TSF Autumn Conference – Gloucester, 18th October 2025 - CALL FOR PAPERS
Folk Songs in the archive – Where can we find them, and are they safe?
       When the Traditional Song Forum was formed in January 1998 the key topic of discussion was how we could make the many different archives of traditional song more available to researchers. In the years since, much has happened to achieve that goal, a lot of it down to work that TSF members have played a key role in. We now have some wonderful archives created by organisations, particularly the wonderful archive of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, but a lot of other archives are not as easily available and there are several archives owned by individuals which have an uncertain future. There have also been technical issues, such as those affecting the British Library and the Bodleian Broadside Archive, that have, unexpectedly, made material unavailable.
     It has become clear that the three fundamental elements in archiving - Make it safe, Make it useable, Make it accessible – can never be taken for granted, and need continuous revision and monitoring. Institutional priorities and resources change, technology goes out of date, websites appear and disappear, search engines are re-designed. Many existing collections need to be processed, and personal collections need to be identified, and their survival ensured. it is up to us, as creators and primary users, to use our expert knowledge and whatever power we can muster, to maintain, support and monitor our essential materials.
      We are planning to examine these issues at a full day in-person conference in Gloucester on 18 October 2025. The venue will be the Dunrossil Centre at the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, Clarence Row, Alvin Street, Gloucester, GL1 3DW. The Heritage Hub is conveniently located for public transport and has ample free car parking for attendees. We are now seeking offers of papers on topics relevant to the issues associated with safeguarding our archives for the future. This will be an in-person meeting but we will be accepting pre-recorded papers from those unable to attend. The timing for the papers will be 20 minutes plus time for questions. The closing date for submissions will be Monday 4 August 2025.
If you would like to submit a paper or short report, please contact Steve Roud steveroud<at>gmail.com

Spring Conference 2026
Planning is underway for an in-person conference in the Spring next year, probably in Northern England, with the topic of “Women in Folk Song”. More details to be announced shortly. 

Latest volume from The Ballad Partners
      Ballad Partners are delighted to announce our newest book, Collectomania! Revisiting the Folk Song Collectors. This collection includes ten papers from the major Collectomania conference organised by the Traditional Song Forum and the English Folk Dance and Song Society, held in London in 2024. It includes the keynote papers from Brian Peters on Cecil Sharp and Martin Graebe on Baring-Gould. Visit our store to get your copy today: www.TheBalladPartners.co.uk

Worcestershire-based
🄵 Worcs The ORCHARD BAND www.orchardband.net
⇒ Ian Craigan, 07879 033823,  ian<at>iancraigan.plus.com

⊕ A high octane mix of tuneful, soulful and sing-along-ful material, ideal for outdoors entertaining, indoors listening or energetic dancing. Good music for good times – bringing you the pick of the crop with a heady mix of folk, jazz & roots!   [May 2025, new listing]

⇒ Contact details: Jan Vaisey, 07979 424897,   jan.vaisey<at>btinternet.com

⇒ Email: rodpenlington<at>aol.com, gillbowmer<at>aol.com

⊕ 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]

🄵 Worcs The ORCHARD BAND www.orchardband.net
⇒ Ian Craigan, 07879 033823, ian<at>iancraigan.plus.com
⊕ A high octane mix of tuneful, soulful and sing-along-ful material, ideal for outdoors entertaining, indoors listening or energetic dancing. Good music for good times – bringing you the pick of the crop with a heady mix of folk, jazz & roots!   [May 2025, new listing]

⇒ Contact Danny Sullivan, dannysullivan4<at>yahoo.com

⊕ Irish & Celtic Music in the Grand Strand.  Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.    (2025 May, new listing)

From: Maggi Huyton, 30 May 2025
Dear All
Sadly, John Bartley (Monologue John), a regular at our Zoom sessions, was found dead at home by his carer on Tuesday morning.
John will be much missed by us all and the folk world will be the poorer without his extensive knowledge and recitations.
Rest in peace John - Zoom won’t be the same without you.
Maggi and Mark  (Room at the Top Folk Club / Zoom at the Top)

       John was a well-known and entertaining figure seen on many UK Zooms.

       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. 

1st Tuesday The Union Inn - Tremadog 8.00pm ~ Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec
2nd Tuesday The Ship Aground - Talsarnau 8.30pm ~ Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec
2nd Sunday The Union Inn - Tremadog 3pm ~ All year round
3rd Tuesday The Prince of Wales - Criccieth 8.30pm ~ Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec
4th Tuesday Spooners - Porthmadog 5pm ~ Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec
4th Friday Tyddn Llwyn - Porthmadog 5pm ~ Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep
5th Tuesday Black Rock Beach Club - Morfa Bychan 8.30pm ~ Apr,Jul,Sep

The Travelling Session.   Contact 01766 514 811  email: via website, https://musicbars.co.uk ;     www.facebook.com/groups/tremadogmusic

As always on the first Saturday in July, Shrewsbury Morris host a day of dance, music, song, colour and movement in the wonderful setting of The Square in Shrewsbury town centre. Joining Shrewsbury Morris will be scintillating toe tapping routines from Raise the Dust Appalachian Dancers plus a stunning performance from the very talented young students from Identity School of Dance. Keeping a watchful eye will be the unmissable figure of Septimus the Giant Shrewsbury Cobbler. The merriment will begin at 10.00am and continue throughout the day as performances rotate between the various acts. As always, a free event delighting families, local residents and visitors to Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury Morris dance a mix of stick clashing, garland, clogging and morris dancing. Listen to the bells and watch out for their colourful moves. Who knows you might even be tempted to join them! 

     More information about the day can be obtained from our website www.shrewsburymorris.co.uk via X @shrewsmorris or from us using bev.langton<at>talk21.com

Friday 11th April.  Bob and Gill Berry . Another well attended guest night at the Black Diamond, We welcomed back Bob and Gilll Berry , who were the main organisers of Chippenham Folk festival for a number of years. They performed a variety of songs mainly from the Wiltshire area. Quite a few of the songs were from The Alfred William collection. Bob mentioned that many of the songs he sings were influenced by his parents, Len and Barbara Berry. A lively night, with plenty of opportunities to join in the choruses. 

