Pontardawe VALLEY FOLK CLUB
VALLEY FOLK CLUB
HAS RETURNED TO
PONTARDAWE
About (Pontardawe) VALLEY FOLK CLUB
Valley Folk Club usually meets on 1st. 3rd. and 5th Fridays with a few exceptions which are posted in the diary on the web page. See Jan & Feb below.
1st Fridays are usually Open Nights, 3rd Fridays Guest Nights and often a 50/50 Night on 5th Fridays featuring 2 acts.
On OPEN NIGHTS a warm welcome is extended to everyone to sing, play, recite or just enjoy. We sometimes allow a short set showcasing visiting performers. Please make contact to pre-arrange this. Open Nights are £2 to cover room hire.
GUEST NIGHTS Usually 2 x 40/45 min sets with floor spots before the 1st set. Usually £8 - £10
Evenings usually start at 8pm.
The club web page is www.casbar.co.uk/pontardawe-valley-folk-club/ which is updated regularly.
Email:- PontyVFC@casbar.co.uk
We are also on Facebook. See Pontardawe, Valley Folk Club
https://www.facebook.com/Pontardawe-Valley-Folk-Club-267787909911885/
For contacts please see the Folk Clubs page on this web site.
START TIME - 8pm Guest Nights £ see below Open Nights £2
All club nights are held in Pontardawe Heritage & Visitor Centre, The Old Stables, Herbert St.
Pontardawe SA8 4EB (Behind the Dillwyn Arms at the traffic lights.) There is ample parking in the town car parks. Free after 6pm & all day Sunday. Bring Your Own Refreshments. Tea & Coffee available.
OPEN NIGHT December 6th 8pm £2
XMAS PARTY with WHISKEY RIVER TRIO
December 13th 8pm £8
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Whiskey River play Americana - Cajun, Zydeco, Folk, Good Country, Blues and a spattering of Celtic Music. With many years experience
of performing, these guys deliver the goods. The acoustic trio comprises Martin Blake, Aidan Sheehan & Alan Cooper. Superb musicianship and singing, excellent variety, stylistically innovative and not least, great
fun.
BRING
YOUR OWN REFRESHMENTS There will be some nibbles and tea & coffee available.
RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW. Pay on the night (cash only) cas@casbar.co.uk
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JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2025
To make things more comfortable for everyone in these cold months we will be trying Sunday afternoon folk club sessions.
These will start at 2pm and will take place on the Sundays following a 1st, 3rd and 5th Friday.
Then back to the usual Friday sessions from March.
SUNDAY January 5th 2pm - Open Night in the afternoon. £2
ANGHARAD JENKINS & PATRICK RIMES
SUNDAY January 19th 2pm £10
ANGHARAD JENKINS & PATRICK RIMES are two artists who are simply at the top of their game on the Welsh folk scene.
As founding members of the multi award- winning band CALAN, Angharad Jenkins and Patrick Rimes (also a founding member of Vrï) have spent fifteen years at the cutting edge of Welsh traditional music, constantly bending and beating it into unfamiliar shapes with their relentlessly innovative interpretations of old repertoire. Through five studio albums and gruelling tours across three continents a deep musical rapport has grown, a shared instinctive musical language and a yearning to hear these ancient melodies as they are: raw and unfiltered.
Despite both having extremely broad, multi-instrumental and genre-hopping musical
portfolios, Angharad and Patrick are primarily associated with the Welsh fiddle tradition – a
style which they have both helped to shape in their own ways in recent years.
Their debut album ‘amrwd’ (the Welsh for raw) was released on Ty Cerdd Records in 2023,
and was nominated for the Welsh Album of the Year. With classical echoes this deceptively
simple album explores some of Wales’ rich folk tradition by two of the country’s most
revered practitioners. As a duo they take their love and knowledge of Welsh folk music to
new levels of intimacy, with vibrant playing and beautiful vocal harmonies, which you will
hear as part of their performance.
WYNFORD JONES & GEOFF CRIPPS +
THE BLESSED CROW - a 50/50 afternoon.
SUNDAY February 2nd 2pm £8
WYNFORD JONES & GEOFF CRIPPS
THE stunning duo of Wynford Jones and Geoff Cripps has musical connections and roots which stretch back into the last century and in particular their involvement with celebrated folk/rock band The Chartists. The Chartists disbanded in 1991 and Wynford and Geoff went on their own musical journeys. Geoff was one of the founder members of the brilliant Allan Yn Y Fan in 1996, with whom he toured extensively in the UK and internationally, whilst releasing six acclaimed albums between 2003 and December 2018. At the start of 2022 Wynford and Geoff rekindled their friendship and their mutual respect for each other’s music-making skills. Initially they played as the trio Lauford Cripps alongside former Chartists member Laurence Eddy, and the superb live album celebrating that collaboration is ‘Lauford Cripps Live At BGFM Nantyglo’. Since Laurence’s departure, Wynford and Geoff are moving forward as a duo. Expect a virtuoso combination of instrumentalists and vocalists at the very top of their game.
Paul Nicholas
THE BLESSED CROW
are Tim & Iona Crahart; a father and daughter folk duo from South Wales. They write original songs in a decidedly traditional style and call upon folklore, protest and spiritual themes for their inspiration. Tim & Iona share vocal duties and harmonies are a big feature of their performances. The songs are accompanied by guitar, bouzouki & bodhran. Their first CD, entitled Maiden Flight, is out now.
SUNDAY February 9th 2pm - Open Night in the afternoon. £2
JOFF LOWSON TRIO - SUNDAY February 23rd 2pm £8
JOFF LOWSON TRIO
Entertaining : Enlightening : Unique
Three talented musicians playing captivating new songs in a novel style with roots in Folk, Bluegrass and Popular music throughout the ages.
See new band & live music videos
Music that takes you to places you never dreamed of, holding you safely in its arms.
Three good friends, bringing a warm vibe along with some exceptional musicianship. With Mike Pryor on double bass and Dave Brown on guitar, you will see something you've never seen before! See
what some famous people say about Joff
"Joff Lowson, excellent!" Johnny Walker - BBC Radio 1
"Interesting, Jazzy Stuff!" Don Reno Jr
"I really like what he does, especially the rockier numbers." Dave Swarbrick
MARCH ONWARDS - BACK TO FRIDAY EVENINGS
March 21st TOM KITCHING - "Where There's Brass"
April 4th THE JAKE LEG JUG BAND
May 16th - tba
May 30th 50/50 night JOHN DAVIES + WILD EYED, WICKED & OBLIVIOUS This date will change due to major booking in Pontardawe Arts Centre, same date.
June 20th - tba
Sunday, December 22:
Llantrisant Mari Lwyd tour
12 noon: meet in the car park of the Dynevor Arms, Groes Faen, CF72 8NS;
12.45pm (or sooner if we are ready): The Castell Mynach, CF72 8PN;
1.30pm: Llantrisant Town, taking in:
The New Inn, CF72 8ED;
The Bear, CF72 8DA;
The Cross Keys and The Wheatsheaf (if open) CF72 8BQ;
A private house behind The Wheatsheaf;
Anywhere else that might make us welcome. Once up the town, time can run away with us - so anyone joining us up there can't miss a horse's skull in a white sheet roaming around.
4pm-ish: The Cross Inn, Cross Inn, CF72 8AZ.
We will be collecting for the Marie Curie cancer hospice, Holme Towers, Penarth - you are very welcome to join us.
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