Bromyard Music Sessions

December Sessions in Bromyard

We'll be continuing our sessions in Bromyard right up to Christmas week!

8th December: Green Dragon, Bishop's Frome

13th December: Rose and Lion

15th December: Falcon

20th December: Rose and Lion

22nd December: Wheelwrights Arms, Pencombe

27th December: Rose and Lion

Do come along, all welcome, all sessions thriving!

New Session At The Wheelwrights In Pencombe

Up until about 18 months ago one of the best and most thriving sessions around this part of the world was held on the 1st Tuesday of every month at the Wheelwrights Arms in Pencombe. The pub is old and characterful, the beer quality was legendary and the welcome from Colin and Sue second to none.

Then Colin and Sue retired. Despite their best efforts to find successors they could entrust the place to it fell into the wrong hands. Beer quality and choice spiralled downwards and the culmination was the night the new landlord refused to turn the TV off for the musicians because he was watching it himself! Those are just a sample of the causes of the demise of the pub and are sad evidence of just how fragile is the standard and reputation of a great country pub!

The really good news is that the pub is now run by Liz and Paul, who are wholly committed to restoring the place to its former stature as a real ale and folk music Mecca! I have made a couple of visits and checked with friends in the village and am glad to confirm that the beer is excellent (Holden's, Spinning Dog, Morland's and GK Abbott Ale on my last trip); the food delicious (all the meat from Legge's and very nice too!) and most importantly the atmosphere is most welcoming.

Liz and Paul are very keen to get the monthly sessions going again so we will be launching on Tuesday 28th April and the fourth Tuesday of every month thereafter. Please spread the word to musicians and observers alike and let's fill the place on the 28th. If you need more info email info@bromyardsessions.co.uk. If you want to contact Liz or Paul call 01885 400358.

 

The Wheelwrights Arms : Pencombe

 

Inside The Wheelwrights

Hop Pole Session Is Moving

Sadly the Hop Pole in Bromyard is closing at the end of February due to excessive rent demands from Scottish & Newcastel coinciding with a decline in trade over the past few months. We wish John, Hao and Steve good fortune and thank them for their hospitality over the past year.

Fortunately we have an excellent alternative venue. Our sessions at the Falcon Hotel have gone from strength to strength over the past few months and so we are going to run two sessions per month there on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month starting from 4th March.

Please spread the word as there may be people expecting a session at the Hop Pole on 4th March who will find it shut!

Hop Pole Session Off In March

It's sad to report that John, Hao and Steve are leaving the Hop Pole at the end of February so the session won't take place there that night. I'll arrange an alternative and post details here and email all I can think of too.

I am sure you will join me in wishing them the best, thanking them for their warm hospitality (cheesy chips especially) and fine ales. Let's hope we get new "session-friendly" tenants in soon!

Worcester Traditional Music Page

Be sure to check out and bookmark Mike Walton's website at www.worcesterfolk.org.uk. It includes most of our sessions but also goes further afield throughout Worcestershire with a wealth of information you won't find elsewhere.

Change of Venue for "Bell Session" in Worcester

Following information received from Peter Kilcoyne:

Hi All

It's looking like we have to move on from the Bell for our Folk nights.

Thanks very much to Frank Jolly who has suggested I try the Bush (also in St Johns).

I had a great meeting with Andy the landlord and he is very supportive of us getting a regular Folk night going.

We have agreed on the last Sunday in the month starting on Feb 22nd. Hope we can get a good number there for the first session. Please let me know if you can come, if you want to play and pass on this information to anyone who you think would be interested in attending.

Regards Peter Kilcoyne

For more info email Peter using pkilcoyne@wortech.ac.uk

 

Help Required For New Bromyard Session

There is a clear gap for a session in Bromyard on the 4th Tuesday of the month and the Bay Horse has already offered itself as a venue.

Trouble is I don't want to fully commit myself to another session every month, partly due to time constraints (I do have a proper job!) but also to avoid the risk of staleness. Myself and the usual suspects are already playing several times a month in the town so something fresh would be welcomed.

It could be a different bunch of folkies or something different, blues or country, or a mix of any styles, just not me!

I'll gladly help launch the session, advise, handle publicity and lend a hand in any way I can and would love to just turn up and play without running the night.

Please email music@tonyburt.co.uk if you are at all interested and we can have a chat.

EXTRA SESSIONS IN WORCESTERSHIRE

Since the list of sessions now extends as far as Pershore, let me suggest some extra ones to add to your list :

1st Sunday of the month - Red Lion, Worcester Road, Droitwich - Good little session with mix of music occasionally extending as far as country and western.

Last Friday of the month - Fox Inn, Monkwood Green near Hallow - Lovely small country pub, welcoming landlord, sometimes the pub gets very full but hasn't recently (credit crunch ??)

Mike Walton's website www.worcesterfolk.org.uk gives details of these and more

Mike Walton

COUNTRY MUSIC / BLUEGRASS SESSION TUESDAY 28 OCTOBER

Hi. An important message about the country/bluegrass session scheduled for next week. We are now back to our regular last Tuesday of the month (not Thursday, please note). The new venue is the Portobello Inn, 139a Bransford Road, St Johns, Worcester, WR2 4EZ.  Google map: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=portobello+inn,+worcester&fb=1&cid=12350223270685081468&li=lmd&z=14&t=m This is a lot handier for the M5 than our previous venues, so I hope a few folks from further afield will venture along. Hope to see you on Tuesday! Best regards Frank Jolley

Folk night at the Bell Oct 26th

Please contact me pkilcoyne@wortech.ac.uk if you are interested in joining in a Folk night at the Bell, St Johns, Worcester. Starts 7.30 Oct 26th

Peter Kilcoyne

COUNTRY MUSIC / BLUEGRASS SESSION MOVED

An important message about the country/bluegrass session scheduled for Tuesday next week. Unfortunately the Wheatsheaf pub has closed, so we will be having a session on THURSDAY 2ND OCTOBER at the Fox and Hounds, Lulsley, WR6 5QT, on the road between Alfrick and Knightwick. Please note the change of day. We will fix a new permanent venue and day after Thursday. To see a map of how to find the Fox and Hounds, please go to http://uk.local.yahoo.com/Worcestershire/Alfrick/Public_Houses/1003480855-e-10596.html   Hope you can make it on Thursday. Best regards to all, Frank Jolley

First Session At The Hop Pole In Bromyard

We held our first session at the Hop Pole in Bromyard last Tuesday (5th August) and what a good night we had!