Friday May 9th. Saw a full house as the Black Diamond welcomed Bob Fox as our guest for the evening, and it lived up to be a fantastic night of music and song. He sang a variety of songs from various projects in which he has been involved including Radio ballads, Pitmen Poets and Warhorse the Musical. Quite a few of his songs originated from the north eastern area of U K from where he was born.     Alan Franklin

Tuesday 1st July:  free, poetry evening, for the Ledbury Poetry Festival, as every year on the Tuesday.  Stimulating poetry and song!  Cafe food & drink is available.  

🄵  Traditional Song Forum - from the TSF Newsletter 128, May 2025
• Next Online Meeting – Sunday 1st June 2025 16:00 GMT/UTC+1    ~ two presentations in this month's meeting.
            Understanding It Better: Spiritual and Gospel in two “By and By” songs - Patience Young
          Transitions from spiritual to gospel, from folk song to hymn, can be pieced together with two songs found in the work of Henry (“Harry”) Thacker Burleigh and of Charles Albert Tindley. Burleigh (1866-1949), a singer and composer of classical music, was known also for his published arrangements of American spirituals that had been passed down orally within African American communities for generations. Tindley (1851-1933) was a Methodist minister and community leader who wrote dozens of hymns. Both men were famed and influential. While the spiritual “By an’ By” arranged by Burleigh shares theme and a partial title with Tindley’s composed gospel “We Will Understand It Better By and By”, these songs reflect two distinct aspects of African American cultural history.
          Kent Trad: Songs sung in Kent - Andy Turner
         An overview of the Kent Trad website (https://kenttrad.org) which was launched earlier this year. Inspired by sites such as GlosTrad and Sussex Traditions, it aims to become a comprehensive resource on songs and singers from Kent. Currently the site mainly covers songs noted on paper: from ballads collected by an 18th century country parson; through Sharp and his contemporaries; to Francis Collinson of ‘Country Magazine’ fame in the 1940s. Work is now underway on songs recorded by later collectors such as Peter Kennedy, Ken Stubbs, Stephen Sedley and Mike Yates. Andy was brought up in Kent and has long had an interest in songs from Kent, both as a performer and a researcher.

       Note that following a request from Zoom, for security reasons, Zoom links will now only be available from TSF directly.
         Joining the meeting - please see the ‘Meetings’ page of the TSF website – www.tradsong.org

• TSF Spring Conference, ‘Song and a Sense of Place’ was held on 26 April 2025 with the support of the Contemporary Folklore Research Centre. This was an in-person event, though three of the presentations had been recorded beforehand. More than forty people booked places and it was a very enjoyable day with lots of time for networking and discussion among those who attended. Videos of all the presentations are now available on YouTube. You can find the playlist of the four sessions using this link - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEFtLCJWnIFZ6_pqD1SUp5UlNRR2eozWa
• Roy Palmer Lecture 2025 -  This year’s Roy Palmer Lecture will be by Jon Boden. 

     The title of Jon’s talk will be 'The Folk Revival - a view from the middle’. In it he will reflect on the ups and downs of an extraordinary cultural movement and make the case for optimism with the green shoots or revival constantly pushing up through – young singers and musicians who are now the generation below him, and who were born a hundred years after Cecil Sharp heard John England singing ‘The Seeds of Love’.   The talk will, again, be given during the Whitby Folk Week, and we are indebted to the organisers for their continued support for the Roy Palmer Lecture. The event will be held on 12:00 on Wednesday 20 August in the Coliseum (1B Victoria Pl, Whitby YO21 1EZ). There will be no charge for admission.
You can see more about Jon’s talk, and about past Roy Palmer Lectures, on the website, http://www.roypalmerlecture.org.

⇒ Message 07436 588982, Email: penlington.sian55<at>gmail.com,  Instagram/Facebook @sianrobbluegrass

⊕ Lively Old-Time country and early Bluegrass, gorgeous harmonies and skilled interpretations of songs and tunes calling on their own Scots-Irish roots.
These Purbeck Rising 2025 finalists deliver an authentic sound driven by guitars, mandolin, clawhammer banjo and percussive step dancing.  [May 2025, new members]

June 20th to 22nd - West Somerset Folk Festival, Carhampton, near Minehead. ​​

June 27th - Crediton Arts Centre, East St, Crediton EX17 3AX. Evening.​

July 3rd - Bideford Folk Club, Joiners Arms, Market Place, Bideford, EX39 2DR. 7pm.​

July 10th - The Two Robbies Ride Again. Robert Garnham and Rob Barratt at The Acorn Theatre, Penzance, 7.30pm.​

July 11th to 13th - Folk on the Lawn Festival, Tintern, South Wales.​

July 24th - Cellar Arts Club, 70 Marine Parade, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 3QB. 7.30pm.​​

ØØ • Zoom & Live ~ Mass, BOSTON. ~ LYNN NOEL https://sites.google.com/view/crosscurrents-music  

and ZOOM: LIVE FROM THE MERMAID'S TAVERN   Zoom meeting links are MAILING LIST ONLY. Join this mailing list at http://mailinglist.mermaidstavern.com Monthly Zoom sessions usually 1st Sundays 2-4pm ET, special events as the occasion requires.   

• LIVE - VALLEY FOLK MUSIC CONCERTS 144 Cedar Street Corning, NY (corner 1st St.) in the red brick Methodist Church. Buy tickets online on websiteor at the door. For more information visit our website, or contact us: (1) 607-962-4461, or info<at>valleyfolk.org 

Sing-around in Elmira on Sunday June 15 cancelled due to it being Father’s Day. Let me know if you are interested in attending one at a private residence instead - we might decide to do that if there are a core of people who want to attend.
Sun Sept 14 at 2 PM - Gathering Time - Trio harmony in the spirit of the folk revival with strong originals, too.
Sun Oct 12 at 2 PM - James Gordon - Canadian singer-songwriter known for writing wonderful songs for Tamarack.
Sun Nov 9 at 2 PM - Clements Brothers - Young Americana duo with a hint of a bluegrassy jazzy feel and brotherly harmonies.

