Back in the Summer of 2022, a young duo performed the opening slot at Downend Folk & Roots. Immediately after the gig, we were inundated with requests from the regulars to get them back for a headline gig. No, not requests, actually; demands.

That pair are folk-fusion duo GOOD HABITS, and we listened to you, as they are back to headline our monthly concert on Friday 17 May.

Composed of Bonnie Schwarz (cello + vocals) and Pete Shaw (accordion), the pair mix virtuosic musicianship and vocal harmony with vivid storytelling, drawing on their diverse musical tastes and weaving them into an action-packed narrative of folky goodness. After a pandemic spent ‘happily stranded’ in New Zealand for all of 2020 and 2021 where they were supported and endorsed by Amanda Palmer, they arrived back in the UK to spread their joyous music throughout Europe.

Since returning home, they have toured relentlessly around the UK and Europe performing at festivals including Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, and Shrewsbury Folk Festival whilst developing a loyal fanbase. Won Shrewsbury Folk Festival’s ‘Launch Pad’ and the Purbeck Rising Award whilst also being nominated for the prestigious Christian Raphael Prize. Their captivating debut album Going For Broke received glowing international coverage with FRUK describing their breath-taking live shows as impossible to resist. Their touring in New Zealand was non-stop, including performances at the country’s biggest festivals: Cuba Dupa, Festival of Lights and Lunasa.

Opening the show will be Devon-based singer-songwriter BILLIE MAREE. Billie writes and performs deep-feeling folk-esque songs, and the quality of their vocal has been likened to Sandy Denny and Judy Tzuke. They are, however, very much their own artist with a strong and infectious sense of spirituality and self.

Inspired by an upbringing in the landscape of Devon, their debut EP We Belong reflects the nuances of human experience – with a focus on accepting all parts of ourselves, the shadows and the light. Calling in a sense of belonging. They self-produced and mostly self-recorded the EP, and each song was written about moments that moved Billie during the darker months of Winter. Billie was inspired to learn how to record and edit their own music as they wanted to have as much input into their creation as possible.

Tickets for the concert, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 17 May 2024, are available online HERE and from MELANIE'S KITCHEN in Downend (cash only). They are priced at £14 each in advance or £16 on the door. Doors open at 7.00pm and the music starts around 7.45pm.

There will be a bar, stocking cider, soft drinks, wine, hot drinks and real ale from locally-based HOP UNION BREWERY. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own glass/ mug/tankard, as well as reusable bottles for water, as part of the drive to be more environmentally aware; there is a 50p discount for those that do. There will also be sweet treats available at the bar courtesy of Radstock-based THE GREAT CAKE COMPANY, as well as a prize draw, which helps to fund the support artists for each concert. 

For further information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or find us on FACEBOOK, X or INSTAGRAM.

BUY TICKETS

+++

Back in 2014, a group of enthusiastic folk music lovers decided to put on some concerts. They didn't really know what they were doing, but they knew they wanted to bring some great music to the area. Thus, Downend Folk Club (as it was then known) was formed.

An exciting trio from Sheffield were booked to perform at the first concert, and it's fair to say that the quality of the music on that April evening cemented Downend Folk Club as a fixture in the calendars of local (and not so local) music lovers. The trio stopped playing together a year or two later as their musical journeys took them in different directions.

That trio was BRIGHT SEASON, made up of Michael J Tinker, Ella Sprung and Simon Dumpleton, and we're thrilled to announce that they have agreed to reform for a one-off concert as part of our 10th Anniversary Celebration this Summer.

Michael J Tinker has performed and recorded with Damien O’Kane (Kate Rusby band), and has worked on a collaborative project with Bella Hardy, Josienne Clarke, The Young’uns, Tom Oakes, Ian Stephenson and Gilmore & Roberts. In addition he has supported Bellowhead, Lucy Ward, Sam Carter, Maz O’Connor and many more.

Ella Sprung is a fiddle player, singer and dancer. She specialises in French, Breton, and Scandinavian folk music, and has performed with European folk dance band Trip the Light and folk groups Gallivant and Jack’s Rake. In addition to playing the fiddle she also plays the Swedish nyckelharpa.

