After the success of the ceilidh during our 10th Anniversary Celebration in 2024, we are delighting to announce that we will sign off for the Summer break with another dance and supper, in partnership with CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND, on Friday 17 July.

As before, we welcome Bristol's finest ceilidh band, THE MOLECATCHERS, while a fish & chip supper will also be provided by Downend's own GOOD FRYDAYS. The meal is included in the ticket price. Anyone requiring an alternative meal should contact us before booking.

Tickets for the ceilidh, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 17 July 2026, are available online HERE, as well as from CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND Parish Office and Downend Cards and Gifts. They are priced at £15 each (£10 under-18s if accompanied by a paying adult), in advance only, and are strictly limited to 100. Doors open at 7.00pm supper will be served at 7.30pm and the dancing will begin at around 8.00pm. Please note that this event is not included in our Summer Season Ticket and is a stand-alone event in partnership with CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND.

There will be a bar, stocking cider, soft drinks, wine, hot drinks and real ale from Bristol’s HOP UNION BREWERY. Attendees 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.

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, INSTAGRAM, BLUESKY, YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.
 

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Is BELINDA O'HOOLEY Reform's worst nightmare? Is she the anti-Farage? She is, after all, everything that the cut-price Mosley is not; she has integrity and honesty, has passion and Pride (with a capital P), she's thoughtful and intelligent, full of compassion and love and she is, above all else, wonderfully, gloriously brilliant. If Belinda O'Hooley ever ran for Prime Minister, I would vote for her.
 
 
She's been to Downend before, of course, as O'Hooley & Tidow with her partner, Heidi. Now she is solo, just her and (for the most part) a piano. Oddly, by taking something away, O'Hooley has added something magical. She has become an assured voice, someone who presents something small in the palm of her hand and just says "look, here's the whole world". It's the same thing that Kate Bush does, that Suzanne Vega does. 
 
Except that O'Hooley can make you cry while you gape in wonder at the story she tells you. Matthew and Ted is about a man and his dog and it hides, she says, "something big in something small". It is the most beautiful, most tender, most heartbreaking thing you'll hear. Her voice is comfort-calm, just telling of a walk, of friends, of love but in it there are multitudes. Threaded around graceful piano notes there's the simple thought - "I ask what love is". It's a question that I suspect that the likes of Farage have never asked in their lives.
 
On Hawkward, taken from her debut solo album Inversions, her piano rolls and tumbles, like children chasing each other down a grassy bank. Until she sings "I am soaring" and everything is laid out in front of you, with clarity and honesty and a heart-stopping freedom. It's the sort of song you want to tuck into your breast pocket and keep close to your heart.
 
 
O'Hooley ties much of this evening around her family. She introduces The Swallow's Tail as one of her dad's favourite reels, her piano hums and thrums through the space, it pecks and thumps creating a swell of catharsis. She admits to "buggering about" with the tune, but it's a glorious inversion, not a destruction. Skibbereen, too, is a nod to her dad, it's an old Irish tune which has a filmic waltz at O'Hooley's fingertips.
 
If there's one thing for sure, it's that she knows her audience. She asks "so, did anyone vote Reform?" as if that were the most ridiculous concept imaginable and, for those around her, it is unthinkable. She then launches into Chinese Whispers, a song about fear mongering and the spreading of hate. She worries about the removal of Pride flags and gives the whole thing a flash of accordion driven, Berlin cabaret. History tells us, of course, that some people didn't like accordion driven cabaret songs. Downend loved it.
 
By the end Belinda O'Hooley revels in the love that Gentleman Jack and The Ballad of Anne and Ann engender. There's dancing and whooping and, eventually, a standing ovation that is richly deserved.
 
 
If all of this wasn't enough, the evening starts with the incredible singer-songwriter GREN BARTLEY. He's been here before, too, but that was twelve years ago. Back then his songs were wonderful, his voice a lovely John Martyn-esque hum. Nothing's changed, he's still fantastic.
 
Hold the Line buzzes with a shruti box and lyrical guitar lines, it is slow and gentle until it just floats into the June night, humming to itself. There's a brain-snagging chorus in Perfectly Crazy, a thrilling high wire act with an acoustic guitar as a safety net. It's yet another song this evening that shows you the details so that you understand the big stuff. Oh, it's so good.
 
The Thief and I does that brilliant thing of feeling like an old folk song but sounding like a new one. The guitar cascades around some classic storytelling. He might have been away for a while but it's great to have Gren Bartley back again.
 
In these turbulent times, there's really only one thing to do - Vote O'Hooley because, after all, things can only get better.
 
Words: Gavin McNamara
Photos: Barry Savell
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A familiar face returns to headline our June concert.

BELINDA O'HOOLEY is an acclaimed pianist, singer, songwriter and composer celebrated for her expressive and distinctive musicality. Best known as one half of O’Hooley & Tidow, with her wife Heidi Tidow, she has been nominated four times for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. The duo’s song Gentleman Jack found international recognition as the theme for the BBC/HBO drama of the same name.

Her piano playing - elegant, inventive, and emotionally charged has made her a sought-after collaborator with artists including Rufus Wainwright, Nic Jones, Sophie B Hawkins, Jackie Oates, and Rachel Unthank & The Winterset, with whom she received a Mercury Prize nomination.

Belinda’s artistry also extends to acting, most recently in her role as DCS Liz Thornton in the BAFTA-winning drama Happy Valley.

Opening the evening will be an artist who has been hailed as part of the future of melodic songwriting. Forever evolving and adapting, and with unmatched guitar work, GREN BARTLEY is a modern day troubadour, using his influences from older folk and world music traditions, to create truly astounding records. He brings something new and unique to his audience. He is an artist not to be missed.
 
Tickets for the concert, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 19 June 2026, are available online HERE. They are priced at £15 each in advance or £17 on the door. Doors open at 7.00pm and the music starts around 7.45pm. This event is also included in our Summer Season Ticket.
 
There will be a bar, stocking cider, soft drinks, wine, hot drinks and real ale from Bristol’s 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. There is a decent-sized car-park behind the Parish Hall/Medical Centre, and free on-street parking in the surrounding area. Parking on the church grounds is not permitted unless agreed in advance.
  
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, INSTAGRAM, BLUESKY, YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.

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