The following will appear in Folklife West May:
'Cecil Sharp and the soundscape of Somerset: a talk by David Sutcliffe with live music from Sirinu'
Ilminster Arts Centre, East Street, Ilminster, TA19 0AN. 30 May 2025, 7.30pm.  Details see above.

A two-day conference to be held on Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 November 2025 at Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London NW1 7AY
    The 4th Traditional Tunes and Popular Airs (TTPA) conference. TTPA conferences aim to bring together researchers working on ‘traditional’ and ‘popular’ tunes as transmitted and transformed in all manner of musical styles and genres, performance contexts, levels of society, historical periods, and geographical locations.
    Proposals are invited for presentations (20 minutes + 10 minutes for discussion) on any aspect of the topic. We welcome a broad range of approaches, including historical research and ethnographic studies to illuminate melodic interrelationships. Relevant areas include music for performative dance (such as morris, sword, clog and other forms of step and percussive dance, Scottish, Irish and Welsh dance) and participatory dance (social, country, ceilidh/ceili), instrumental music, ballad operas and theatrical works, religious music, broadside balladry, minstrelsy, music hall, the pleasure gardens, domestic music-making, national and folk music, and children’s songs.
    Further details can be found here :https://www.efdss.org/about-us/what-we-do/news/15054-traditional-tunes-and-popular-airs-call-for-papers

Tradsong
Tradsong<at>groups.io is a  discussion group for members of the Traditional Song Forum (www.tradsong.org) and others interested in traditional song to share ideas and to ask questions.  This from Chris J Brady:

Radio Ballad Films - Philip Donnellan
For some years and thousands of views later these three have been on YouTube. They were split into 15 min fragments due to YT restrictions Now they have been re-released as single entities.
The Fight Game  https://youtu.be/vdxAQgQ0seg
The Big Hewer  https://youtu.be/Bj4Mce3DyYU
The Shoals of Herring  https://archive.org/details/the-shoals-of-herring
The files were originally donated by Jim Carroll of the Critics Group.

🅄 Monday, weekly Glos STROUD FROM FOLK TO BEYOND  www.facebook.com/groups/333056720524290
→ The Old Crown, Park End, Paganhill, Stroud GL5 4AZ, 7pm for a 7.30 start, to 10pm.
⇒ Contact ​David & Sandra Ireland, hello<at>singaround.org  
⊕ All welcome! - Singers, Players, Poets, Jugglers, Magicians and anyone with something to bring. Good music, good company, good times.  

Ground floor, wheelchair friendly, ample parking - an easily accessible place.

North Yorkshire
🅄 Friday, 2nd & last North Yorkshire RIPON   WILFRID’S FOLK CLUB  www.facebook.com/riponfolkclub

→ St Wilfrid’s Community Centre, Trinity Lane, Ripon, HG4 2AL, North Yorkshire. 7.30pm.
⇒ Contact: Laetitia, sailortish<at>hotmail.com

⊕ Come along to perform or listen. BYOB. Off-road parking available.

→ The Lab416, 298 Brunswick Ave. Doors open at 6:00pm for a 7:00pm start and we aim to finish by 10:00pm
⇒ Contact Sweet Felons All (organisers & house band), sweetfelonsall<at>gmail.com   Any other sites/media?

ØØ Saturday; monthly  ~ Ontario. TORONTO.  ACOUSTIC HARVEST  https://acousticharvest.ca
→ St. Paul's United Church (416.729.7564), 200 McIntosh Street  (1 block north of Kingston Road and Sandown Avenue), Toronto, ON.  20:00 - 23:00
⇒  lillian.wauthier<at>gmail.com .    Contact / join email list: see website Contact form.    www.facebook.com/acousticharvest/,  

Canada Ontario ØØ SWEET FELONS ALL www.facebook.com/SweetFelonsAll/
⇒sweetfelonsall<at>gmail.com , https://sweetfelonsall.bandcamp.com
⊕ A Toronto-based band that specializes in English Traditional music and modern songs that fit the tradition: Paul Read, Kevin Watson, Mary Read, Rob Rohr. Organisers & house band of Toronto's Another Bloody Folk Club (see VENUES).  (2025 April, new listing)

Canada Ontario ØØ PRESSGANG MUTINY www.pressgangmutiny.com/
⇒ pressgangmutiny<at>gmail.com , www.facebook.com/pressgangmutiny , www.youtube.com/@pressgangmutiny9639,

https://pressgangmutiny.bandcamp.com/, pageopen.spotify.com/artist/7Hqytp4VVYmsYGJ9OGaVm8
⊕ Toronto's Shantymen. Dedicated to traveling the globe to discover shanties, works songs, and the people singing them. A quartet of dynamic musicians and tall ship sailors, touring the Canadian and US East Coasts and performing at UK and European festivals.  (2025 April, new listing)

The Club are very pleased with their new venue -  going well. Lovely acoustics, very quiet, no hassle!

Bob Arnold lived in Burford, Oxfordshire.

Blockley is in Gloucestershire, though at one time, before about 1930, it was a detached parish of Worcestershire. 

