In today's Film & Music section of The Guardian there is an excellent enthusiatic article on Bellowhead by Will Hodgkinson with the 'Folk has a new sex appeal'.

Along with the article is a photograph of Benji Kirkpatrick and John Spiers, although this photograph is replaced by one of an all-jumping band by the time it gets to the on-line version at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/sep/19/folk

It is almost impossible for me to resist quoting a paragraph from near the end of the article:-

"If you really want to appreciate and support folk music," concludes Jon Boden, "go to the local folk club. The first time you sit in a pub surrounded by people playing a tune, it's amazing. It's the feel that you get from folk music that counts, and that's the one thing we want to stay true to."


Now it is possible that I could be accused of bias here - but one folk club that I would thoroughly recommend is the long-running Thursday night venture at the Royal Oak in Lewes. After all that is the club where the young student Jon Boden used to do regular floor spots as well as one of his first solo bookings and where the first folk club booking and first return booking of Spiers and Boden took place.

It is also the venue where an undoubted future star of the folk scene, 18-year-old Matt Quinn, son of Dan, has been listening, learning and honing his performing skills for the last couple of years.

Folk clubs still have the possibility for producing outstandingly enjoyable evenings and developing young talent at the same time.