The top quality folk music continues to flow through South Gloucestershire as SAM KELLY brings his trio to headline our concert on Friday 17 April, where he will be joined on the bill by a fast-rising local star.
Sam Kelly is a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winning musician, singer, songwriter, and producer from Norfolk. Described by legendary folk broadcaster Mike Harding as “one of my favourite singers ever” and by Cara Dillon as “an amazing singer with so much soul”, Sam has become one of the most accomplished and well-respected performers on the UK folk scene, with an impressive discography of four full length solo albums, as well as numerous other collaborative works.
As an accompanist on guitar and Irish bouzouki, his portfolio includes playing with the likes of Kate Rusby, Seth Lakeman, John McCusker, Phil Beer, and Katherine Priddy. Sam has become respected by peers and audiences alike as a unique and innovative arranger and pioneer of traditional folk song. Joining Sam on stage at Downend will be long-term collaborator Jamie Francis and one of the finest musicians on the UK folk and roots scene at the moment, Archie Churchill-Moss.
Opening the evening will be Bristol-based contemporary folk singer LOU SHEPHERD. Lou is a rising folk singer-songwriter whose emotive voice - "moss-soft and sun-tinged" (Bristol 24/7, FATEA) - has confirmed her place as one of the UK’s most exciting emerging folk artists. With her compelling storytelling rooted deeply in nature and connection, Lou’s poetic lyrical perspectives, immersive soundscapes and commanding melodies cast ‘Laurel Canyon Shadows’, with the ‘quiet determination of a seedling seeking the light’. (Bristol 24/7, FATEA).
Tickets for the concert, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 17 April 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 the 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.