Arnold mentions 'Blockley Hill' in verse 3. His version is very similar to the one in "English County Songs", arranged by Lucy Broadwood (p 82) (1), which also has Blockley Hill.  Might this have been Bob Arnold's source, and maybe that of others as well?  I learnt, from revivalist singers, a similar version at the Baker's Arms, Broad Camden, at the foot of Blockley Hill, on the other side from Blockley.
      (1) English County Songs, Words and Music,Collected and edited by Lucy E. Broadwood and J.A.Fuller Maitland, London, J B Cramer

The Traditional Song Forum Spring Conference, in association with the Contemporary Folklore Research Centre, will take place on Saturday 26th April  (9.30 am – 5.00 pm) in the Council Room, Firth Court, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN. We have ten speakers, presenting papers on Song and a Sense of Place, and it should be a very interesting day. We are hoping to organise a singing session locally in the evening.
Steve Gardham : Local Songs in East and North Yorkshire
Sue Allan : D’Ye Ken John Peel? The man, the song and Cumbrian Identity
John Baxter : A sense of place in songs from the British Music Hall 1850-1914
Elizabeth Bennett : Women in the Margins: A Place-Based Study
Abbi Flint : Songs for Ramblers: open-air singing, place, and citizenship in the early twentieth century.
Stephe Harrop : Northering: Song and Place in Storytelling Performance
Fionnuala Maxwell : The Shores of Lough Bran and Traditional Songs from County Leitrim
Kara O’Brien : Songs of Home: Place and Women in Irish song
Colleen Savage : In search of ‘The Boys of Mullaghbawn’
Hilary Warner-Evans : “Phippsburg Town’s in Sagadahoc”: Local Song and Levels of Place Attachment
          Further details are available on our website https://tradsong.org/tsf-spring-conference. It would be great to see some of you there; please feel free to share with other people who may be interested. Admission is free, but prior booking is essential. To book your place(s) please follow link on that webpage.    Richard Spencer

→ Various venues and times.
⇒ All our activities are posted on The Grand River Folk Community website, above.

🄵 Shropshire CUCKCURIOSITY Ceilidh Band www.raybevlangton.co.uk 

→ Shropshire & surrounding area

⇒ Contact: bev.langton<at>talk21.com
⊕ Cuckcuriosity are a dynamic ceilidh band duo featuring Ray Langton on his digital melodeon and Bev Langton calling. A full band in a box. Extremely versatile and ideal for weddings, corporate events and venues without a stage.
Cuckcuriosity is a classy act which can work flexibly and sets up in double quick time.  (2025 April, new listing)

Shropshire-based

🄵 Shropshire KETTLEHAWK www.kettlehawk.co.uk
→ Midlands

⇒ Contact: bev.langton<at>talk21.com
⊕ Kettlehawk are a 4 piece band whose members have a wealth experience of playing with well known bands across the country. They provide ceilidh dance music that lifts the spirits and energises tired dancing feet. Ideal for festivals and larger venues and events. (2025 April, new listing)

🄵 Shropshire: SHREWSBURY MORRIS  www.shrewsburymorris.co.uk
→ Practice: Thursday evenings at Prestfelde School, London Road, Shrewsbury SY2 6NZ 7.30-10.00pm
⇒ Contact: bev.langton<at>talk21.com
⊕ Shrewsbury Morris are The Shrewsbury Bull & Pump Morris Men, The Shrewsbury Lasses, Shrewsbury Clog and the mixed team of Shrewsbury Morris! Some traditional dances and many self penned. A lively team who enjoy dancing, performing and good friendship. 2026 sees them celebrating 50 years of dancing. New members always welcome. (2025 April, new listing)

Acrobatic fiddling and earthy vocals are interwoven with distinctive vocal harmonies, mandola and guitars, as FolkLaw deliver a reflective social commentary within a patchwork of inspirational songs and melodies. FolkLaw are well known for their crowd-surfing fiddle antics, engaging on-stage banter, and an energized stage performance across the U.K. and Europe. A genuine “not to miss” band who’ve previously performed at Costa Del Folk, Cropredy, Sidmouth, Great British Folk Festival as well as supporting many of the great bands and events over the last decade. This performance at Forest Folk Club features Nick Gibbs on vocals and fiddle, Bryn Williams on vocals, guitar, mandolin and bohran, and Martin Vogwell on vocals, guitar, mandolin and banjo. www.folklaw.co.uk
Doors open at 7.30,in the function room of the Orepool Inn, Sling near Coleford,admission £8 cash only please. forestfolkclub.com

• Mon, Apr 7, 7:30pm, Stirling Folk Club at Stirling County R.F.C., Bridehaugh Park, Stirling FK9 5AP. http://www.stirlingfolkclub.co.uk/ 

• Fri, Apr 11, 7:30pm, Dalgety Bay Folk Club, Lodge St John, 17 Hope Street, Inverkeithing, Fife KY11 1LW.  https://www.dbfolkclub.co.uk
• Sat, Apr 12, 7:00pm, A’ the Airts Community Art Centre and Café, Sanquhar, Upper Nithsdale Arts and Crafts Community Initiative, 8 – 16 High Street , Sanquhar Dumfriesshire DG4 6BL.  https://atheairts.org.uk
• Sun, Apr 27, 8:30pm, The Bulls Head, Church Street, Warrington, WA12SX  https://www.facebook.com/WarringtonSingersNight

 Contact:  Karen Pfeiffer 🄵,  karen<at>paulwalkermusic.co.uk   or mobile: 07772 006427.   www.paulwalkermusic.co.uk,  www.youtube.com/PaulWalkerKarenPfeiffer,  www.facebook.com/paulwalkerandkarenpfeiffer,www.instagram.com/walkerpfeiffermusic

🄹 THE BALLAD PARTNERS
Outlandish Knights: Essays in the Aesthetics of Ballads and Folk Songs, by David Atkinson.

