How many folk clubs have reopened? /covid recovery

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 10:25 PM

I live in California (originally from UK and lived there when I was still very young) I did spend a lot of time in UK,in the 1980's,mostly in London and went to tons of great folk clubs. I was over in UK for my vacations from work in California at that time.

I was looking over these recent posts about folk clubs reopening. I was just curious if most of these clubs shoot video's and if they are posted on the club's website or on Youtube? I would really enjoy being able to watch videos from these clubs of folk singers that normally I would not be familiar with unless they were well known world wide folksingers.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: Ged Fox
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 07:06 PM

Broadside in Portsmouth and Forest Folk in Boarhunt, Hampshire are running again.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: cujimmy
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 06:46 PM

Folk at The Grove in Leeds is back on this Friday 4th September.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: The Sandman
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 12:12 PM

Faversham folk ckubFAVERSHAM FOLK CLUB IS BACK
From next Wednesday, 1st September, we will be back at the Limes
every week.

The evening will be a singers’ night until we have built up the numbers sufficiently to pay for guests.

Admission is still only £2.00

For those concerned about coming out and mixing: the room will be ventilated with windows open on both sides. So bring warm clothing for later!
Also, there are screens in the club room for people to get behind if they like, particularly when singing.

Lauren, the pub manager, is very proud of the fact that none of her staff have gone down with Covid throughout the pandemic. She also has a vacancy for a barmaid/man if anybody is interested in working in an all female run pub!

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST,matt milton
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 10:47 AM

I must admit, while I'm planning on attending one local folk club when it returns on Sunday I am actually counting on it being a lot less busy than it normally is.
Pre-pandemic it was regularly packed - which is great - but I'm not interested in that kind of density of people in an upstairs pub function room at this particular juncture. I think that's highly unlikely - as the post directly above this one suggests - but if it should be the case I won't stick around.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: Allan Conn
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 10:44 AM

Here in Kelso we have our Folk Festival this weekend. Then our regular early Friday night floor spots start up again next Friday 10th Sept. Pub sessions in the Cobbles not starting until at least Oct mainly down early closing because of staff shortages. Though with the ever rising cases here in Scotland who knows what will happen. Word is there is likely to be vaccine passes introduced for night-clubs from sometime in Oct - but pubs not mentioned as such.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 10:33 AM

I realise that you are asking about folk clubs, but my experience this weekend might give an idea of what sort of uptake there will be, even if the clubs are open.

A folk weekend, 'FolkLincs', was held at the North Lincolnshire Museum in Scunthorpe on Saturday And Sunday of the bank holiday weekend. Oudoor concerts were held each day under an open sided tent and workshops, a music session and a singaround were organised for inside the museum. The event was free but entry was by ticket which could be booked on-line.

The session never took place as I was the only person who I had booked a ticket. Similarly, I attended a workshop where a presentation of the FolkLincs folk map was made. I found myself in an audience of one. The singaround was, apparently, fully booked but only about half of those turned up.

I chatted with a couple of people at the outside events. I would expected to have seen them both at the session but each of them, independently, said that they were not ready for indoor sessions just yet.

It was a superb weekend and so good to hear live performances after all this time. It was not the organisers' fault that people were too nervous to attend the indoor events. I suspect that it will be the same with folk clubs. Those that are open could find themselves with just a few brave souls for some time yet.

DC

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: Johnny J
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 10:18 AM

Here in Scotland, quite a few are re-opening although after looking at the gig list for my local club I'm not sure if I've missed as much as I thought over the 18 months.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: Mo the caller
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 09:59 AM

Stockton Heath Folk Dance club is planning to reopen on the 13th, we have a meeting with the school planned for friday to discuss cleaning they want us to do.
I was a Whitby not-Folk-Festival and a couple of us arranged impromptu dances - rather word of mouth and last minute. A couple of us agreed that being double jabbed (and in my case already past my 3 score and ten) life was for living, while our knees, hips, breath etc still let us. I'm not going into crowds to do anything much else, but I do want to do the things that make life worth living.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST,JHW
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 09:25 AM

I've just sidestepped two and I know another local is about to reopen indoors. There are so very many clubs and festivals that I cannot go to anymore, some venues don't exist; so why worry about missing a few more nights out. Stay as safe as poss.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST,matt milton
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 09:13 AM

Daniel - at risk of sending this thread off on a tangent, do you have the Clubhouse app? You might enjoy the Weds and Thursday evening (7-8pm UK time) folk chats/singarounds on Clubhouse. Audio only. Good fun, even if I can rarely make them as that's normally when I'm doing family stuff.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: Daniel Kelly
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 09:06 AM

This is true Matt, also compared to 160k cases a day in the US, and a rising rate of 1000+ deaths a day, despite the vaccines.

We did have to cancel our local September Irish festival, and also another September festival I was due to play at. So it is back to online concerts and the Covideo Facebook group.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST,matt milton
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 08:55 AM

Daniel, you can console yourself with these sobering figures: Oz has a recent 7-day average of 1099 new Covid cases per day; for the UK that figure is 33,483.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: Daniel Kelly
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 08:02 AM

In Australia they have re-closed. :(

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST,matt milton
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 06:57 AM

Here in London it has been very recent.

For instance, this weekend (September 4 and 5) sees the return of monthlies Tooting Folk Club (with the excellent old-time group The Rigmarollers) and Dulwich Folk (with the excellent fiddler Ben Paley).
And actually Tooting has had a few outdoor sessions over the summer.

Folk of the Round Table is relatively new among London's folk clubs - sprang up about 6 months before the pandemic hit - but that has been back and running since July at New Cross's Matchstick Piehouse. It's a great singaround club, though with tunes as well as songs. The youngest audience of any trad folk club I've ever known, almost all attendees are in their 20s and 30s.

The Goose Is Out, another great south london folk club has restarted.

The long running Cellar Upstairs has restarted. Orpington Folk and Blues has restarted. Croydon Folk Club has restarted.

Musical Traditions hasn't (which slightly surprises me given how much it overlaps with Cellar Upstairs in terms of regulars). Islington Folk Club hasn't.

So reasonably robust in London then, all told.

Subject: RE: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 06:25 AM

PS - in the UK, as of today, 1st Sept. 2021.

Subject: How many folk clubs have reopened ?
From: GUEST,curious
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 06:24 AM

Just what it says.