Unplugged at the Riverside Folk Club.

By Gareth Cornfield

Monday 17th February saw the latest unplugged session at the Riverside Folk Club, held every Monday at the Loughor Boating Club.

This is a new venture for this year & is proving popular.

No microphones, no PA, just the musician/performer, making contact with an appreciative audience.

The audience does tend to be quieter on these fortnightly evenings.

The standard last night was of a high calibre indeed. Robert Evans sang songs of his own composition & traditional ones. José Barbedo played Portuguese folk songs on a traditional Braguesa guitar.

There were comic songs & songs of deep emotion.

The evening was also notable for the presence of Andy McKay & Carole Etherton. They are Gower residents and write & perform songs based on local characters & legends. They are regulars at festivals around the country. They are going to be at the Bude & Stratton festival over the weekend of 23-26th May. Andy & Carole have collected their songs into two volumes; Harvest of Gold & Copperman’s Yard. They are for sale at £5 each, contact them via their website : www.cranedrivinmusic.com or go see them live & save on postage.

There is going to be a St.Patrick’s Eve celebration at The King Arthur Hotel on Saturday 15th March, featuring: The Rocky Road Band; Steve Jones; John Honour & many more. Music from 8.30, there will be an Irish themed menu with Guinness & Irish drinks promotions.

Rocky Road will be busy that weekend as they are also at the Riverside Folk Club on 17th March for St.Patrick’s Day. Tickets are £5, available from the club.

There is a lot of music around our area at the moment & it is difficult to decide what to go to, harder to decide what not to go to!

Last week I went to the Garage, Uplands, Swansea, to see folk legends Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick. They were supported by a Carmarthenshire duo, The Empty Shed Experience. The Shed were the best I have seen them, very polished and quickly establishing a rapport with the audience.

Carthy & Swarbrick were brilliant, as you would expect. Dave Swarbrick showing himself to be a witty raconteur with his hilarious stories have us all in stitches laughing.

The Garage is a lovely music venue and they deserve to be commended for putting on such a variety of music. Check out their listings for a very impressive menu of upcoming shows.

Last Friday I went to the Pontardawe Arts Centre to see Phil Beer, one third of the duo that is Show of Hands. I know that sounds incorrect, but, officially they are a duo, being entered as Best Duo in Folk Awards, there are, however, three of them, Miranda Sykes providing Double Bass. Phil gave a great show, lots of humorous stories. It also gave him the chance to do songs his ways, not the SOH way. Excellent.

My advice is to get out there. Find music that you love & support the musicians who play it. We are blessed with the variety and depth of musical talent here, let’s support it in every way we can.