185pp. £15.00 (+£3.20 p+p). For overseas postage please contact before paying    ISBN 978-1-0686406-1-2
    It is well-nigh impossible to think about categories like ‘ballads’ and ‘folk songs’ without bringing to mind favourite examples. It is almost equally difficult to describe the sources of the value that we ascribe to those examples. Outlandish Knights explores these issues by drawing on methods and approaches from aesthetics, the branch of philosophy that deals with the feelings, concepts, and judgements that arise from the contemplation of the arts.Topics range across the voices heard in songs, the thorny issue of authenticity, the moral stance of ballads, the conjunction of language and music, the impossible idealism in studying songs from the past, the type/version paradigm of ballad scholarship, the formation of canons such as the Child ballads, and what is meant by the ballad as a genre. Running through all the chapters is the paradox of subjectivity and objectivity that was first posed in Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgement, the founding text of modern aesthetics.

       https://theballadpartners.co.uk/2025/02/28/outlandish-knights-essays-in-the-aesthetics-of-ballads-and-folk-songs/

Go to - https://archives.vwml.org/search/roud
Scroll down to see the search box 'Search Printers Register'.
Only the main fields are included at present, but enough to help with dating many printers. 

If you want to see all the fields the old site is still available: 
https://previous.vwml.org/#, click on Advanced Search, in Filter by Collection (on left), deselect all, click on Street Literature Indexes

🄵 TRADITIONAL SONG FORUM  Online meeting 72, 6 Apr 2025, 16:00 (GMT, UTC)    There will be two presentations in this month's meeting.
1 )   An Evening at the Saracen’s Head
Sabine Baring-Gould collected many of his songs in public houses, once he realised that this was where he was most likely to meet working men after they had finished their days work. There are several instances of his staying overnight in small country pubs in Devon and Cornwall and hearing songs from the singers he met there. In this presentation Martin Graebe talks about some of these occasions, looking in greater depth at a visit to the Saracen’s Head, at Two Bridges in the middle of Dartmoor on a January night in 1890.
Martin Graebe is an independent researcher, writer, and singer, who has studied and written about a number of aspects of traditional song, with several scholarly articles published in Folk Music Journal. He has edited The Forgotten Songs of the Upper Thames: Folk Songs from the Alfred Williams Collection for the Ballad Partners. His book As I Walked Out: Sabine Baring-Gould and the Search for the Folk Songs of Devon and Cornwall (2017) received both the Folklore Society’s Katharine Briggs Award and the W. G. Hoskins Prize. He has been the Secretary of the Traditional Song Forum since its inception. Martin and his wife, Shan, sing traditional songs together, with a repertoire based mainly on the traditional songs of southern England and in particular those collected by Sabine Baring-Gould.    

And author of Baring-Gould’s People. 1 – James Parsons,  incl. song & music The Forsaken Maiden, in our latest Folklife Traditions Journal. - Ed.
2)  In Bruton Town: Some Context and History of the Ballad
This talk examines the details of the ballad ‘In Bruton Town’, some of the singers that carried it orally, and revisits Lucy Broadwood’s idea that the narrative was lifted from Boccacio’s Decameron.
Ella Paul is a singer of traditional songs, and works teaching poetry in prisons. She recently completed a masters of the arts in ancient and oral poetry at Dartington Arts School and lives in Devon.
How to attend the meeting   See ‘Meetings’ page of the TSF website – www.tradsong.org

🅄 ​ Wednesday, weekly (now except odd months last Wed!)  Herefordshire LEDBURY PRINCE OF WALES session, Church Lane, HR8 1DL. Around 9pm

Was every Wednesday, except .... 
'Morning all,
Sadly the last Wednesday of odd-numbered months (March, May, etc) is now not available for the session, so not next Wednesday 26 March.

19th March was the 31st anniversary of the session (being the closest to Paddy's Night), a good time was had by all.  Normality will resume 2nd April.

Contact Steve Glennie-Smith on 07941-863562                     (2025 March, updated listing)

→ ​ The Old King's Head, Days Lane, Belper DE56 1NP, 8pm.  Venue parking limited but large free car park nearby, details see website.

⇒  Contact phone: 01246 865170, email: geoff.deighton<at>btinternet.com , or contact via Belper Folk Club Facebook

Leicestershire
🅄 Tuesday, 2nd Leicestershire LONG WHATTON TIGERFOLK TRADITIONAL FOLK CLUB
www.facebook.com/people/Tigerfolk-Formerly-Traditions-at-the-Tiger/100057181640833/
→ ​ The Falcon Inn, Main Street, Long Whatton LE12 5DG (near East Midlands Airport), 7.30 pm start.
⇒ John & Sheila Bentham, phone 07982 254298, email: johnandsheilabentham<at>virginmedia.com
⊕ Tigerfolk, formerly Traditions at the Tiger, was founded in 1991 by Roy Harris as a venue to present and promote traditional folk song, music, storytelling. Mostly guest nights but floor singers welcome.    (2025 March, new listing)

Local Media (at foot of web page)
Online 🅄 NORTHUMBRIA FOLK MUSIC DIARY  http://northumbriafolk.org.uk
⇒ For submissions, corrections or comments, contact Peter Burnham, peter.burnham<at>gmail.com
⊕ Diary of folk song and music events for Northumberland, North East England. (2025 March, new listing)

ØØ Mon, usually 1st,  Ontario. BRAMPTON FOLK CLUB  www.bramptonfolk.ca
→ Snelgrove Community Centre, 11692 Hurontario St, Brampton, just S. of Mayfield Road on the west side.  7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m
⇒  647-BFF-FOLK (647-233-3655), info<at>bramptonfolk.ca, find us on Facebook
⊕ The atmosphere is informal and relaxed. We promote and encourage folk music, provide a forum for musicians to develop their skills in performing folk music, and provide as a resource a talent pool for entertaining at community and charitable functions.  (2025 March, new listing)

ØØ Fri, monthly Ontario. BRAMPTON FOLK CLUB FRIDAY FOLK NIGHT CONCERTS www.bramptonfolk.ca
→ Sanderson Hall at St. Paul's United Church, 30 Main St. South, Brampton (across from City Hall). Sept-May, 7:30 p.m
⇒ 647-BFF-FOLK (647-233-3655), info<at>bramptonfolk.ca, find us on Facebook
⊕ Ticketed coffee-house style events, featuring high profile folk artists with BFC artists as the opening act. The Club meets monthly on a Monday (entry above), and organises other concerts and other activities, see website.  (2025 March, new listing)

