With a fiddle and a banjo

Lucy Grubb is a singer-songwriter from Norfolk weaving her own way into the folk scene since emerging with her debut EP in 2017. She explores Rhiannon Giddens’ folk roots.

Grammy Award-winning American multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon

Giddens is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band Carolina Chocolate Drops. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Giddens now lives in her adopted home of Ireland with her Italian partner/ collaborator Francesco Turrisi and her two Irish-Gaelic speaking children.

Coincidentally, as a hopeful artist on the English folk scene, I recently showcased at the inaugural and aptly named Your Roots are Showing conference in Monaghan, Ireland, where I experienced first hand the cultural fusion of American and Irish folk music and all its diverse offerings. I met artists from all over the world, and enjoyed discussions about tradition and storytelling, folklore and song, and blending multi-cultural arts with Irish tradition. Late at night, you’d find grey-haired musos jamming in the hotel lobby with fiddles, guitars, and banjos.

The banjo, says Giddens, is both an example and a symbol of an AfricanAmerican instrument that has been co-opted and overtaken by AngloAmerican and Irish musicians to the point where its African roots have almost been lost. This is representative of the de-Africanising of American folk and its subgenres, including bluegrass, blues and old-time music.

Giddens sets to challenge this assumption by bringing AfricanAmerican roots back to the fore and infusing her music with elements from across Anglo and African-American influences. By doing this, she is both staking a claim to a wider American identity and helping to reclaim the black heritage of American folk music.

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Friday 12 May, 7.30pm Sedgeford village Hall

Saturday 13 May, 7.30pm, Hindolveston village Hall

Sunday 14 May, 3pm, Barton Bendish village Hall

Hopefully hopeful, The Rest of Our Lives is a cabaret of life and near death. Join Jo and George for a night of dance, circus and games. Jo is an old dancer, George an old clown. They are international artists with 100 years of life experience between them. They’ve reached the mid-way point, and now they’re looking at the rest of their lives and wondering, what next?

Tickets £12

U18/YoungNNF £7.50

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Saturday 13 May, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm

Sunday 14 May, 11am, 2pm, 5pm

The Garage

‘40 Small Ceremonies to Repair the World, the Human, and the Bicycle’. French Moroccan artist Zineb Benzekri presents a work-in-progress action exploring water in self care and curing. An intimate, interactive performance where audiences are invited to participate in acts exploring ceremony and care.

Tickets £7.50

SATUrDAY 13 & SUNDAY 14 MAY