December - Phil Beer and his special guest Miranda Sykes

Arcelia - fabulous songwriting and performance -complex harmonies Martin Carthy....sold out Christmas Party free- open mic-ish Dance French /play live music £5 12-4.30 Jazz Night at 8 £10. Tony Hudd +

Open Water- local indie folk, harmonies Jazz Night at 8 £10 Tony Hudd + Good Habits Rich variety of styles Burns Night - open mic + Dance French /play live music £5 12-4.30 Step / clog workshop £10 12-1 live banjo..

Gerry Colvin rare solo show Roswell Rich harmonic beauty Jazz Night at 8 £10 Tony Hudd + St Patrick's open mic Dance French /play live music £5 12-4.30 Step / clog workshop £10 12-1 live banjo Den Miller sing-along intelligent lyrics

An intimate quirky venue in Margate on one level with a bar the first hour only is live streamed. Pay £12 if you can, please, otherwise £6 www.rosslyncourt.com/concerts Keeping music live

It is not often I get to review a double red vinyl LP in AKF but this new release from Steeleye is too good to miss. The album was originally included on the 12 CD box set “Good Times of Old England”, released in May 2022, which covered their albums from 1972 to 1983. The album’s 16 tracks include some of Steeleye’s best knowN and most popular songs, including Two Magicians, The Wife of Usher’s Well, Long Lankin, Thomas the Rhymer, Cam Ye O’er Frae France and The Mason’s Apron. The live introductions to the songs are also included so you get to hear the voices of some of the old band members. The lineup in 1974 was Maddy Prior, Rick Kemp, Rob Johnson, Peter Knight, Tim Hart and Nigel Pegrum and it is interesting to see the photos of them as they where then. The two RED vinyl albums come in two inner colour covers with comprehensive sleeve notes all included in a traditional LP outer cover. A must for all Steeleye fans of any age.

14th Dec 2022 John Kirkpatrick Christmas Night - Rousing revels with the Guv’nor... by popular demand a rollicking ride on the seasonal sleigh from the King of Squeeze. £10/11 11th Jan 2023 Sally Ironmonger & Brian Carter - Superb self penned songs of local and radical interest... always a lively evening in store. £7/8 1st February Edwina Hayes - A welcome return South for a sublime singer whose Zoom request shows livened many an afternoon over the past couple of years. Glad to hear Edwina again in person - beautiful and committed vocals/guitar. £8/9

All others Singers’ Nights, and not, necessarily, as advertised in the local paper, Swingers. All other Wednesdays are Singers Nights, only £2, where traditional mixes with contemporary and jollity is encouraged. We ask that you please test yourself before coming to the club, to keep guests and all of us safe and well. We do what we can to ventilate and keep safe by distancing. See you at the Limes!

Let’s start off with folk dance events this month. One of the most vibrant of the regular dance events is one that caters for those with and interest in French dances. Dansez Français events are usually held in Brighton. but during this editorial period, they also have one in Lewes. They are planning to dance the New Year in this year at their regular venue at Patcham Memorial Hall which you can find at 3 Old London Road, Brighton BN1 8XR. They are hoping to have a group of French musicians that perform under the name of St Sylvestre but they are awaiting confirmation so if this is for you keep an eye of the Dansez Français Group page on Facebook for further details. On January 28th there will be an evening with more familiar musician in Sussex who play together as Sawney White Bird and features Ravi Sawney, Heather White and Jane Bird playing tunes they really love. There’s some old English ones, some from France, and ones they’ve written themselves. The line- up features saxes, whistles, melodeon, fiddle, mouthorgan, concertina. Again, this dance will be at Patcham Memorial Hall where there is a fabulous polished wooden ballroom floor, just perfect for French dancing! Their event in Lewes is in another well-appointed hall; St Mary’s Social Centre, Christie Road, Lewes BN7 IPL and on Saturday 21st January 2023 from 8-11pm they will be holding a Fest Noz, an evening of music and dances from Brittany. There will be live music from two great bands; the Tonik Dance Band as well as Trio Zinzon. The dances are easy and fun, anyone can join in. No partners are necessary, no experience needed. There will be no bar at Dansez Français events and you are advised to take your own refreshments. The other dance club to mention is Shoreham dance club and their final event of 2022 will be on Sunday 4th December from 3pm to 6pm at St Julians Hall, Rectory Road, Kingston Buci, Shoreham by Sea, BN43 6E with dancing to the calling of John Portlock. Chichester Folk club is one of the longest continually running folk clubs in the UK and it celebrates sixty years of its existence in December. For the majority of those years, the club has been run by the same person. Marilyn Campbell: Marilyn has been collecting and singing songs of the tradition since her early days on the 1970’s folk club scene of both her native Hull and Chichester. For many years she sang as half of the duo ‘Marker’ with Kerry Manning and as a soloist, she also added contemporary songs to her repertoire. Now, she a fine solo performer as well as an efficient organiser. On two Mondays, 5th and 12th December, they have evenings called “Welcome Back”. On these two designated nights, they celebrate the club’s continuous existence for 60 years as it moved to various hostelries throughout Chichester and on the 19th it will be the club’s Christmas party. They add “we shall be inviting any past members to join current members for two nights of great music and nostalgia with archive photo montages.” The Horsham Folk Club meets on Sundays at the Normandy Centre Denne Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1JF and they have two interesting nights in December, On the 4th it is Mike Nicholson who is one of those remarkable singers who manages to create an immediate and loyal following everywhere he goes. This is due in large part to his unrestrained passion for what he loves doing the most - singing good songs! He draws his audience to him through an unassuming approach which only asks that the listener might share his love of singing and of the songs. He performs a wide spectrum of material, and generally speaking, it’s material that has something to say. On the 11th Dec at the Horsham club it will be that hilarious combination, the Okee Dokee