16 A4 print pages, all mono. Print cover (pp1,2,15,16) cream paper; rest white paper.
6 Researched Articles

• ​​The Tradition of Cornish Hurling, by Lamorna Spry, including Silver Ball song & tune, pp2-4
• Hymey Hancock - anatomy of a song, by Keith Gregson, p5
• Hussars, by Charles Menteith, pp6-7
• We Shepherds are the Best of Men, sung by Richard Chidlaw; by Veronica Lowe, pp7-8
• New songs for old, or how the tradition informs songs today, by Rosie Upton, including song The Desert Rat, by Pete MacGregor and Traditional, p9
• Baring-Gould’s People. 1 – James Parsons, by Martin Graebe including song & music The Forsaken Maiden, p10-11

Folklife news: societies & organisations, researchers, publications

• The Cornish National Music Archive; Saydisc; p4.
• The City of Sunderland awarded Music City Status - Folk Music involvement, p5.
• Trac Cymru; Vaughan Williams Memorial Library; Folklore Society; Access Folk, p12.
• Pedlars Pack; Traditional Song Forum; The Ballad partners; p13.
• Exhibition: Un/Common People Exhibition: Folk Culture in Wessex (in Devizes Wiltshire, Poole & Salisbury Museums, p13
• Ceredigion Folk Song Map; our free Updates emails; p14.
• From Online FTJ Directory, detailed listings: Seasonal Local Celebrations, Nov-Mar list & photos, mostly by Doc Rowe, p15-16

See online [this site] for Folklife Societies: Assoc'ns, Trusts, Organisations and Folklife Studies & Institutions

• PDF free downloads. UK/EU: A4 size as printed  US: letter size 

Bristol & South Gloucestershire
🄵 Friday, weekly S. Glos SHORTWOOD DRAGON FOLK CLUB http://dragonfolkclub.blogspot.co.uk
Venue has reopened, Feb 2025. Details see News Updates below.

Gloucestershire
🅄 Day Varies Glos VARIOUS VENUES VERSATILE ARTS www.versatilearts.co.uk
→ Venues: various
⇒ Contact: email: info<at>versatilearts.co.uk Mobile: 07758 125 136
⊕ Versatile Arts have produced and promoted projects in performance since 2009, aiming to deliver exciting, vibrant, live performances for audiences in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. Past events have included a variety of musical genres including folk, and spoken word events.   [2025 March, new listing]

⇒ Contact: info<at>burtonfolkclub.org.uk  Social media: https://facebook.com/BurtonFolkClub/?locale=en_GB https://bsky.app/profile/burtonfolkclub.bsky.social

🅄 Day Varies Herefs VARIOUS VENUES incl. MUCH MARCLE VERSATILE ARTS www.versatilearts.co.uk
→ Venues: include Hellens Manor, Much Marcle.
⇒ Contact: email: info<at>versatilearts.co.uk Mobile: 07758 125 136
⊕ Versatile Arts have produced and promoted projects in performance since 2009, aiming to deliver exciting, vibrant, live performances for audiences in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. Past events have included a variety of musical genres including folk, and spoken word events.   [2025  March, new listing]

🄵 Gloucestershire COBBLERS CHILD https://cobblerschild.co.uk/
⇒ Emma Vogwell, 07789-997415, Email: contact<at>cobblerschild.co.uk    www.facebook.com/cobblerschild,    www.instagram.com/cobblerschild/ ,

https://cobblerschild.bandcamp.com
⊕ Four friends cemented into a band between the pandemic lockdowns. Featuring the northumbrian pipes alongside guitar, whistles, melodeon and vocals. Serving up a mix of tunes and songs, old and new. Find recordings and video on our website and Bandcamp. [2025 March, new listing]

International - USA      4 not 5 hours difference for East Coast till British Summer Time starts
ØØ online only

LIVE - VALLEY FOLK MUSIC CONCERTS 144 Cedar Street Corning, NY (corner 1st St.) in the red brick Methodist Church. Buy tickets online on websiteor at the door. For more information visit our website, or contact us: (1) 607-962-4461, or info<at>valleyfolk.org 

Sun April 6,  2pm - Hubby Jenkins (of The Carolina Chocolate Drops fame) music from his African American experience.
Thu  May 1 , 7:30pm - Martin & Eliza Carthy from England Guitar & fiddle father & daughter singers from a very prominent family of English folk music

The next “live” sing-around is at 1pm on Sun March 23 at 1008 W. Water Street, Elmira, NY. Bring your songs, guitars or other folk instruments to accompany your folk songs. Songs with a chorus or refrain especially encouraged. 

p 10 🄵 Rob Barratt's gig list (more in next issue)
March 15th - Rilla Mill Village Hall, Rilla Mill, near Callington, Cornwall. PL17 7NY.​   April 28th - Wrexham Carnival of Words. Poetry Live and Dangerous. Evening.​  April 29th - Words of Bromsgrove, Bromsgrove Library, Parkside, Market St, Bromsgrove B61 8DA, Worcestershire. ​7.00pm.​  May 12th - Parracombe Arts and Literary Festival, Parracombe, near Lynton, North Devon. 7.30pm. 

p 14 🄵 Friday, weekly S. Glos SHORTWOOD DRAGON FOLK CLUB http://dragonfolkclub.blogspot.co.uk
Following a temporary closure (Updates 9/2/2025), after an enforced break of about two months, the Dragon Folk Club will be back on Friday 28th February. We are back to our accustomed venue of The Bridge Inn, Shortwood, Bristol (UK), BS16 9NG and our usual start time of 8:15pm.  As always you are welcome to join us whether to sing a song, play a tune, tell a story, recite a monologue, tell a joke, perform in any other way or indeed none but just be our audience, and as usual anything goes as long as it's acoustic. Yes, we have our feet firmly in the folk tradition "of these isles" as my old "friend" Mike Harding would say, but we are perfectly open to songs from other sources and even from your own pen.

