Bob Fox in Concert

• The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport 
• Saturday 11 May 11th 
• 2.00 p.m. 
• Tickets £12 - buy here or at the box office. 

A great afternoon concert hosted by Pete Rimmer.
Part of the Southport Festival - 10 to 12 May.

What they're saying about Bob Fox:

"Fox always was one of the scene's superior singers and his voice is as confident and ebullient as it ever was." - Colin Irwin - Folk Roots Magazine 

"Bob, in my view, is a greatly under-rated singer and musician, if he were pushier he'd be up there with the Carthys and Gaughans and he could certainly teach the upcoming generation a thing or three!" - Raymon Greenoaken - Stirrings Magazine

"Bob Fox’s supreme voice is full of life and clarity." - New Zealand Folk Newsletter

"The most complete male folk artist on the British folk scene, his voice and singing style is envied by many of his contemporaries." - Colin Randall -The Daily Telegraph

"As soon as I heard him sing I realised that Bob Fox must have one of the best voices in England, he is an artist of great ability and integrity." - Ralph McTell

Reminder: Southport Beer & Folk Festival

I wrote last month about this festival, which runs this week from 15 to 17 July at Southport's Pleasureland. It is a joint enterprise by Real Ale Events Ltd, owned by Liverpool Organic Brewery, and Southport's Atkinson arts centre. I gave full details, including a link for tickets and a list of performers, here; the only change is that all the volunteer opportunities have now been taken. There will be three days of real ale to the sounds of folk and Americana music.

It's probably worth mentioning that it’s a family friendly event, with under 18s welcome, except in the bar area. Under 12s are allowed in free when accompanied by a paying adult.

Southport Beer & Folk Festival

Southport's Atkinson and the Liverpool Organic Brewery have teamed up to present a beer and folk music festival next month in Southport. Liverpool Organic Brewery have a record of running beer festivals in unusual venues, such as the old Christ Church in Waterloo, and in Liverpool at the famous bombed out church, the old Cain's brewery and St George's Hall. Now it is the turn of Pleasureland in Southport.

The festival will offer more than 200 real ales, ciders, perries, continental bottled beers, wines and Liverpool Gin, plus local food. Each session will feature live music from various folk and Americana acts:

• Kaia Kater (Friday afternoon).
• Flats & Sharps (Friday evening).
• The Elephant Sessions (Saturday afternoon). 
• Elbow Jane (Saturday evening).
• The Wilsons plus Treacherous Orchestra (Sunday afternoon). 

If you're coming some distance, camping for campervans only is available at £10 per night. For more information and to buy your tickets on-line, click here. Tickets cover admission to the beer festival and live music for the session purchased.

The organisers are calling for volunteers. There will be five sessions, and you can volunteer for whichever one (or ones) you prefer. You will be required to work on the real ale bars and possibly do some stewarding. In return you will receive: 

• Free festival t-shirt. 
• Free souvenir half pint festival glass. 
• Discounted food from the festival vendors. 
• Free entertainment during the session you work. 
• Most importantly, free cask beer and cider. 

You will be able to enjoy the real ales and ciders while you work and also in the break following the session. To find out more about volunteering, click here.

The festival will run from 11.30 on Friday 15 July to 19:00 on Sunday 17 July at Southport Pleasureland, Marine Drive, Southport, PR8 1RX.

Folk festival in Southport

The Bothy Folk Club, including your truly, will be playing free sessions in the bar on both days at the following times: today - 6.45pm – 7.45pm; tomorrow - 1.35pm to 2.20pm and 5.30pm to 6.30pm.

Click here for more details of the festival acts; it's called Love Folk because this is the Valentine's Day weekend.

Big Blues Festival, Southport

The Stumble are playing on Saturday

This weekend (9 - 10 October) there will be a blues festival in The Atkinson on Lord Street, Southport.

The Atkinson says that: "The weekend is all about the food, and drink, music and a bunch of people who all love the same thing … great music! Featuring Martin Harley, Jaywalkers, Gilmore & Roberts, Amelia Curran, The Coal Porters and Danny & The Champions Of The World ... The line-up is big and bold and presents music that is desperate to be heard! Come along and hear Chicago style rhythm & blues, gospel, rock and roots to the experimental across the 2 day event."

Real ale will be provided by Southport Brewery, Sandgrounder and Golden Sands, and there's a food menu as well. Festival tickets here.