There were a number of singers and musicians including John Taylor, Bob Fox, Pat the Fiddle, David Whittaker, Sam and Ellie, Jacques Barraclough and several stragglers who turned up later!

There were also people who had come to listen and several customers who had come along for the Steak Night hung around for the music too.

We used the bar area to the left of the front door where the acoustics were very nice. The beer was good - Hobsons Bitter and a special from Woods - and baskets of cheesy chips were passed around to keep our energy levels up.

The next session will be Tuesday 2nd September and all are welcome.

New Monthly Session at the Hop Pole, Bromyard

A new monthly session is starting at the Hop Pole in Bromyard on 5th August from 8.30. It will take place on the 1st Tuesday of every month and all are most welcome. Rumoured attendees for the first session include Tony Burt (well I am organising it!), John Taylor, Bob and Rebecca Fox, Dave Haigh, Tony Stanton, Typsy Jazz, Dave Whittaker, Brian Jones and many more.

John (the landlord) reckons he will lay on some nibbles and the beer is good too. Hobsons Bitter always on plus one or two guests, usually one of the Woods brews and/or another from the Hobsons range.

For those of you who haven't been to the Hop Pole for a while it is far from the seedy run down dump it was a year ago. It re-opened a few months back with good beer, excellent food and a friendly atmosphere that is only lacking a bit of live music. We'll soon fix that!

For more info email music@tonyburt.co.uk.

COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS SESSION TUESDAY 24 JUNE WHEATSHEAF, WHITBOURNE ON A44

Just a reminder about the Country Music/ Bluegrass Session at the Wheatsheaf on Tuesday 24 June.  The Session meets on the last Tuesday of every month. Hope to see as many as possible!

COUNTRY MUSIC/BLUEGRASS SESSION AT THE WHEATSHEAF, WHITBOURNE, A44, TUESDAY 27 MAY

Just a reminder about the Country Music/ Bluegrass Session at the Wheatsheaf on Tuesday. Everyone welcome for another good night of good old country music, with the very generous support of the management, who put on a really great spread of free grub. The Session meets on the last Tuesday of every month.

The Talbot at Knightwick

The folk session returned to the Back Bar last night after renovations necessitated by the floods of last July. The refurbishment has made a vast improvement to both ambience and acoustics, and it goes without saying that the ale was as good as ever it was. Not quite so many people (only 14) turned out this month but that was due to Easter holidays and other committments which I knew about anyway. Be good to see some 'new' faces one of these months. JT

WHEATSHEAF TUESDAY SESSION REMINDER - 25 MARCH

Just a quick reminder about the new Country Music and Bluegrass session at the Wheatsheaf, Whitbourne - last Tuesday in the month - first one is this coming Tuesday 25th March. The landlady and landlord are very supportive and have kindly promised lots of butties, so lets make it a great first night!

New Session at Wheatsheaf

The Chis Moreton Gig at Rushwick Folk Club went spectacularly well on Saturday - what a phenominal night! We're definitely going to invite Chris again - probably next year.

I'm starting a new session at the Wheatsheaf on the A44 at Whitbourne, featuring country music and bluegrass - all other styles welcome as well, of course. It will be the last Tuesday of each month, starting on March 25th. However, some people are itching to get going before then, so if anybody wants to contact me via my website www.rushwickfolk.com (use the email link on the site), we can arrange an "unofficial" session before then if there are sufficient numbers. The Wheatsheaf management have kindly offered to provide sandwiches.

The Admiral Rodney, Berrow Green / Pershore Session

The Rodney Sessions will resume as from Wednesday 20th February and continue thereafter monthly on the 3rd Wednesday EXCEPT for April when the general session will combine with the St. George's Day special on April, 23rd. New people in charge and the beer is excellent once again!!

Pershore Session (Last Wednesdays) : the session has moved from the Miller's Arms (closed down) to the Star Hotel just a bit farther down Bridge Street on the opposute side of the road to the Miller's. Starts up again on 27th February. As yet new venue for the Open Mic (first Wednesdays) has not been confirmed.

The Admiral Rodney/The Talbot, Knightwick

Just to update all readers and authors on the situation concerning the Admiral Rodney folk sessions. As many of you will be aware the session was suspended at the Rodney a few months ago due to discontent caused by poor ale qualtity and other issues. I am pleased to say that there is a new team in charge at the Rodney and local advice is that there has been a rapid and remarkable recovery of standards and quality, so much so that the new licencees are extremely keen to get a folk session up and running again. With this in mind it is planned to go and talk to the new people so that a convenient night can be decided upon on which to hopefully hold the folk nights without clashing with other live music session in the immediate area, i.e The Talbot and The Mason's Arms. Updates on the situation will be posted as soon as.

For those I don't have email addresses for - The Talbot is happening this Wednesday (6th Feb) in the Gold Room (Back Bar undergoing refit/renovation).

Hopefully see some of you there.