What’s On

Your guide to folk events in Coventry and Warwickshire.

We’ve linked to a new calendar format which should make more local folk events accessible and easy to update. Just click on the maroon lettering below – or scroll down for individual listing of forthcoming events.

Cov & Warks Folk Events Listing

If you are planning any folk event in the CV postcode area – big concert, back-room singaround, online performance, dance display, or whatever, click here to email us, providing the following details:

  • Date, start-time and end-time
  • Name of venue
  • Type of event
  • Artists/performers appearing
  • Location including postcode
  • Description – including how to book tickets, web links, etc
Please note that information on this page is based on advertising and public announcements by the venues and/or events organisers.
While every effort is made to ensure that details provided here are correct, CVFolk cannot guarantee its accuracy which is why we include contact information for each event so that you can check and confirm if necessary,

CVFolk is working in partnership with Folk21 Midlands region and many of the events listed here are shared in their own events listing.

Apr
16
Tue
Feast of Fiddles @ Stratford PlayHouse
Apr 16 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Feast of Fiddles – 30th Anniversary Spring Tour 2024
The Feast of Fiddles set out on their Spring Tour once again in 2024 following a very successful return to the road post pandemic restrictions. Born in Nettlebed on Valentine’s Day 1994 as a one-off special concert, Feast of Fiddles has done 28 spring tours, 26 festivals and has 7 CDs to its name. Not bad for a bunch of old folk-rockers!

This is a band of friends that puts on a show of huge dynamic range performed with passion, joy and a liberal dose of fun.  Typically, fiddlers Garry Blakeley (Band of Two), Ian Cutler (Bully Wee), Marion Fleetwood (Trad Arr, Sandy Denny Project), Peter Knight (Gigspanner, Steeleye Span), Tom Leary (Joe Brown), Brian McNeill (Battlefield Band) bring a large range of fiddle playing styles to the rock back-line – all held together by legendary drummer Dave Mattacks. As this is the 30th anniversary of the band you can expect to see and hear past member special guests along the way. Keep an eye open for tour news on the website. This is a live music entertainment like no other on the circuit which is guaranteed to be enjoyed by even the most doubting of friends dragged along!

Apr
24
Wed
Alistair Anderson @ The Folk Club - Stratford Play House,
Apr 24 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

The Folk Club

Stratford Playhouse

English Concertina & Northumbrian Pipes

As a touring soloist, with no less than 37 tours of the USA, 5 trips to Australia and countless European tours to his credit, Alistair Anderson is internationally acknowledged as a master of the English Concertina and a fine exponent of the Northumbrian Pipes. He delights audiences with the lyrical slow airs and lively dance tunes of Northumberland and with his own compositions, which have grown out of his love of traditional music.

“His appeal as a musician lies not only in his remarkable handling of the English Concertina and Northumbrian Pipes. It is also a result of his total involvement in his music, his absolute sincerity, which succeeds in reaching a far wider audience than his classification as a folk musician would suggest.”                                              The Stage

“The pleasure comes chiefly from the excellence of the playing; that particular delight which comes from anything superbly done. The concertina emerges as a flexible and sensitive instrument; in the hands of a player of Anderson’s quality it is amazing what it can achieve.”                                                                                                           The Guardian

“He remains one of this country’s most majestic and inclusive instrumentalists”
  Colin Irwin fROOTS 

“Anderson’s playing is as intricate and skilled as ever.”          Ian Croft – Rock and Reel  2023

May
10
Fri
Steeleye Span @ Stratford PlayHouse
May 10 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Folk Rock Pioneers
Steeleye Span
The 55th Anniversary Tour 2024

Together for fifty years now, Steeleye Span changed the face of folk music forever by taking it into the world of gold discs and international tours. New album the Green Man Collection brings together tracks from their recent releases with new versions of three classics (including a reworking of ‘Hard Times’ featuring Status Quo’s Francis Rossi), a cover of Elvis Costello’s ‘Shipbuilding’ and the title track, a previously lost Bob Johnson song  from the 1980s. The band will undertake a full UK tour in support, their first live dates of the year, where they will be joined by new violinist Athena Octavia. As ever – and with such a rich history to choose from – the night will offer a selection of songs from across the years and firm fan favourites

May
23
Thu
Iona Lane @ The Folk Club - Stratford Play House,
May 23 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

The Folk Club

Stratford Playhouse

Driven by awe and wonder of the natural world, Iona Lane delivers poetic songs, with subtle musical touches and contemplative melodies that link unheard stories with the world we find ourselves in today.

Hallival’ is the long awaited debut album from Glasgow-based folk singer and songwriter Iona Lane. Having found herself fascinated by folklore and folk stories from across the UK ‘Hallival’ is inspired by natural landscapes, scientific discoveries, equality, human relationships and the supernatural, all tied together by a strong sense of place and a love for being in wild places – creating something truly special.

Hallival’ charted at #36 in the Official Folk Album Charts and was named by Folk Radio UK as #27 in their ‘Top Albums of 2022’. The album received widespread press including in The Guardian, WalkHighlands, BBC Radio 2 and The Scotsman to name a few. In 2023 Iona toured ‘Hallival’ extensively across the UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and joined Karine Polwart on a run of her tour dates in England. Iona joined Karine on stage for a few songs, an awe inspiring opportunity for audiences to see these two artists sing together.

