People & Places

A look at the venues and the people who help to make the country and roots music scene happen

TwickFolk: Music for the Folks!

or twenty-five years now, be inclusive to ALL sectors of the the affectionately named community and to actively encourage Twickfolk has been and provide a platform for emerging presenting live acoustic music local talent. from a large rambling pub, the Cabbage True to their constitution, the Patch, in the heart of Twickenham, not club hosts charity nights with too far away from a stadium which organisations like the British Heart hosts major rock acts and the occasional Foundation, Children in Need as rugby match! well as local charities such as Trinity Situated in a central location, within Hospice benefiting from such events. easy walking distance of the railway Encouraging local talent, TwickFolk station, what we know as TwickFolk provides performance platforms to local today began its modern incarnation artists, often in the form of ten-minute in January 1983 under the catchy name floor spots either in the early evening of Twickenham Folk and Singers Club. or between the support and main act. That was a little too much of a mouthful Because the committee prides itself on so the and Singers bit was dropped the quality of the performers presented, first, although more recently they have these short floor spots are regarded as a started to use the TwickFolk brand, privilege, not a right. partly in response to people who would TwickFolk is very closely modelled phone up asking if they needed to be on the listening rooms so prevalent a club member to attend showsfar in the US, for example the Cactus Caf from itaudiences from near and far are in Austin, Texas or Club Passim in welcomed to the concerts which take Cambridge, Massachusetts. Artists are place on Sunday evenings. actively encouraged to play acoustic The local area itself has a long rather than electric and what you get at tradition of folk clubs and former Strawb, TwickFolk are concerts in an intimate Brian Willoughby (who acts as an setting where the connection between unofficial non-executive director) says the artist and the audience is almost that there has been a folk club in the palpable. With many musicians these area dating back to the 1960s when a days dispensing with record company club under a similar name functioned at involvement and putting their music a nearby pub and booked the likes of out independently, audiences have Ralph McTell when he was first staring also changed their expectations and out on the concert trail. Eleanor McEvoy Since the 1983 re-launch, TwickFolk has been run by a succession of enthusiastic volunteers forming an ad-hoc committee and holding very occasional meetings (often in Indian restaurants) to discuss and review activities. There was no formal constitution as such until late 2004 and the only reason one was drawn up was to apply for a lottery grant. At this point and for this very purpose, the committee roles had to be formally drawn up and ratified, and the name was changed to Twickenham Folk Club. It has never been a formal club in the sense that members have voting rights at an AGM. However, enshrined in the constitution is their intent to

are now wanting to engage with musicians on a one-to-one level; to somehow feel part of the creative process so the accessibility afforded by the TwickFolk model, when musicians make themselves available to the audience, during set breaks and after performances, allows a fan to spend some time talking with the artist and getting to know them a little, rather than having an arms length, one way artist/ fan relationship. I caught up with Chairman, Gerry Evans over a drink, just ahead of a fabulous evening of music where the club presented Eliza Gilkyson, very ably supported by Robert McEntee. Evans says: When we present high profile main acts, the support artists, who play for up to thirty minutes, are hand-picked to ensure that they complement the headline act so in the past we have for example booked Welshman Jack Harris, a Kerrville New Folk winner in 2005, in support of the more widely established Jeffrey Foucault. Approximately five or six years ago, TwickFolk started to actively book musicians from across the Atlantic who up until then had not been able to break into the folk club scene in the UK. Evans believes that this was when TwickFolk started to assume an identity and personality of its ownInitially, I

