Club Programme

Everyone welcome, singers, musicians, performers and listeners. Using the mic is optional.

Locally based and now becoming a national name transatlantic folk band The Magpies are one of the most exciting and innovative acts on the contemporary roots scene. Combining sublime harmonies with exquisite musicianship and impressive songwriting, The Magpies traverse Anglo and American roots, drawing inspiration from traditional Celtic folk, bluegrass and Appalachian trails, to create an effortless melting pot of music. Accomplished musicians in their own right, founding members Bella Gaffney (award winning singer-songwriter, guitarist and banjoist) and Holly Brandon (acclaimed fiddle player and tunesmith) perform alongside some of the UK’s finest roots musicians. Following the release of theirncritically acclaimed debut album in 2020, they released their second album Undertow in October 2022. It's a rich and varied showcase of their live sound, flawless instrumentation providing an elegant canvas for intricate harmonies and engaging storytelling. With a sound that pushes boundaries and brings a fresh voice to the current milieu, the album’s success comes as no surprise, with a quarter of a million streams on Spotify, a place in the Official Folk Albums Chart Top 40 and a live session on BBC Radio 2.

One of our favourite performers at The Black Swan Folk Club and one of the finest female singer/songwriters this country has produced in years. Edwina brings together English folk, Americana and the rich Northern singer/songwriter tradition to create a sound that’s truly her own. Highly accomplished she’s toured with such notable performers as Jools Holland, Van Morrison, Nanci Griffith and Loudon Wainwright III to name just a few. Edwina numbers Michael Parkinson and Mike Harding among her fans and the title track of her album Pour Me A Drink was covered by Nanci Griffith who calls her 'the sweetest voice in England'. Her cover of the Randy Newman song Feels Like Home was featured in the Cameron Diaz film My Sister's Keeper and has since had over ten million plays on Spotify and over thirty million plays on You Tube. Edwina's 4th album Ruby Rose was released in 2022. 'The sweetest voice in England. A wonderful young woman, so gifted and full of song.' Nanci Griffith 'Haunting, honeyed, solo songwriter.' The Guardian

Our annual Christmas Party where everyone's invited. Free admission but we'll be having a raffle with loads of prizes. Christmas songs from our regulars and anybody who cares to drop by and join in.

It's the annual MILLION DOLLAR XMAS BASH. Back again for their Christmas celebration of the music of Bob Dylan, BLONDE on BOB present an evening dedicated to the music of the world's greatest singer-songwriter. More than ably supported by Billy Bills and Graham Metcalf (FREEWHEELIN') plus the usual festive fun and games.

A special tribute night for one of our most popular and longest serving resident performers who sadly passed away recently. Music from a variety of his friends and fellow performers with all monies raised being donated to the British Heart Foundation.

'Blessed with fingers capable of guitar-playing beyond mere mortals!' Lee's initial impact was immediate, captivating audiences at folk clubs and festivals and touring in a trio with Keith Hancock and Clive Gregson. He has since forged a successful solo career with his eclectic repertoire comprising folk and blues in all of its forms. His albums feature guest appearances from the likes of Christine Collister, Barb Jungr and Tom McConville and his career has taken him all over the world. A performer who can switch from contemporary and traditional folk, to 50s style, blues and jazz, Lee currently performs as front man for punk shanty band The Salts. His solo career has included being a finalist in BBC Radio’s Young Tradition Award twice. The subsequent broadcast, and a chance meeting with Spiv Records at a folk festival, resulted in his debut release, Limbo, followed by the much lauded song Slip the Driver a Fiver.

Everyone welcome, singers, musicians, performers and listeners. Using the mic is optional.

From Canada, a debut at The Black Swan Folk Club for this exciting duo. International touring award winning Canadians Gordie Tentrees & Jaxon Haldane have performed 950 concerts together since their Texas stage debut in 2014. Armed with 10 instruments (banjo, mando, cigar box guitars, fiddle- saw, harmonica, resonator, acoustic, porch bass, snare) never repeating themselves onstage with brotherly harmonies & masterful storytelling . From headlining Celtic Connections (Glasgow) to the Woody Guthrie Festival (Oklahoma) they never repeat, juggling the dark with the light, brotherly harmonies & masterful storytelling. Gordie Tentrees is also a 2023 International Acoustic Award Winner! "Organic & holistic folk, this is the wild sound of freedom and the freedom to fly" Midwest Record USA "Majestic songwriting, incredible insight, genuine authenticity ” Americana UK

Our annual day of folk music with continuous sets from local folk singers and musicians. Starts 2pm and runs through to 10-30pm. More details to be announced shortly.

Everyone welcome, singers, musicians, performers and listeners. Using the mic is optional.