“An intriguing debut – her sweet voice recalls Emilíana Torrini, while her lyrics and musical arrangements crackle with wide-eyed curiosity.” – Jude Rogers, The Guardian

“A real talent!” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 Folk Show

“Iona feels like a kindred spirit with her gorgeous evocations of landscape and geeky scientific references.” – Karine Polwart

“Time and tide wash through this debut… delivered in a light, melodious voice and with engaging conviction” – The Scotsman

“Iona’s mesmerising, lyrical exploration of the UK’s wilderness through song lifts the spirits.” – WALK Magazine, Ramblers’ Association

Jul
11
Thu
Jon Doran and the Northern Assembly @ The Folk Club - Stratford Play House,
Jul 11 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

The Folk Club

Stratford Playhouse

Jon Doran is a Newcastle-based folk singer and multi-instrumentalist from Gloucestershire. He was a 2019 finalist on BBC Radio 2’s Young Folk Awards and a recent winner of Bromyard Folk Festival’s ‘Future of Folk’ competition.

​Jon’s sensitive approach to arranging and performing traditional songs on guitar and Irish bouzouki is often said to draw a likeness with revivalists Nic Jones and Andy Irvine. He has a powerful and intricate accompaniment style but never fails to place the narrative at the forefront of his arrangements. His stories focus on all human experience throughout history, whether that be humorous tales, or woeful retellings of tragic events, Jon never fails to capture the beauty and excitement that lies within traditional music.

Sep
19
Thu
Jenny Wren and Her Borrowed Wings @ The Folk Club - Stratford Play House,
Sep 19 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Oct
17
Thu
Robin and Bina Williamson @ The Folk Club - Stratford Play House,
Oct 17 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

The Folk Club

Stratford Playhouse

 

Nov
16
Sat
The Gerry Colvin Orchestra @ Stratford PlayHouse
Nov 16 @ 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm

CURTAIN UP FOR THE GERRY COLVIN BIG FOLK ORCHESTRA
STRATFORD PLAYHOUSE THEATRE SATURDAY 16 TH NOVEMEBER 2024

‘’This man is unique and unforgettable. He should be a household name. Go see him.”
Phil Beer, Show of Hands
‘’Gerry Colvin is a remarkable Talent. I am a fan.’’ Simon Nicol, Fairport Convention

From intimate sold out club gigs to both playing and compering Glastonbury and being given a standing ovation at Fairport Convention’s 50th anniversary Cropredy Festival, the irrepressibly exuberant Gerry Colvin is not just a folk-pop legend, he’s one of this country’s finest songwriters and a sensational live performer with more energy than your average power station.
Capable of bringing a tear to your eye or stoking a fire in your heart, his thoughtful, playful, insightful, compassionate and inevitably melodically infectious songs speak to anyone who’s ever felt the passion and pain of love, to those enraged by the injustices of today’s society and to those who’ve ever wished they owned Johnny Cash’s shirt.
And now Gerry and his band, along with a clutch of special guests, are headlining what is guaranteed to be a show to remember at the Stratford Playhouse, to celebrate his fifth decade of making music.

Gerry started out with Birmingham-based 70s indie jazz outfit The Man Upstairs before co-founding skiffle-cowpunk indie outfit Terry & Gerry in the early 80s, championed by John Peel, appearing on The Old Grey Whistle Test, The Tube, and seeing all of their five singles and debut album top the indie charts.

Returning from a stint as professional songwriter in Nashville in the early 90s, he collaborated with Alison Moyet, had huge success with The Gerry Colvin’s Inexperience and The Atlantics before, in 1995, joining forces with Nick Quarmby to form ColvinQuarmby, going on to release six critically acclaimed albums, be voted best band at the 2009 Cropredy Festival and, in 2010 win the Hancock Award for Best Live Folk Act.

Now fronting the four-piece Gerry Colvin Band, featuring Jerome Davies on double bass, accordionist Trish Power and Lyndon Webb on guitar Gerry continues to write and perform in the UK, Europe and the USA. The band have released five albums of original Colvin songs while Gerry also has a solo jazz album to his name: in addition to his huge ten album back catalogue.

Not only that, he’s also kept busy touring with the much in demand reformed Terry and Gerry, who toured with Status Quo in 2015, and has still found time along the way to write his first novel, ‘The Rabbits of Zakynthos’,  serve as patron of Stratford Upon Avon-based Welcombe Radio, Banbury Folk Club and Banbury Folk Festival, write three musicals, two film scores, write and present for Radio 2, contribute a ukulele version of Revolution to a Beatles tribute album and even performed as a comedy double act with Detectorists co-star Mackenzie Crook.

For the Playhouse concert The Gerry Colvin Band will be joined by very special guest Marion Fleetwood, The GCB Folk choir, five string players, a top horn section and Paul Johnston on drums. Twelve people on stage to create a wonderful night not to be missed.

Nov
21
Thu
Luke Jackson Trio @ The Folk Club - Stratford Play House,
Nov 21 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

The Folk Club

Stratford Playhouse