Welcome to the Dragon Folk Club

Welcome to the official blog of the Dragon Folk Club, which meets for a singers night every Friday at The Bridge Inn, Shortwood, Bristol. Everyone is welcome whether you sing, play or just listen.

Thursday 26 October 2017

There's going to be a revolution

Bolshevik forces marching on the Red Square
Last week's session saw six of us singing a wide variety of songs to no particular theme. This Friday the theme will be Halloween so we look forward to hearing your songs of ghosties and ghoulies and long legged beasties, or maybe hubble, bubble, toil and trouble.

It was good to see Phil after missing the last few months, bringing back his songs of 19th and early 20th century USA. Colin was MC and started off the session with Tim Laycock's Heaven's A Bar.

A few discernible mini-themes emerged during the evening, not least the singing of two quite different versions of the same song (Roud 1, Child 200). Colin started it off with Raggle Taggle Gypsy while Phil gave us the transatlantic version in the shape of Gypsy Davy.

Thursday 19 October 2017

Should I sing this?

Cotton Bales, Savanna, Georgia
It was almost two weeks ago that the Dragon Folk Club last met. Last week was a fallow Friday for us and this is the somewhat belated report of the session from the previous week. Seven was a decent turn-out for us in recent weeks and it was good to see Richard for the second time recently (not Richard G, who has left the area but Richard who is apparently a regular at Folk Around Fishponds and is known to Colin from that club).

The parish notices, as placed in the previous short blog post involve a number of themed nights coming up, so you are encouraged mainly to come and be part of the fun, but if possible to dig out some songs and tunes to match the themes:

  • 20 October - Session with no theme
  • 27 October - Halloween session
  • 3 November - Campfire, Guy Fawkes, etc.
  • 10 November - Remembrance

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Parish notices

I won't be hurrying out the report for last week's Dragon Folk Club session, mainly because there is no session this Friday (13 October) so I will use it to publicise next week's session (20 October) which will be without a theme. We have however got a few themed sessions coming up, so I will take this opportunity to inform you and perhaps you can put on your thinking caps to come up with some appropriate songs, tunes, monologues or whatever other forms of performance you wish to share:
  • 20 October - Session with no theme
  • 27 October - Halloween session
  • 3 November - Campfire, Guy Fawkes, etc.
  • 10 November - Remembrance

Thursday 5 October 2017

The anniversary waltz

Kevin Barry
Before getting down to the report of last week's session there is an important notice, that there will be no Dragon Folk Club session on 13 October because The Bridge Inn is hosting a wake for someone from the village. There is no need though to go without music that week because there are two recommended events.

On Wednesday 11 October Simon's friend Damian Clarke is doing a gig in aid of Médecins Sans Frontières. Damian, who plays hammered dulcimer and hurdy gurdy, will be joined by George Whitfield on accordion and Kent Nielsen on ukulele. All this will be at The Star Inn, Fishponds and will kick off at 7:30pm.

The second recommended gig is friend of the Dragon Folk Club, Keith Hyett who is performing his own classical guitar compositions as part of his Memories of You tour at Mount Pleasant Community Centre, Bradford on Avon at 7:30pm on Friday 13 October. Tickets at £7.00 are available on the door or from www.ents24.com.