Contacts: Colin Owen 0117 9600273, Email Simon Meeds, dragonfolk<at>rosma.co.uk [1/2/2025]

🄵 ​Sunday 16th March, special guests at Forest Folk Club are Wynford Jones and Geoff Cripps. These two fine musicians are the superduo product of two of Wales’s finest folk bands.Wynford, one of the most searingly perceptive songwriters of his generation, was leader of The Chartists whose song-cycles chronicled the hobnail-hard working-class struggle as never before. Multi-instrumentalist Geoff was the powerhouse at the heart of festival barnstormers Allan Yn Y Fan. Together they are a force of nature. Doors open in the function room of the Orepool Inn at 7.30. Admission £8 on the door. Details on https://forestfolkclub.com

🄵 ​Sunday, most 2nd, 4th Glos CHELTENHAM CHELTENHAM FOLK CLUB,   Stanton Suite, Church St, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham GL53 8AR till end-March. Venue might vary, check. Now starts at 8pm   Chris Beaumont 01242 571185; or Judith 01242 577506. machteltje<at>gmail.com
     Some open nights for more floor spots, some guest nights.  Next is Sunday 23rd March tba.  All welcome. Prices vary according to guest/open night. Cash only. Do join our mailing list — just email machteltje<at>gmail.com

Fri 14th March St Michael's Church, Market Square, SOMERTON, Somerset TA11 7NB.  7.30pm. £12 on the door. Enquiries: 07483137623
Sat 15th March 10:30am - 4:00pm. Folk Orchestra Workshop run by Jon, Jacqui & Becki. All instruments welcome; intermediate standard (no absolute beginners). Music & videos sent in advance. Limited to 20. Book early - always sold out! £60 (including ticket for evening concert). St Mary's Church, BRIDPORT, DT6 3NW. Booking & information: MoonrakersCelticMusic<at>gmail.com 01865 769206.
Sat 15th March St Mary's Church, BRIDPORT, Dorset, DT6 3NW. Beautiful church over 800 years old. 7.30pm. £15 (incl.a free drink) on the door.
Fri 21st March Special guests at SWINDON Folk Club, 7:45-8pm start. The Hop Inn, Devizes Rd, Swindon SN1 4BH. 
Mon 31st March   Luton Music presents: "Vaughan Williams - Roots and Branches",   Moonrakers with string quartet, OXUS - eight musicians on stage - to celebrate the music and folk song influences of Vaughan Williams. Sponsored by the Vaughan Williams Foundation. St Mary's Church, LUTON. £18 (+conc), all tickets on the door. Facebook  @MoonrakersBand  Instagram  @MoonrakersOfficial  BlueSky Moonrakers (@moonrakersband.bsky.social) — Bluesky
        Keep well, Jon, Becki, Sarah and Jacqui   https://www.moonrakers.net

🄵 TRAC CYMRU: Music Traditions Wales/Traddodiadau Cerdd Cymru  https://trac.cymru
⇒ trac<at>trac-cymru.org
⊕ Wales’ Folk Development organisation; its rôle to promote and develop the music and dance traditions of Wales - both within Wales and beyond. trac provides an information service, and the website lists performers, events and contacts. [2025 Feb, updated new contact details]

West Country
🄵 Thursday, 3rd Devon MORCHARD BISHOP THE PENNYMOOR SINGAROUND  Facebook: Pennymoor Singaround
→ The London Inn, Morchard Bishop EX17 6NW. 7.30pm, all year.
⇒ Biddy 01271 373305, biddy.mallabone<at>outlook.com
⊕ A good pub session, all welcome, no guests. [Feb. 2025, has changed from 3rd Wed to 3rd Thu, and changed venue]

Yorkshire and the Humber
🅄 Thursday, weekly West Yorkshire SHIPLEY THE TOPIC FOLK CLUB  http://www.topic-folk-club.org.uk/
→ Hullabaloo, 41 Westgate, Shipley, Bradford BD18 3QX. Doors open 7pm; start 7.30pm start; finish approx. 10pm
⇒ Publicity and Club Newsletter, Tony Charnock, email tocharn<at>gmail.com www.facebook.com/groups/647289061950797/
⊕ Bradford-based weekly live music club. Roughly alternating Guest nights and Singers' and Musicians' night - about 25 of each over the year. S/M sessions are held on the first and third Thursday of each month, and through most of August.   [2025 Feb, new listing]

🅄  Somerset THE JAMESTOWN BROTHERS  www.thejamestownbrothers.co.uk
⇒ thejamestownbrothers<at>gmail.com, bookings<at>thejamestownbrothers.co.uk.  www.facebook.com/thejamestownbrothers, https://www.instagram.com/the_jamestown_brothers/, https://open.spotify.com/artist/5G8alXNo9hdQ4aJxew0LFh

⊕  An Indie-Folk Band with Attitude!   Original songs that don't just 'tell the story' of our nation, they bring it shockingly alive. Strong lyrics and ear-worm tunes, inspiring you to join the fight for liberty and justice.

🅄 Staffs STAFFORD MORRIS    https://www.staffordmorris.co.uk

→ Practice. Mondays, 8-10pm, North End Community Centre, Holmcroft Rd, Stafford, ST16 1JG.

⇒ Contacts: Squire, Max Haynes - maxhaynesmorris<at>outlook.com; Bagperson (Events Management), Andy Chell - andychellmorris<at>gmail.com; or contact form on website.
⊕ Stafford Morris – keeping tradition alive since 1957. A mixed Cotswold Morris side performing in and around Staffordshire. Enjoy vibrant displays of traditional dance and music from May to August at local events, pubs, and festivals.  [2025 Feb, new listing]

🄵 ​ CD: Shimli, by Cynefin  [see Journal news above]
    Shimli is the follow up to 2020’s Dilyn Afon by Welsh folk singer, researcher, grain grower and cultural historian Owen Shiers, aka ‘Cynefin’. Continuing in the vein of rooting his music firmly in the customs and cultural vernacular of Ceredigion, the album takes its title from the now obsolete West Walian practice of all night musical and poetic vigils which used to take place in mills and workshops. Drawing inspiration from folk song, the beirdd gwlad (folk poet) tradition – as well as living oral history and story, the album explores the intersection between music, poetry, food and the natural world. A personal dispatch from the struggle to maintain a language, culture and way of life, the album is a musical petition – a stake in the ground for the diverse and the disappearing in our age of homogenisation and mass amnesia.  