Cork Jackets and Drill

In December 1886, the worst lifeboat disaster in RNLI history occurred on the Southport coast. Two lifeboats, Southport's Eliza Fernley and St Annes' Laura Janet, went to the rescue of the crew of the Mexico which had run aground in a full gale. Of the 29 impoverished workingmen, mostly fishermen, crewing the two lifeboats, only two survived. A third lifeboat, the Charles Biggs, ultimately managed to rescue the twelve crew of the Mexico. There's a more detailed account on the RNLI website.

Cork Jackets and Drill, written by established local playwright Len Pentin, tells the story of that terrible night through original songs and narration. It is performed by leading singers and musicians from the local folk scene and has been doing the rounds of local pubs, clubs and community groups for a while. This week it will be performed at the Atkinson, Southport's arts centre on Lord Street, on Friday 31 July at 7.30pm. More details and tickets here.

To tie in with this special event, there will also be a free talk the same evening at 6.00pm in the gallery: “Wrecks off the Southport Coast” by Martyn Griffiths.

From A Distance - the Americana festival

This weekend, the Atkinson arts centre in Southport presents its first Americana festival from 20 to 22 September. Guest artists artists include:

l Sarah McQuaid & The Carrivick Sisters
l Sarah Savoy & The Francadians
l Peggy Seeger & special guest Thea Hopkins
l Chastity Brown & Annie Keating
l Kelly Joe Phelps
l Liverpool Harmonic Gospel Choir with Chastity Brown
l Police Dog Hogan
l Trouble In The Fields – A Tribute to Nanci Griffith featuring The Kennedys

The following artists will play free in the foyer:

Sarah McQuaid

l The Grateful Fred Band (foyer session hosts)
l Steve Chapman-Smith
l Peter Aldridge
l The Southbound Attic Band
l The Big I Am
l The Susie Jones Band
l The Good Intentions

There will be several workshops during the weekend as well.
For more details of the artists, dates, times and tickets, click here.

Hannah James and Sam Sweeney

Hannah James and Sam Sweeney

Hannah James and Sam Sweeney are one of the foremost duos performing English Folk Music today. They released their second album, State and Ancientry in April 2012. Their music consists mainly of English songs and tunes on accordion and fiddle, and their live show includes Hannah’s renowned high-energy clog dancing.

Sam plays with multi-award winning folk group Bellowhead, Jon Boden and The Remnant Kings, and Fay Hield and The Hurricane Party. Hannah sings, plays and dances with BBC Folk Award nominated Lady Maisery and Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span.

“An absolutely cracking follow up! I think they’re amazing, not just as young players but as players of any age. Brilliant musicians.” - Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2.

They're on at 7.30pm this Thursday 27 June in the Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport. On-line tickets.

Southport's Atkinson arts centre to reopen

The refurbishment of the Southport arts centre on Lord Street is now nearing completion. It has been three long years and the extended closure hasn't been helpful to the cultural life of the town, so let's hope all the time, effort and - most importantly - money has been well spent. It was because of this closure that the local CAMRA beer festival moved, first to the Scarisbrick Hotel and then to the St Johns Ambulance Hall in Wright Street, where it will held again this October. Many of us feared that, with the recession, the arts centre might not have been reopened at all and the building sold off.

It is to be renamed the Atkinson, although I suspect some people will still call it "the arts centre", mainly because they'll get bored of saying: "I'm going to see X at the Atkinson." "Where's that?" "It's the old arts centre."  I do recall that before it became Southport Arts Centre, it was called the Cambridge Hall, but the 'C' fell off and so it became Ambridge Hall, familiar to listeners of The Archers as the home of Lynda Snell. The Atkinson incorporates not just the arts centre, but also the library and art gallery.

When it reopens soon, it will present a variety of concerts from Fairport Convention  to Showaddywaddy. Also featured in the next few months will be: Spiers and Boden, Heidi Talbot , Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, Cara Luft (duo), The Christians, and State of the Union (Brooks Williams & Boo Hewardine). The Atkinson will also be hosting the annual Southport Jazz Festival in May, although there will still be a range of fringe events, some of them free, around the town. I'll write about them closer to the time. As before, I'll be noting the musical events at the Atkinson that I consider relevant to this blog on my What's On page (link to the right, or here), or you can go on the Sefton Arts website.

It is good news that it is reopening at last, but I think it's important to realise that in the current financial mess that the banks and politicians (of all political persuasions) have left us in, the long-term future of the Atkinson cannot be regarded as definite. It really is a matter of use it or lose it.

P.S. I contacted Emma Lloyd at the Atkinson about the bar, and her reply included this encouraging news: "We are looking to bring in Southport Brewery where possible and cater for our patrons with a wide choice of good quality bottled beers."