Drafts ~ for Updates page ~Keeping Folk In Touch 

www.folklife.uk/drafts for news & listings
(1) Journal, (2) Directory, (3) Folk News from Folklife members, & from International readers
(1) Folklife Traditions Journal:  Updates 
(2) Online Directory:  Updates
(3) News Updates: from Folklife members, and from International readers
Cheap publicity (from £9/year!) in Folklife West print magazine and  on this webpage + the fortnightly Updates emails
"WORK IN PROGRESS"  page  -- to be confirmed, or to be edited by us.
Updates, emailed roughly every 2 weeks, on a Sunday/Mon/Tues
    THESE ARE ONLY DRAFTS (eg listings suggested by us, on basis of websites).
For your information, believed to be correct, but wording may change.  Not confirmed until moved to Your Updates page!
      
Draft listings are for the  benefit  of  those wanting to be listed, so they can see how they look. 
Typically, I'll copy an unrelated entry & then overwrite that. This may be typed up live, so change line by line, as typed!  
For more details of  🄵 Folklife members (UK & International), Ø Associate members, see  Folklife West.
We also list in Directory, free, 🅄 other UK Updates-signups,  🄹 Folklife Traditions Journal other subscribers/contributors. ØØ International Updates-signups who aren't Members can send Updates news but not included in Folklife West.
Mainly Wales, West Country & West Midlands; but all areas, UK and International, are most welcome!
  • Updates (1) Folklife Traditions Journal magazine ~ researched articles. Updates news from organisations & researchers.  (Journal updates tend to go straight to Updates, without drafts below)
  • Updates (2)  Folklife's online Directory ~ Venues, Performers, Services ~ free entries, open to all, no deadlines, send any time.
  • Updates (3) Folklife West magazine ~ Folk News from our Members, & world readers on our "Updates" email list. (news updates tend to go straight to Updates, without drafts below)
(1) Folklife Traditions Journal:  Updates 
Traditional Song Forum   - from the TSF Newsletter 128, May 2025   - copied to Updates
(2) Online Directory:  Updates

DIRECTORY ~ Venues

⊕ = more details section: up to 40 words

Recent now confirmed, so moved to Updates webpage
VENUES, WEST COUNTRY
Gloucestershire
VENUES, WEST MIDLANDS
Herefordshire
Worcestershire
VENUES, EAST MIDLANDS
Derbyshire
Leicestershire
VENUES, YORKSHIRE & THE HUMBER
North Yorkshire
VENUES, CANADA
ONTARIO 
VENUES, USA
SOUTH CAROLINE 

DIRECTORY ~ Performers / Perfformwyr

For PERFORMERS, list order is by category, then by county, and then by first name.
Pf.1 Folk Music & Song ~ Pf.1a Music/Song - Bands/Groups (incl. Choirs, Quires, Community Bands), Pf.1b Duos, Pf.1c Solo, Pf.1d Shanty
Pf.2 Folk Dance ~ Pf.2a Folk Dance Callers, Pf.2b Folk Dance Bands, Pf.2c Ceremonial & Display (Clog, Morris, Sword)
Pf.3 Spoken Word ~ Pf.3a Folk Shows, Theatre, Mummers, Pf.3b Poetry & Monologuists, Pf.3c Storytellers
Pf.4 Workshop-Providers.   Folklife Members' current workshops listed in 🄵🅆 Festivals & Workshops Diary  www.folklife.uk/festivals
Perfformwyr: Cymru • Performers: Wales
Pf.1  CERDDORIAETH A CHÂN.
Pf.1c Unawd. 
⊕ Yn blentyn ymennydd y brodor o Orllewin Cymru Owen Shiers, mae’r Cynefin hwn yn brosiect mapio cerddorol sy’n olrhain llinell o’r gorffennol i’r presennol – gan ddechrau yn Nyffryn Clettwr lle magwyd Owen, ymgolli yng ngherddoriaeth Cymru.