    CD from https://cynefinmusic.wales website, or all the usual outlets. You can also pre-order a digital download from Bandcamp. Both physical and digital versions come with a full 35-page booklet detailing the history and background of all the songs on the album.

    Shimli yw’r albwm newydd sbon gan y canwr gwerin, ymchwilydd, tyfwr grawn a hanesydd diwylliannol Owen Shiers, sef, Cynefin. Wrth barhau i wreiddio ei gerddoriaeth yn gadarn yn arferion a llen gwerin Ceredigion, mae’r albwm yn cymryd ei theitl o arferiad sydd bellach wedi darfod yng Ngorllewin Cymru o gynnal nosweithiau llawen mewn melinau a gweithdai. Gan dynnu ysbrydoliaeth o ganu gwerin, traddodiad y beirdd gwlad – yn ogystal â straeon a hanes cof byw, mae’r albwm yn archwilio’r groesffordd rhwng cerddoriaeth, barddoniaeth, bwyd a byd natur. Mae’r gwaith yn fryslythyr personol o’r ymdrech i gynnal iaith, diwylliant a ffordd o fyw – deiseb gerddorol sydd yn mynegi llais y i’r amrywiol a’r diflanedig yn ein hoes o homogeneiddio ac lled-amnesia.

🄵 ​ Cynefin: Taith Band Tour 2025 [see above]
   28/2 Caerdydd / Cardiff: The Gate Arts & Community Centre, 7pm. 1/3 Abertawe / Swansea: Gwyl Croeso Abertawe in St David’s Place, 3pm. 5/3 Llandysul: Neuadd Tysul Hall, 7pm. 6/3 Ystradgynlais: The Welfare, 7pm. 7/3 Pwllheli: Neuadd Dwyfor, 7pm. 8/3 Aberteifi: Theatr Byd Bychain / Small World Theatre, 7pm. 9/3 Machynlleth: Tabernacle Moma, 7pm

page 7 🄵 ​Thursday, weekly Denbs RUTHIN RUTHIN ALLSTYLES MUSIC CLUB  http://ruthinallstyles.co.uk, at The Feathers Inn / Tafarn Y Plu, in the function room, 52 Well Street, Ruthin, LL15 1AW. 7.30pm, all year.  Chris/Jayne Birchall 01824 704844, mobile 07760 764441. chris<at>ruthinallstyles.co.uk

We have some great events coming up, including:
🎶 March 20th – “Big Spot” by The Neil Martin Freeloaders, featuring the brilliant Bewildered Brunettes trio.
🎤 Date TBC – Andy Connolly’s Showcase, which we sadly had to postpone due to last year’s bad weather. Watch this space for a confirmed date soon!

page 11 🄵 Thursdays, 2nd Devon TOTNES TOTNES FOLK SONG CLUB  Facebook: Totnes Folk Club    In a previous Update, we noted that the pub had shut temporarily. It's now reopened.  The Dartmouth Inn, The Plains, Totnes. 7.30 pm, all year except August.   We are able to hold our folk club again at The Dartmouth Inn, Totnes in March, on Thursday 13th March.  Future dates will be 10th April, 8th May and 12th June.

Anne Gill, 01803 290427, “Maleth”, 11 Cleveland Road, Torquay, Devon TQ2 5BD. annegill<at>btinternet.com  Alternate contact Andy Clarke 01803 732312.

page 11 🄵 Pennymoor club began in the village of Pennymoor in Devon many moons ago. The closing of The Cruwys Arms a few years ago meant we have held our singarounds at The Lamb Inn, Sandford. Sadly, that pub is closing, so we had to move again! The club has held its Song and Ale at The London Inn in Morchard Bishop for many years, and the pub has offered us the skittle alley on 3rd Thursdays. Our inaugural singaround at the new venue in January was warm and well attended. We hope The London Inn will be our new home for many years. It would be lovely if you could add to the jovial crew if you are passing through. Just remember that it’s the third Thursday NOT the third Wednesday as it has been for the past forty years or so.  Please see Directory: West Country venues for details of this & other Pennymoor singarounds & sessions.

      19 March and Hazjack will be coming to Atherstone as our guests, with Farefeld taking the lead on 16 April.    Mean Mary James with her brother, Frank, are coming over from the USA and she will start her "Creature Tour" of just 5 venues in the UK at Atherstone on 30 April.       21 May will see the return to Atherstone of Daisybell. Always worth a listen.

page 8 🄵 ​ Tuesday , 3rd  Herefs Bishop’s Frome Singaround & Session, 7.30pm. The Chase Inn, Bishop’s Frome, Worcester WR6 5BP (postally Wuster but it's in Herefs). Contact Bernie, bernieuptonfolk<at>gmail.com

We had a great evening last month and now seem to be settled at the Chase. To help you become rather more organised than me, I am including the next few dates. These are… March 18th, April 15th, May 20th, June 17th, July 15th. Bernie

VALLEY FOLK MUSIC CONCERTS 144 Cedar Street Corning, NY (corner 1st St.) in the red brick Methodist Church. Buy tickets online at www.valleyfolk.org or at the door. For more information visit our website, or contact us: (1) 607-962-4461, or info<at>valleyfolk.org Sun, March 2, 2 pm. Kevin McKrell Band. Irish-flavored singer songwriter and two of his bandmates, Arlin Green and Frank Orsini. 

The live sing in Elmira, NY, went very well and people seemed interested in doing it again someday. We will keep you posted about that.