Last here at The Black Swan Folk Club in December 2015 and a return visit is long overdue. Songs about cuckolded molecatchers, a lone English oak tree that grows at Gallipoli, care in the community, medieval pilgrims and Victorian bare-knuckle boxers... We can only be talking about the acclaimed song and storytelling trio Harp & a Monkey.

Kenny Speirs has been a well-known figure on the national and international folk circuit for over twenty five years ever since the John Wright Band burst onto the scene in the early nineties. From his beloved homeland of the Scottish Borders the band propelled Kenny from the pubs and clubs of his local area to some of the biggest festival stages throughout the U.K. and Europe. In 2002 Kenny went on to form Real Time with his partner Judy Dinning. For the next eleven years they toured extensively all over Europe and in the U.S.A. until Judy’s untimely death in October 2013. Six albums from this intimate collaboration have been the highlight of his career to date. Since losing Judy, Kenny decided to carry on with Real Time, and continues to enjoy huge success with Eilidh Grant taking on the main singing duties. It is only now, after a very emotional period of reflection, that Kenny has been inspired to write and release his first CD of self-penned songs. “Sleepwalking” is a collection thirteen songs old and new marking a change of direction that moves him from highly accomplished bandsman to centre stage. Featuring guest musicians that include ex Strawbs guitarist Brian Willoughby, stellar uilleann piper Catherine Ashcroft and long-time collaborators Tommy Roseburgh, Fiona Cuthill and Stevie Lawrence, these songs form the basis of Kenny’s live shows, while there is always room for a few songs from the Border country that has always inspired him.

One of the most exciting duos to emerge from the UK in recent times, Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow combine heartfelt musicality, unparalleled virtuosity and vocal harmony. Using the folk music of the British Isles as a catalyst, Kit and Aaron create dynamic and effervescent interpretations of centuries-old material as well as original songs and compositions, all the while celebrating the timeless aural quality of a guitar, fiddle and vocals duet. Studio albums The Fox (2016) and Pill Pilots (2019) have been met by wide critical acclaim, receiving five star reviews and local and national airplay. The duo tour extensively in the UK and internationally across Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. BBC 2’s Mark Radcliffe is a champion of their work, saying “Kit and Aaron are reminiscent of the late Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy… I can give them no higher accolade. They are at the top of their game”. “Fleet fingered and ingeniously arranged. .....deserve to be thought of as up there with the best of them" - Songlines “Such dexterity, energy and passion.....mightily impressive” - R2 Magazine “The pair demonstrate an eclectic approach that lifts them head and shoulders above the rest”-Acoustic Magazine “Never a dull moment, with imagination firing throughout and an abundance of creative energy” -Living Tradition

Following the colossal success of supporting Bellowhead on their comeback tour in 2022, Sam is taking to the road to play his genre-defying landmark album, Escape That, with his all-star band. Featuring Louis Campbell on electric guitar, Ben Nicholls on double bass and Stuart McCallum on acoustic guitar, this will be a gig you don’t want to miss. Sam is one of England’s finest and most in demand traditional musicians, however Escape That is his first entirely self-composed record. It ties together all of Sam’s musical passions in an honest and fearless expression of himself. Sam and his band are putting something into English music that has never been there before and pressing the reset button on how folk music should sound. Combining Sam’s love for traditional music with strong pop hooks and aesthetics, this music is unashamed in its wide pool of influences. He is a veteran of the mighty Bellowhead, former artistic director of the National Folk Youth Ensemble, founder member of the acclaimed instrumental trio Leveret, and a genre defining instrumentalist at the forefront of the revival in English traditional music.

For nearly 15 years now, the three members of The Langan Band have been carving out their own lawlessly virtuosic path of sound; rampaging through the boundaries of conventional genre and cavorting into the territories of wild abandon, purest intimacy, and unconditional musical elation. The trio were initially brought together by a deep respect of traditional song and music, yet they discovered a mutual love of the evisceration and regeneration of these pieces into provocative and fascinating new compositions, as was recognised by the band winning the prestigious Danny Kyle Award at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections Festival at the start of their journey together. This sound and process went on to inform the band’s now mostly original repertoire, and has resulted in a musical experience quite unlike any other.

Robb Johnson is a British musician and songwriter who has been called "one of the last genuinely political songwriters". He is known for his mix of political satire and wit. He's released more than 40 albums since 1985, either solo or in several collaborations. Robb Johnson says he’s just a bloke with a guitar. He is. But he’s one who has chronicled our times: painting the less-than-sunny political landscape in the moonlight of the personal. Just like a folk singer should. "Britain's finest songwriter since Richard Thompson"- Venue "An English original" - Robin Denselow, The Guardian