yourself a cup of tea and chocolate hob nob and indulge in all the treats we have to offer you this Spring - Summer.
After hours and hours of wheeling and dealing behind the scenes, I can now announce the full Programme up to July, after which we take our Summer break. Most of the dates you already know, but in addition I can confirm that on the 6th June - in the Kingston Barn - we have Flossie Malavialle (ong he hong!) (you have to read that in a French accent for it to make any sense, those that know Flossie will understand!) AND NOW ALSO....the brilliant Keith Donnelly. What can I say about these two - that they don't say about themselves! They are indeed the best new duo since Shrek and Donkey, Kermit and Miss Piggy, John Noakes and Shep! More fun than Homer and Marge, Eric and Ernie, Charles and Camilla!!! What!?? ...More entertaining than Sooty and Sweep, The Chuckle Brothers, B & Q, What what!!?? ..Who wrote this? not me - I hasten to add! More musical than Rodgers and Hammerstein (surely not), Pinky and Perky (sacrilage - I loved those puppet pigs, I have all their singles) Chas and Dave. Anyway you get the idea. They are both very lovely funny people, they can't help it. An evening with them will leave you feeling sooo happy, you'll never be miserable again. Coupled with the fact that they are also very fine musicians. Keith is an amazing writer - of great wit and sensitivity, and Flossie's voice - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Flossie's voice, you could fall in love with Flossie's voice, in fact I (and many others) already have. As you know - all the artists we book are amazing and I look forward to all the gigs, but this one, will be extra special. They're already booked for Cropredy, I predict huge things for these two. Come and see them now while their tickets are still affordable! They will be doing a solo set each before ending the evening performing together as a duo. They've recently supported Fairport on their winter tour, but this will be a chance to have a whole evening of them all to ourselves and I can't wait.
If that's not enough to enhance June. On the 30th - which is a Wednesday - I know, sorry, but it was that or nothing - we've got Mr Knightley himself. Steve Knightley to be precise - giving a very rare completely solo performance. This is going to be in the intimate venue - St Gregory's Church at Christ Church University. (Where we had Megson last year). Limited spaces available so early booking advised, as for all the Barn gigs too. Steve Knightley - in case you don't know (where have you been?) is probably the top folk/roots singer songwriter in the Country today. As one half of Award winning folk duo/trio Show of Hands, he has consistantly produced music that more and more people are identifying with. Highlighting rural, social and human issues in a very thought provoking and compelling way. Did you see him and Phil on BBC Breakfast recently with Sian and Bill? Here's a link if you missed it news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/8522064.stm Great voice, great songs and a powerful presence, tickets will fly for this one, don't miss it.
The complete FitB programme March - July 2010

Mar 26th (27th Sold out) Martyn Joseph (only 10 tickets left for the Friday night now, Sat already sold out) Kingston Barn, nr Canterbury £16 ‘Britain’s Best Kept Secret’ ... Mojo
April 30th Show of Hands
Standing Room Only Tour 2010
Quarterhouse, Folkestone £15 / £12 concs (Ring the theatre to book 01303 858500) Supported by Ruarri Joseph
2010 Best Duo and Original Song BBC R2 Folk Awards

May 14th Gigspanner
Kingston Barn, nr Canterbury £12
Peter Knight’s Spellbinding Trio

May 27th Fairport Acoustic Convention
Canterbury Cathedral ISC £17.50 / £15.50 concs Supported by Graham Landi One of the greatest live bands on todays circuit.
June 6th Flossie Malavialle & Keith Donnelly Kingston Barn, nr Canterbury £12 The best new duo since.....Shrek & Donkey!
June 30th Steve Knightley
St Gregory’s Centre for Music, Canterbury £16 Uk’s top singer-songwriter and Show of Hand
July 3rd Cara Dillon
St Mary’s Church, Sandwich £18 / £16 concs Supported by Lucy Kitt ‘A stunningly beautiful voice’..Mojo

Full details on www.folkinthebarn.co.uk All gigs open for booking now. All except Show of Hands at Quarterhouse can be booked through me. Either email to reserve then Cheque in the post with SAE to confirm Or - book online with credit card here ... www.wegottickets.com/searchresults/promoter

Please include your phone number when emailing to book. I know you may have given it to me before, but it's so much easier if I haven't got to search back for it. I always ask for a phone number in case of any problems on the gig day resulting in cancellation and me having to contact everybody to avoid a wasted journey. Obviously I would do a mailout if there was time, so please check your inbox before leaving home. Unless you're one of those ultra trendy, up to date types that has a Blueberry!! (not me sadly)
The lovely Lucy Kitt is going to be opening for Cara on 3 July.
At the Gigspanner concert on 14th May, Barry Howard from the Talkawhile Forum will be presenting Peter Knight with his Hancock Award for Best Musician. We are very honoured to be hosting this special occasion.
I have one cancellation for the Martyn Joseph workshop on Saturday 27th March. Email me if you're interested, details below....
The workshop is aimed at everybody, not just musicians. It is non participatory, though if you have your own writings or recordings you are welcome to bring them to show Martyn. In part one he will be discussing the tools of his craft, how he creates his unique sound. Also his inspirations and approach to song writing, different ways of expression. He has always joked that his guitar is his 'cheap psychiatrist' , he'll explain what that means. In part two there will be a chance for questions from the audience, so come prepared if there is something you've always wanted to ask. Martyn is charismatic and gracious and a great raconteur, even if you have no interest in the technical side of his craft, I can assure you it will be a fascinating insight into this amazing mans life and work. It is an exclusive event to us, there are no plans to hold any more this year in the UK.
From 11.45am - arrival at The Black Robin, Kingston
12 noon - cold buffet lunch served - tea and coffee included. 12.50pm a short walk or drive up to the Kingston Barn.
1pm Workshop Part 1
2pm Tea break
2.20pm Workshop Part 2
Finishing by 3.30pm

