Jon Brindley & Chris Howard

From Wigan Jon Brindley has performed in piano bars, at some of the larger folk festivals, art galleries, country festivals, pubs, arts centres, old people’s homes, on street corners and café terraces all over Europe.  

Having sung and played guitar, piano and fiddle since his childhood he has explored music through many forms. Celtic fiddle tunes, blues, contemporary folk, country, rock, popular songs and traditional ballads can all be found in his repertoire – these being most usually his own unique interpretations.

Jon says he likes to take his audience on a lively journey, bringing passion and humour to music. Expect the unexpected! On this occasion accompanied on keyboard by Chris Howard.

Find out more at Jon's website...

*****
and introducing

Mattie Colquhoun

Singer songwriter Mattie Colquhoun is another emerging talent from the north bank of the Humber. More used to sitting in the audience at HAM concerts over the past 7 years Mattie is now making the transition to the other side.

Playing his first set for HAM Mattie will be performing four of his own recent compositions. Listen to Mattie on his MySpace web page.

*****

Ben and Joe Broughton 

Chester brothers Ben and Joe Broughton are welcome back at HAM. With their up tempo rhythms and off the cuff humour once again Hammers are in for a great evening.

"The Broughtons, brothers both and almost twins, but not quite......they speak as one and finish each other's sentences.... They're Desperate Dan and Dennis the Menace flung into the context of roots music. The whole of The Continuing Adventures of....is one technicolour Beano or Dandy Annual, Where our heroes pull stunts, gaffes, have a high old time and get Dad to slip on a banana skin. Oh how my sides ached....all that's missing is Beryl The Peril, ...."

- Folk Roots

Find out more about Ben and Joe on their website

*****

STEVE TILSTON in Concert with THE DURBERVILLES

The third of our special concerts at the Village Hall, Elloughton will be a rare collaboration between the two excellent acts working together on stage.

• Steve's latest album Ziggurat is currently getting fantastic reviews on Radio 2 and all the music journals.
• The Durbervilles are simply a great live act producing the very best live music

Steve Tilston is one of this country’s greatest song-writers with many of his songs considered modern folk-song classics and covered by the likes of Fairport Convention, Dolores Keane, John Wright and others. He’s also renowned for the way he takes a favourite traditional “old chestnut” and makes it his own.

Born in Liverpool and raised in the Midlands, Steve has been quietly ploughing his own artistic furrow, turning out quality albums since the early 70s; again it has born fruit with the masterful new album. He is a celebrated artist both in Britain and abroad, winning accolades in Europe, Australia and the USA, where "Here's to Tom Paine," has been chosen as the theme song for the Tom Paine society of America.

Find out more at Steve's website

**with**

The Durbervilles

Direct from the Batley delta of West Yorkshire, the Durbervilles bring a meld of folk, roots and alt country music, with strong harmonies, thoughtful (sometimes fun) lyrics and tasteful measures of music-like twiddling, to big eared audiences everywhere. From folk festivals to rock venues to folk clubs – The Durbervilles have an unbroken reputation for being invited back and keeping the dressing room clean.

Their line up is Lee Walsh – vocals, 12 string guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, mouth organ; Mark Boyce – drums, backing vocals; David P Crickmore – lead guitar, mandola, banjo, Dobro, pedal and lap steel, backing vocals; Gus Taylor – accordion, percussion, backing vocals; Ruth Wilde – double bass, bass guitar.

For recent projects they have enjoyed the additional musical contributions of Jude Abbott and Neil Fergusson from Chumbawamba and Ric Sanders from Fairport Convention. Find out more about the Durbervilles on their website.

*****

Rag Mama Rag 

Formed in 1991, the English duo RAG MAMA RAG, have slowly and consistently built up their reputation as one of Europe's finest Country Blues acts.
With an interesting and wide range of instruments, (ASHLEY DOW, Henderson Acoustic Guitar, National & Dobro Resonator  Bottleneck Guitars, Weissenborn Acoustic Lap Steel, Ukulele and Vocals, plus DEBORAH DOW, Harmonica, Washboard, Percussion and Backing Vocals), RAG MAMA RAG create an exceptionally full and hard driving rhythmic sound which soon has audiences feet tapping.
   