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found it difficult to arrange these bookings, but we are now reasonably well known in trans-Atlantic music circles and we often get approached before we get a chance to do the approaching. A good example of this was the Boston school singersongwriter Ellis Paul, whose representatives e-mailed the club saying that hed like to make his UK debut and they understood that TwickFolk was the place he needed to play! That was back in 2006 and a full review of Pauls concert at TwickFolk appeared in Maverick, issue 48. The ethos at TwickFolk is to try to book the best quality musicians across a broad range of different genres, after all folk is defined as traditional music from anywhere in the world and folk can also encompass blues, country, bluegrass, roots and Americana. I paraphrase dust-bowl troubadour and folk icon, the late Woody Guthrie who said: Its music for the folks. So with this in mind, TwickFolk hosts traditional and contemporary evenings in almost equal quantity and cannot abide fundamentalists who refuse to tolerate one or the other. Speaking passionately, Evans says: We hope that people who might not anticipate enjoying a particular evening will end up by giving it a try and some blinkers will get removed in the process. At TwickFolk, we dislike categorising music anyway, one of our mottos is No Fences the only thing we expect is that the performer is predominantly acoustic, but beyond that criterion, they just need to be good! TwickFolk also likes to simultaneously support the plethora of talented musicians and songwriters who fly below the radar and somehow struggle to get a foothold. So alongside established names such as Tom Russell, Eliza Gilkyson, Martyn Joseph, Martin Carthy and Christine Collister, they have given gigs to the likes of Bella Hardy, Kris Drever, David Olney, Pete Morton and Emily Smith. Some subsequently become better established and it is testament to the clubs reputation that many are still happy to return, for example the likes of Jim Moray, Spiers and Boden, and Karine Polwart. The club now, as one might expect, gets inundated with requests for gigs, but many of these are unrealistic. Evans confirms Our clubs policy is that we can never commit to booking anyone until we see their names beginning to pop up in the press or on radio, and obviously also if we like what we

scratch a living, sleeping in cars or vans to save on accommodation costs, because they have a passion for their art and cannot imagine doing anything different. That is why TwickFolk will always charge a realistic price for the ticket based on the artists reputation and standing. Evans says: I am often surprised how little some folk clubs charge to see major names. Nevertheless, we still get people turning up and being surprised to find that they are going to have to pay to listen to live music in a pub! TwickFolk Committee The Richmond/Twickenham area has a good musical hear. Invariably this tends to favour the reputation and there are many pubs professional artists who might have a providing live music for free in their recently released album that is generating public bars. Perhaps the locals are discussion between discerning listeners spoilt and take live music for granted? and reviewers, usually on a known TwickFolk gets no outside funding, no label, although as mentioned previously, grants, and no sponsorship, so the only some artists are releasing their CDs way they can get money to pay their independently, and also usually those guests is by folks coming through the artists with some PR and advertising door. The Cabbage Patch pub provide support in tow. I and my colleagues on the performance room free of charge the committee need to be reasonably and have always been right behind them confident that we will be able to get an and keen to host live music generally audience and that it will be worthwhile (they also host the Eel Pie Blues Club for both ourselves and the artist. on another night). The committee has Essentially the club committee is just always found the pub staff helpful, a bunch of music loving volunteers who friendly and supportive. These days give their time freely for no reward other TwickFolk has an option to move to than the prospect of a good night every a larger room for the bigger nights Sunday. If they lose money on a number (though a decision to relocate upstairs of nights it will eventually come out of will only be based on the level of their own pockets. Evans declares advance sales). On a couple of occasions There are way too many musicians out they have been courted by other local there (often of good quality) looking for venues, a testament to their success, but gigs so we feel there has to be something they do not see any reason to break the that stands out if we are going to take healthy relationship and move away that chance...almost all of the gigs we from the Cabbage Patch at any point. book are generated by ourselves and we In general we have found that selling do not see that situation changing. tickets in advance (exclusively through Evans himself is a regular concert and the WeGotTickets.com website) has festival goer; our paths have crossed in given us the confidence to book bigger London, Cambridge, Buckingham and Ive and better names. Future plans include also met him a couple of times during the introduction of a loyalty card to SXSW in Austin, Texas, where he, as well reward regular attendees, improved as enjoying the music on offer, is talent cooling and air circulation, more spotting with an eye to booking acts for effective sound-proofing, and slowly TwickFolk. continuing the upgrade of their sound During these credit crunch times, recent equipment (a five year plan which is months have been a bit of a struggle now 80% complete). with several nights having made a loss So if you enjoy live music and are resulting in club funds hitting an all-time based within travelling distance of low as they prepared to take their annual Twickenham, check them outI am sure break for the summer. They remain that you wont regret spending a Sunday confident however that this will change evening in their company, but dont with the quality of their Autumn/Winter just take my word for itclick on their programme, which includes including website at www.twickenhamfolkclub.com award-winning artists of the calibre of or their sister site at www.myspace.com/ Martin Simpson, Tim OBrien and the twickfolk where you can hear samples of afore-mentioned Karine Polwart. forthcoming acts. They are frustrated by the fact So happy twenty-fifth anniversary that most musicians at this level seem TwickFolk and may you continue to have completely undervalued and undermany more! Jela Webb appreciated! So many, it is fair to say,
Photo Credit: Richard Webb

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