Simon Dumpleton is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed with numerous people including Kirsty Bromley and in the ceilidh band Trinculo. He has produced recordings for Jess and Richard Arrowsmith, Hekety, Outre Manche and BBC Folk Award nominees, the Melrose Quartet.

Bright Season will perform on Sunday afternoon at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND, after a morning of community action (details to follow soon) and a complimentary lunch. They will be joined on the bill by HEARTWOOD CHORUS, who will close the celebration. The Sunday of the weekend is presented in partnership with Christ Church Downend and is free entry. It will really help us to have an idea of numbers for the lunch though, so if you can, please let us know you're coming by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

+++

There is something undeniably lovely about the quiet voice that has important things to say. On the first properly Spring-like evening of the year, two fantastic bands were gently insistent and spoke of the beauty around us. CHRISTINA ALDEN & ALEX PATTERSON and THE LOST TRADES effortlessly showed the best of contemporary folk song. 
 
Christina Alden and Alex Patterson have been playing together for twelve years and their natural connection is obvious. They also have a striking connection to nature itself, with animals, rivers and fens peeking their heads out repeatedly.
 
 
Their brand of folk spans continents, there's a hint of old timey Appalachia in Alden's banjo but Patterson's violin conjures sweeping English murmurations. When singing of their two-year old daughter, on Etta's Song, they are personal and tied to home yet The Fox Song tells of a journey that spans miles. They are local and global, rooted in England, keeping an eye on the world. 
 
Alden’s voice is gorgeous, it is pure, high and utterly infused with the world around her. She sings from the point of view of a 500-year-old shark on The Greenland Shark and tells tales of polar bears and foxes, reaching out from their environments and drawing people towards those animals. Her's is the heartfelt conviction of the gentle naturalist, the knowledgeable voice that needs to be heard.
 
 
Patterson's voice joins her for much of the evening, bringing lovely harmonies and confirming convictions. Time and again, they involve the audience too, encouraging singing of choruses and, by doing so, they make this folk music communal, making us part of their natural fascinations. There's anger too, though. Patterson takes (quite polite) swipes at Tories who allow water pollution and the heartless Daily Mail, people who wantonly destroy the good that is around them. On Waterways, the banjo, the violin, the harmonies, the singalong all converge to create an acoustic, peaceful beauty that protests with far more authority than louder voices. 
 
When Alden & Patterson look towards America lovely things happen. Bonny Blue Eyes is taken from an Ozark songbook from the 1920s and allows Patterson's violin free reign, as does the sea shanty Blow Boys Blow. The spirit of bluegrass, of the freedom of mountains and valleys, of high adventure is thrillingly evoked. Even better is a wonderful cover of Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal. They play it because it's "enjoyable" but it's just glorious.
 
 
The Lost Trades are from around these parts and have the relaxed attitude of a team on home turf. Folk-y in the very widest sense, they combine soaring Fleetwood Mac-style harmonies with great songwriting and win over Downend hearts with ease. Little Blackbird, taken from their latest album Petrichor, sees Tamsin Quin, Jamie Hawkins and Phil Cooper creating sunshine-filled magic. Doused in the natural world and with three voices that compliment beautifully they are perfectly dreamy. Three songs about the loss of loved ones dominate their short set, with Long Since Gone being the standout. The flutter of a heartbeat rhythm, acoustic gentleness, wonderful harmonies and a warming heart-hug. The Lost Trades have everything that you might need. 
 
Christina Alden, Alex Patterson and The Lost Trades may not be the loudest voices in the room but every single thing they say is worth listening to. Their love of everything around them is infectious and incredibly warming. 

Words: Gavin McNamara
Photos: Chris Dobson

+++

  1. NEXT AT DOWNEND FOLK & ROOTS: CHRISTINA ALDEN & ALEX PATTERSON + THE LOST TRADES
  2. REVIEW: "A SENSE OF THE EPIC PERVADES EVERY CORNER"
  3. NEXT AT DOWNEND FOLK & ROOTS: HANNAH JAMES & TOBY KUHN + SEB STONE
  4. REVIEW: "AN UTTERLY HEARTWARMING AFTERNOON"