My review (for what it is worth!)

2 weeks ago I'd only sold 25 tickets and was extremely worried that the recession was biting or I'd booked the wrong acts.... or done something else wrong.

I really should have some faith in the pull of quality music and our friendly club..... people came from all over the place; Brighton, Suffolk and all over the north.

The singarounds were of real quality with a number of potential future guests discovered.....I'd pull out the fabulous Old Time banjo playing of John Yeaman and David Dry as highlights (but then I would wouldn't I!), I'm assured the guitar playing & singers from others was excellent as well..... what would I know.

Friday night's stage entertainment started with the silky smooth Sara McQuaid, beatiful singing and she really is the master (mistress?) of laid back DADGAD gutiar playing. The audience warmed to her charming chat as well.

Then came Zoox.....why aren't these girls absolutely massive? They set the place alight with their virtuoso playing of traditional and other tunes on their eclectic collection of instruments. The contra bassoon is an unlikely folk instrument but adds real depth to the bassline of the Zoox sound....expertly done! Some good singalong songs as well......the crowd absolutely loved them, clapping, stomping and singing along and baying for more at the end of the set. They are such lovely people too and appeared to have a great time themselves, an organisers dream in fact! We'll be having them back then!

Saturday started in a laid back way with some more excellent floor singing and playing with a good crowd steadily building..... first up were the token blokes for the day (Friday and Saturday acts were all ladies...apart from Sara Grey's son Keiron) .... 2 Old Bouys with a fine unaccompanied set of shanties and other sea songs, presented with enough testosterone to make up for the ladies to follow. Hearty stuff!

Edwina Hayes arrived in the nick of time following some slight confusion over slot times (sorry Edwina!). Her mixture of traditional English & American traditional songs and her own Americana tinged creations found a willing audience. She really does have a lovely voice. I'm not surprised Nancy Griffiths has picked up her co-written (with Clive Gregson) song "Pour Me A Drink" it really is a classic of the genre.

More floor singing/ playing escapades followed ....and much drinking! Then Saturday evening arrived......... Barbara Helen is a local(ish) singer songwriter and a lovely guitarist. She presented some of the songs from her recently released debut album "An Unfamiliar Place" and won a lot of new friends. She has a gentle, warm style that wraps you in cotton wool while she ponders on love and life. Highly recommended!

Then the main event....Sara Grey and Keiron Means (on early so they could catch their plane to the states at 8am on Sunday morning from Edinburgh). A fantastic array of American songs ranging from some great guitar powered blues by Keiron to wonderful old times classics from Sara and her banjo. Masterful playing and singing from both of them and some great singing along from the packed audience. Very knowledgeable intros and great audience rapport as well. Pretty much perfect!.....I wish I could play banjo with Sara's subtle touch.........

So, "One Stone" (that's Wendy Arrowsmith & Rebekah Findlay) found themselves "promoted" to the last act of the evening.... with the tough job of following rather than preceding Sara & Kieron. They told me beforehand that they were nervous, but you wouldn't have known it. They also pointed out that it was actually their first gig as an official duo (though they have worked together a lot as part of Blind Summat! and backing each other at their solo gigs). I usually try to avoid commenting on Wendy's work in public (as I am married to her I could quite rightly be accused of bias)..... but several of the audience independently approached me and said that their set was the highlight of the weekend. I'm going to break my own rule....... excellent interpretations of traditional songs, some lovely self penned material from both of them ..... and Beck's stunning cover of Richard Thompson's classic "Beeswing" .... I've never heard it done better. Good playing on guitar, fiddle and accordion (only 3 instruments tonight, they're slippng!) and beautiful vocal harmonies...... make your own mind up.......
One Stone My Space . Bias, me???? Probably!

Sunday started mellow in the singaround Pete Gostelloe (spelling?) providing some beatiful slide blues....just perfect for a Sunday morning. Things warmed up when Rugeigin (Rugeigin Myspace ) hit the stage....great tunes and singalongs.... superb twin fiddling, good singing and a nice bouncing baseline. Thoroughly enjoyable and well aprreciated by the Sunday lunchtime survivors. Catch them somewhere near Stonehouse in Scotland or somewhere near you soon. They actually picked up 2 gigs while practising on Sunday ,morning in the hotel where they stayed ..... pretty good going I reckon!

2 Black Sheep & A Stallion were the last official act of the weekend.....this was their hatrick, having made it to all the KFFC weekend bashes to date. Fine, robust 3 part harmonies with a big emphasis on audience participation. Stirring stuff!

We then had our first traditional singing competition..... keenly contested by 8 excellent performers offering a great selection of songs with a performance slot at KFFC as the prize. As I say some great performances with an honourable mention to Peter Taylor but also a clear winner......agreed by all the judges (having looked at their scoring sheets)..... a fine "Sean Nos" song in Gaelic "Amhrain Mhainse" from Andy Broderick . Audience loved it.....you could have heard a pin drop when he finished.

A bit more singing and that was it ...... only down side was the cask beer had run out by tea time on Saturday (I had to order the beer 2 weeks ago, at that stage I had only sold 25 tickets!) I'll have more faith and do better next time though.

Thanks to all who contribute to the weekend (Jen 'n' Wen for running the cafe, Glyn & Zeke for mcing, Lee for the superb sound and all the volunteer bar staff and Joolz for forcing people to buy the all important raffle tickets)....and our wonderful audience and acts.

We made enough money over the weekend to put the club in a very healthy state for the rest of the year and beyond.... we can continue our mission to bring the finest folk and acoustic music to the wilds of North Yorkshire.......fab!

If you weren't here, you missed a treat.

Paul