The best thing about the folk world right now is its diversity. Not only are there a dizzying array of musical styles - in Bristol in the last fortnight you could have seen an awesome folk choir, EDM folk bangers, trad tunes, brilliant contemporary singers, harp serenades, kora wizards, political revolutionaries and at least one guitar genius - but it's so welcoming to everyone, regardless of gender, creed, orientation or neurology.
HOLLY CLARKE fits right in.
This is the second time Clarke has visited Downend but the first time that she's bought a band with her. And what a band it is; Amy Thatcher (The Shee, Kathryn Tickell) on accordion, John Pope on double bass and Anna Hughes (Salt House) on fiddle, are all superb and, very subtly, add layers to Clarke's forthright and honest take on trad folk singing.
Her set leans heavily on the tradition, but when you have a voice like Clarke's every old story springs back to life. There are as many versions of John Barleycorn as there are folk singers but this one is great - it has depth and heart. A plucked violin lends an edge of menace but Thatcher's accordion sweeps the whole thing along until, ultimately, it becomes a celebration.
Bonny Woodhall is slow and contemplative -entirely fitting for a song about the horrors of war, with Hughes’ fiddle casting mist across the battlefield. Thatcher's spectral synth washes sit just under Clarke's voice which is equal parts heartbreak and defiance. The pace suits her, allowing her to wring every last drop of emotion from the song. The Bonny Girl has a similar intensity and, with a change of pronouns here and there, becomes a "big lesbian break-up song". Much of the best, and most interesting, folk music around just now comes from the Queer Folk world and Clarke puts herself right at the heart of it.
She does so again with Wild, Feral and Fierce where she leaves us in no doubt as to her Trans-allyship, her support for those with autism, the queer community and, indeed, anyone who goes through difficult transitions only to find acceptance on the other side. It is one of a handful of her own songs this evening but it has serious power, serious heft.
The truly remarkable thing about Holly Clarke is her voice and it is when she sings unaccompanied that she becomes incredibly special. Strawberry Town, a murder ballad that she learned from Nancy Kerr, is spine-tingling while a version of The Watersons’ Prickle Holly Bush inspires an audience of foot-stomping. She fills the church with almost no effort at all, as though there’s a vital force simply sitting inside of her, waiting to be unleashed.
If Holly Clarke displays strength, then her support act casts a different type of spell altogether. LÖRE & LAMENT are a duo based in Cornwall, drawing on Celtic traditions. They float through Christ Church, ghostlike, like sea mist. Holly Anne Coles is a modern-day Enya, ethereal and magical. Mitch Cartwright's guitar chopping through the fairytale forests that seem to spring up on Coles’ command. Well Below the Valley and The Unquiet Grave could drift in the air around Tintagel while their own songs, particularly Solastalgia, are suffused with simple sorcery.
There are plenty of things from the tradition on offer this evening but there's a sense of moving forward too, a sense of the progressive. There's the warmest of welcomes to all comers, a celebration of folk music in all of its forms.
Words: Gavin McNamara
Photos: Barry Savell
Photos: Barry Savell
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Our Summer season kicks off with a live-streamed visit from HOLLY CLARKE, a singer who draws from the old ballads and stories, and conjures a performance that immediately captivates any listener.
As a performer, Holly transports the listener into the heart of ballads, immersing them in the narratives that have shaped humanities experience through time. From songs of the supernatural and folklore, to the tales of love and loss, Holly Clarke sings with an infectious energy and passion for traditional song.
Alongside Holly’s affinity for traditional ballads, she is a strong composer in her own right, with her tune compositions performed by Norwegian Hardanger Fiddle legend Annbjørg Lien and Shetland’s very own Catriona Macdonald. Outside of performing, between 2019 to 2020 Holly was Sage Gateshead’s Artist in Residence specialising in Traditional Folk Song and Ballads. As of 2022 Holly began organising her concert series ‘Folk is Queer’; an event which platforms Queer folk musicians in the North East, and supporting them to make connections with existing and new audiences and other Queer artists from outside the region.