The cost of the workshop is £32 (Thats for three and a half hours, including lunch) The package price for a concert performance plus workshop is a discounted £45



Other news...

One local notice for anyone in the Sevenoaks area...
3 Daft Monkeys are playing at The Crown in Otford, just outside Sevenoaks, on Friday 19 March (tonight) If you mention you read about it here, Keith will give you a discount. Ring him on 07798 767770 Details www.brandywinemusic.co.uk Go if you can, I've seen them, they're great.


Simon Rowan is the winner of our best Beth Nielsen Chapman review. He wins a free entry to another Folk in the Barn gig. See what you think for yourself... It took me right back to that wonderful evening. Thanks Simon.
"As a relative new comer to Beth Neilson Chapman, again thanks is due entirely to Deb’s introduction. After hearing just one album, I’ve never waited so eagerly for a gig. I bought the new one and got completely hooked from the opening song, her own Hallelujha (not the Cohen one) which she opened with at the concert. In fact having opened with what I had thought were her two strongest songs, I was wondering how she could spend the rest of the evening topping them. Nooooo worries. Amazingly, she just did.
In another treasure trove of FITB venues St Mary’s Church, Sandwich was in many ways absolutely the right one to be spell bound by such a captivating songstress, who declared that we were ‘her people’, to which we instantly, unanimously, very willingly submitted. Marcus Hummon opened the show with a few of his own songs that were introduced to us by way of mentioning a much revered icon of Nashville, Darrel Scott. Much to his disconsolence none of us had a clue who he was talking about. Beth and Martin, out of the shadows, lent their support before the break.
When Beth started her set, she reaffirmed the importance of Scott, also to her music, but this time the audience wickedly, whooped and whistled approval at fake recognition for the infamous Nashville producer/songwriter they had never heard of. Marcus generously played the fall guy, quipping ‘now you’re just being mean’ at the audiences delirious reception of Beth’s third reference to Scott. Maartin’s Allcock’s divine fretless bass escorted the songs fluidly from departure to destination and Marcus accompanied on guitar and vocals with the attention and concentration of a guardian angel anxious to be assured that the audience fully realised they were in the presence of his American National treasure.
The Dylan story was both hilarious and fascinating. Beth was about to embark on her first album with the same producer Bob had just finished making “After The Flood’ with. That alone would make many a new young artist quake. She was shown to the same room where Dylan had slept. Had the same bed and the same ash tray. The sheets had presumably been changed but the ash tray was still full of butts. Beth confessed to straightening out one of his cigarettes, lighting it and then incredibly, ringing her husband. “Hi darling, you’ll never guess, but I’m lying in Dylan’s bed smoking one of his cigarettes.......” Now I guess this is the fundamental difference between blokes and dames, but had it been a bloke in a similar situation after the leading female artist had just departed, ringing the wife would not have been top of the list of things to do. Probably would have adopted the Basil Fawlty route of inventing a false alibi for a situation that was never going to ocurr. Anything but the truth! (No? Just me then!)
Mcartney once querried whether the world needed more silly love songs in one of his more banal hits, and the truth is, there isn't a need for more banal, meaningless love songs thanks Macca. The truth is, the world is in very great need of more love songs and Beth writes about love in songs in an entirely meaningful way, hitherto, escaping most other songwriters. Half the songs of the new Back to Love album (for heaven sake get it, if you haven't already, a zillion stars at least) have love in the title, but each dealing with love in a different way. If it's not in the title, love will feature in the song in some way. Particular poignant for me is the mega seriously beautiful ‘How We Love’, more or less the exact words an aunt told me just before she passed away, a parting piece of advice to success in life and she knew a thing or two. All that really matters is, ‘How We Love’ being all powerfull and all important, one of many favourites of the evening. An extraordinary career and life, the occupier of which has delved deep to endure and emerged with serene calm, joy and love, transmitted through her craft of sublime songwriting in a voice more than equal to any female artist I’ve enjoyed in many a long year of listening to live performance."
Simon Rowan.




Hello? ... are you still with me? ...WELL DONE, top marks for endurance! One last little titbit. For those that have heard me going on about our home-bred Fibbers band - Homage (Dave Bob and Steve) They have now evolved into 'The Acoustic Architects' and have a new video release www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRR3DqqcGb8 Produced by local film wiz Anton French. Check it out and leave them a comment, I'm sure they'd love to hear what you think.
All the previously annouced dates are selling very well. Thanks so much, I'm deluged with bookings and will get those tickets out to you asap. It's a fantastic response, I'm so glad you're continuing to support this music.
THE VERY END AT LAST

Thanks for reading

Debs

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