Pf.1   FOLK MUSIC & SONG. 
⊕ [then up to 40 words - this is 38 ]
The brain-child of West Wales native Owen Shiers, this Cynefin § is a musical mapping project which traces a line from the past to the present – starting in the Clettwr Valley where Owen grew up, immersed in Welsh music.

§ Cynefin, 'kuh-neh-vin', a Welsh word with no direct equivalent in English, is a journey to discover.   Often translated into English as ‘habitat’, but more than a place in a physical or geographical sense; it's a historic, cultural and social place which has shaped and continues to shape the community which inhabits it.   The word has been included as a core concept within the Schools Curriculum for Wales.  Originally, it meant a habitual sheep-track.  ~ Editor.

Performers
Pf.1 FOLK MUSIC & SONG ~ Pf. 1a groups
Worcestershire-based   (now confirmed & on Updates page)

Pf.1 FOLK MUSIC & SONG ~ Pf. 1b duos now on updates page
Performers

Pf.1 FOLK MUSIC & SONG ~ Pf. 1d Shanty
Gloucestershire-based
🄵 Glos The GLOUCESTER DIAMONDS www.facebook.com/TheGloucesterDiamonds/
⇒ Email: rodpenlington<at>aol.com, gillbowmer<at>aol.com
⊕ [Below, up to 40 words brief discussion – this is 40] 
With founder Rod Penlington, on guitar, and Flash (AKA Les Griffiths) more vocals. Rod is very well known for powerful sea shanties, traditional and contemporary ballads and humorous songs, and Flash is a well known character on the folk scene.   [May 2025, new members]
Pf.2 FOLK DANCE ~ Pf.2b Folk Dance Bands   AND    Pf.2 FOLK DANCE ~ Pf.2c Ceremonial & Display (Clog, Morris, Sword)
(now confirmed & on Updates page)

DIRECTORY ~ Services; Media

SERVICES
S.2 Agents, Managers, Promoters, MCs and Stage Management
England West Midlands
Now confirmed & on Updates webpage


MEDIA
1) Online and/or Print? - NAME - main website (or facebook if no website)
Yorkshire - Media
Online      SHEFFIELD FOLK GUIDE  https://sheffieldfolkguide.org.uk
2) ⇒ [contact, social media] 
Sheffield-based. Kathy Barnes, sheffieldfolkguide<at>gmail.com  Monthly emailed list of the events on website, to receive list, simply email.
Follow on social media for a weekly what’s on list every Tuesday: Bluesky @sheffieldfolkguide; Instagram @sheffieldfolkguide; Threads @sheffieldfolkguide; Twitter X @shefFolkGuide; Mastodon SheffieldFolkGuideKathy@folksocial.org; Facebook Sheffield Folk Guide,
3) ⊕ [up to 40 words details] (this is 40)
Sharing information about folk and traditional music events happening in Sheffield including gigs, ceilidhs, sessions, sings. To include events, or to update information, please get in touch. Free service run on a voluntary basis to connect event organizers and audiences.
MEDIA
M.5   Print & online folk magazine & listings. ~ Those which cover all of GB, or all of England, or GB-based with International coverage
  • Recent now confirmed, so moved to Updates webpage
MEDIA
North-West - Media
1) Online and/or Print? - NAME - main website (or facebook if no website)
2) ⇒ [contact, social media] 
3) ⊕ [up to 40 words details] (this is 37)
  • Original photos of musicians, plus North West England what's on guides, folk music on the radio and magazine details.
MEDIA
S.4 Design: including website design & services, print, illustration
1) Online and/or Print? - NAME - main website (or facebook if no website)
2) ⇒ [contact, social media] 
  • Roger Liptrot, folkimagesuk<at>yahoo.co.uk.  Original photos of musicians. Plus North West England what's on guides, folk music on the radio and magazine details (see Media pagefor details)
3) ⊕ [up to 40 words details] (this is 37)
  • Original photos of musicians, plus North West England what's on guides, folk music on the radio and magazine details.