Holly will be joined on-stage by Amy Thatcher (accordion & synths), Anna Hughes (fiddle & viola) and John Pope (double-bass).
Getting the evening underway will be Holly Anne Coles and Mitch Cartwright, seasoned performers in their own right, who have united under their shared passion for folk music to create LÖRE & LAMENT.
Celebrating the rich tapestry of folkloric tradition, they breathe new life into timeless ballads and shanties while crafting original songs inspired by the captivating myths and legends of England and the Celtic nations. Their music offers a heartfelt tribute to storytelling through song, blending history and imagination into an enchanting, immersive experience.
Tickets for the concert, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 16 May 2025, are available online HERE and from MELANIE’S KITCHEN (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. This event is also included in our SPRING 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.
For those that can’t make it to Downend, or miss out on tickets, this concert will also be live-streamed in partnership with LIVE TO YOUR LIVING ROOM, so you can watch from the comfort of your own sofa! Head to livetoyourlivingroom.com for more information on live-stream tickets.
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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It doesn't seem like five minutes ago that HANNAH SCOTT played at Downend, supporting the wonderful Bella Hardy. That night she was captivating, singing a handful of songs that spoke directly to the hearts of everyone in the room. Her role as a Future Headliner was secured; just imagine what a whole set would be like, we all thought.
It turns out, of course, that a whole set by Hannah Scott is an hour and a half of spilled emotions, of love and life, of grief and joy. It is everything that makes life worth contemplating.
Much of her set is made up of her latest album, Absence of Doubt, an intensely personal record that says much about her relationship with her closest family. At times it is as though she has beckoned you into the most secret room in her house so that she can show you her treasured photographs.
Bigger Than My Body is about an overwhelming love and feels, suitably, anthemic. With Scott at a keyboard and Matt Helm on guitar, there's an undeniable feeling that you are in the presence of a serious songwriter. The emotions are so huge, handled with such skill, yet beautifully undercut by a high voice that shows vulnerability. This is the sort of song that you'd imagine Radio 2 loving, it would sit perfectly next to the likes of, say, Laura Marling and Ed Sheeran.
It is, however, when Scott sings of her family that all of that love is made most obvious. Clearly, her dad played a huge part in her life and two of her most arresting songs are about him. Carry You Out is precision tooled for audience tears. Dealing with the carrying of her father's coffin, it is full of quiet strength and total heartbreak. Never rising beyond a measured stride, it is a beautiful hymn to someone loved and much missed. My Dad & I is more upbeat, remembering happy times, and stays exactly the right side of sentimental.
Scott's mum gets a look in on In Your Light and it is, again, full of enormous emotions that push against her fragile voice. These songs are so personal it almost seems rude to listen to them, as though you’re eavesdropping on private moments. On the other hand, of course, they deal in the universal, they are those conversations that we, somehow, never get to have.
Helm’s shimmer-y, echo-y guitar twinkles gorgeously behind Shape - a song driven by anger and hurt - and Threads, adding further layers to Scott's intense feelings. Threads ploughs a similar furrow to the latest Katherine Priddy album, being about a childhood home, but has a lovely sing-along that brings the whole room together. Scott has, once again, plugged into something that everyone understands.
The support for the evening comes from CORUJA JONES, the indie-folk project of songwriter Dan Jones. Deliciously hazy and dreamy, all pulses are slowed as he unfurls cascading soundscapes. He plays everything from his latest EP, Undo, the five tracks simply beautiful and lyrical. Honesty Honestly carries hints of John Martyn while there's a tiny hint of Richard Hawley about The Shore. These songs are all about setting the mood, they're Folk by way of Shoegaze, they are the gentle breeze on a morning walk. So in touch with the surroundings was Jones that, on the lovely Little Space, even the birds joined in.
Both Scott and Jones have an uncanny way of helping us to embrace everything that is around us. From the natural world to our own, raw, emotions, the two of them remind us of all that is important.
Words: Gavin McNamara
Photos: Barry Savell
Photos: Barry Savell
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