Their repertoire is 20s and 30s Blues based, but extremely varied, encompassing Mississippi Blues, East Coast Ragtime sounds, early White Country tunes, Original Compositions, and many other regional styles of the 20s and 30s period.
  
Touring non stop in Europe during the last ten years RAG MAMA RAG have clocked up well over 2000 concerts and have played at many major festivals in France, Belgium and Germany.

Find out more, watch and listen at the Rag Mama Rag website

*****

Simon Mayor and Hillary James Christmas Concert

They've lost count of the number of air and road miles they've clocked up over the last few years, but with the twin passports of Hilary's 'wonderfully, honey-dripping voice' and Simon's standing as one of the world's most renowned mandolinists - in any genre - they've taken on an impressive and diverse array of international engagements from Vancouver Folk Festival and The Stephen Leacock Humour Festival (Canada) to Rudoldstat World Music Festival (Germany) and guesting at the Classical Mandolin Society of America.

It's probably the diversity that surprises most people who haven't seen them before; the voice and mandolin playing isn't even the half of it. Both highly talented guitarists, Hilary is also an occasional step-dancer and arguably one of Berkshire's greatest mandobass players, Simon a dazzling fiddler.

With a repertoire easily crossing from traditional ballads to blues, Berlioz, classical mandolin show-stoppers and some of their own notorious comic songs, it's all wrapped up in a hugely entertaining stage show and some of the driest humour this side of Humph. Serious stuff - but don't take it seriously!

Find and hear them at www.mandolin.co.uk.

Mean Eyed Cat 

The ever popular quintet from Hull play country and americano covers and originals ("serve up Southern fried music in meaty bite sized chunks") and will soon have you clapping, singing and stamping your feet.

Lynn, Pete, Rob, Frank and Anita between them play no less than 10 Guitars, Banjo, Pedal Steel, Mandolin, Keyboards, Violin, Bass and Drums and they still have time to sing with some fine harmonies thrown in!

Mean Eyed Cat wowed the audience at the 2008 Beverley Folk Festival with their versions of some famous and some not so famous songs. “Pop and rock meet country and swing with a satisfying crunch.”

Warning “mean eyed cat can cause addiction to foot tapping stomping swampy music, so listen with caution”.

Not to be missed and will ensure that HAM finishes on a high note for 2009.

Find out more at the Cat's MySpace site

*****

Flossie Malavialle

Flossie Malavialle is a French singer who started getting involved in the British folk scene in 2000-2001 while she was on a teacher exchange in the North East of England. She is now based in Darlington based in and does some supply teaching in the area when needed but is mainly focused on her singing.

Her repertoire is very open as she likes all sorts of different music genres. Her songs include famous numbers, including Allan Taylor's "Roll on the day", Kieran Halpin's "Making up the miles", Colum Sands' "The child who asks why", Starrett and Laird's “John Condon" but also Edith Piaf's eternal favourites "No regrets", "La vie en rose"... or Jacques Brel's "Amsterdam" and "Ne me quitte pas"...and many more!

She has released 6 albums since September 2002, “Thistledown”, “Mistral” (March 2003), “Flossie sings Piaf” (May 2003), "Making up the miles" in December 2004, "The Wilderness Years" in November 2006 and "Flossie sings Brel" in November 2007.

Flossie's mix of beauty, passion and humour has ensured she has become a firm favourite at HAM and we are looking forward to having her back to get 2010 off to a great start! Find out more about Flossie at her own website. 

*****

Bram Taylor

Bram Taylor is an entertaining artist with a distinctive voice and relaxed stage presence who gives an evening "Taylored" to suit his audience.  Bram calls on a large repertoire of traditional songs, together with contemporary and humorous material, performed on acoustic guitar.

With a wealth of experience behind him, he has established a fine reputation which has gone from strength to strength from tours in the UK and USA of Folk Clubs, festivals and concerts.

Bram has his audiences singing, laughing from his infectious sense of humour, and occasionally, shedding a tear or two from some of the poignant songs he loves to sing.

Find out more on Bram's own website

*****

May
Saturday 15th
Half moon
Elloughton
8pm Start