  • Roger Liptrot, folkimagesuk@yahoo.co.uk. Original photos of musicians. Plus North West England what's on guides, folk music on the radio and magazine details (see Media page for details)
  • Original photos of musicians, an extensive collection over many years, with an A to Z index of artists and other photos.


MEDIA
Yorkshire - Media
1) Online and/or Print? - NAME - main website (or facebook if no website)
2) ⇒ [contact, social media] 
  • Kathy Barnes, sheffieldfolkguide<at>gmail.com Monthly emailed list of the events on website: to receive list, simply email.
    Follow on social media for a weekly what’s on list every Tuesday: Bluesky @sheffieldfolkguide; Instagram @sheffieldfolkguide; Threads @sheffieldfolkguide; Twitter X @shefFolkGuide; Facebook Sheffield Folk Guide.
3) ⊕ [up to 40 words details] (this is 40)
  • The website has a what’s on list of folk and traditional music gigs, ceilidhs etc and workshops in Sheffield, venue and folk club information, links to Sheffield carols and sessions website. Free to use and have events included. 
(3) News Updates: from Folklife members, and from International readers
Cheap publicity (from £9/year!) in Folklife West print magazine and  on this webpage + the fortnightly Updates emails

NEWS draft

NEWS  - report from SOUTH CAROLINA
Toronto Correspondent  Keith Price enjoyed a visit to the Ole Irish Pub where The Blarney Pilgrims run a once a month folk evening.  John Plunkett of the Blarney Pilgrims kindly agreed to write about his area:
       The “Grand Strand” of South Carolina (the coast from historic Georgetown to the North Carolina border) is somewhat lacking in a traditional music scene. Charleston has more musical variety; the barn jams at Awendaw Green (www.awendawgreen.com/barn-jams.html) have some local and touring folk acts. The further towards the mountains you go, the more traditional music you can hear. Places like Hagood Mill (https://visithagoodmill.com/third-saturday-events/) offer folk and bluegrass jams and performances. 
       I was exposed to American folk and Celtic music at an early age thanks to my parents’ musical tastes. I had fiddle lessons for a few years as a youngster, then stopped playing, before picking it up again. I posted an ad on Craigslist looking for others who played similar music. Todd Spiehler, who was learning the mandolin, responded. Todd, with a better grasp of social media, started the Long Bay Folk Society website (www.longbayfolksociety.com) and Facebook page, and gradually we started to attract more musicians. The monthly jam at Huntington Beach State Park is mostly old-time fiddle tunes and bluegrass, but it just depends on who shows up. Sometimes someone camping at the park will wander by, grab their instrument, and join us. It has been going strong for five years, even in the summer heat and humidity. 
       In 2024, I started the Irish session (www.longbayfolksociety.com/irish-session) and that has been very popular. This area is growing rapidly, and most newcomers are from the Northeastern US, where there is more of a Celtic music tradition. I’ve learned a great deal from these sessions and met a lot of great people. I hope we can continue to grow our do-it-yourself folk music scene on the Grand Strand.    John Plunkett
South Carolina
• Long Bay Folk Society Old-Time & Americana Jam  2nd Sundays, occasionally varies. Winter 3-6pm, summer 4-7pm.  Murrells Inlet.
March - November Huntington Beach State Park; December through February indoors. Reach out before the event for location updates. longbayfolksociety<at>gmail.com, www.longbayfolksociety.com
• Irish session  3rd Sundays, 2.30 p.m. Murrells Inlet  Smuggler’s Den 4660 Highway 17 Bypass, Murrells Inlet. longbayfolksociety<at>gmail.com,
• The Blarney Pilgrims   www.facebook.com/people/The-Blarney-Pilgrims/61571956576719/#, Danny Sullivan, dannysullivan4<at>yahoo.com
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