What A Day!
Saturday the 23rd of September was a day to remember as the start of something very special in Launceston…..
What Happened?
So many people came together to make the launch of the Folk Club a memorable and fun event.
Many people offered their time and resources voluntarily, fulfilling the ethos of the folk club as a place where we make music, support each other, and get things done as a community.
All Day….
…. we had things going on in the Main Hall, Guildhall, Foyer, Otho Peter Suite, and even outside.
Main Hall
We had Bude Barrel Morris, Folk Music Open Sessions, and Kick Up The Dust Ceilidh
Guildhall
We had Annown, Kevin Dempsey’s workshop, Bodmin Folk Club, and the Town Crier (Rob Tremain) telling stories about the history of the local folk scene
Foyer
Glen Chun, Jeff Horsey & Friends, and JC Music played in the Foyer
Otho Peter Suite & the Courtyard
The library ran a Family Fun Palace in the Otho Peter Suite and Kari Prince put on a ‘Sea Junk Jam’ in the Courtyard outside
Thank you to everyone, above, who performed in each of the spaces!
The Main Event
Kevin Dempsey performed two brilliant sets for us during the evening!
During the day, Kevin took a full Guildhall group through a fabulous workshop, teaching them how to create interesting accompaniments to songs and other intricate musical technicalities, which was no mean feat given that there was a broad array of instruments from guitar to cello, banjo, and voice! The feedback from the workshop was so positive and we will work with Kevin again, in the future, to bring us some more of his several decades long musical experience.
What people are probably less aware of, though, is that Kevin also ran a workshop, with Emma and Ziggy, the day before, for 225 local primary aged and homeschooled children, in the Town Hall. We got all of the children singing, dancing, and joining in and many of them had never seen a live performance before!
We are planning to raise funding to offer more of these with forthcoming folk club guests as we move forwards!
Opening for the main performance in the evening were Annown who are a fabulous duo based just outside Launceston. Chris writes the loveliest songs, all based on Cornish history, myth, and legend and Freddy plays some awesome fiddle and harmonica.
We are so grateful to Annown for the immense amount of support and encouragement they give to the folk club and Chris is now helping us to source local, young, and upcoming artists to perform support and opening slots for the future concerts, many of whom, we hope, will become friends and residents of the Launceston Folk Club, sharing in its ethos.
Do follow Annown and get to their gigs!
The second opener at the Folk Club was our very own Emma, with The Ziggies, a three generation family group who play a combination of contemporary and traditional folk, as well as their own material.
This was Duncan’s, the youngest member, debut on a stage like this and he played really well! He and Emma played two songs, then Ziggy came on and played another two with Emma.
Emma is currently putting together an interesting show that relates to the work of ALF CIC pulling together songs that tell the story of a journey of recovery.
Behind the Scenes …..
And now we want to thank all of the people that haven’t yet been mentioned, without whom, the event would not have happened.
So, here goes:
- Annette Baskerville-Smith & Tasha Baskerville – Ventures Collective (for running the bar) and being all round fabulous people and much needed moral support at all times!
- Launceston Town Hall and Town Council
- The Mayor – Helen Bailey for opening the Folk Club, officially, and suggesting the group photo!
- Launceston Rotary Club – for helping to fund the hall hire
- Pat Orridge and the Orchard Centre – for support at the schools’ workshop and a donation towards the costs – everyone needs a Pat!
- Glen Chun for starting first thing and staying until last thing to help, legend !
- Gary Herbert for being such a star the whole day
- Simon Wrench and Adam Herring for doing the sound for the main hall and coming in at the last minute to do it – as well as being all round super supporters and encouragers
- Emma and Larry Klatzco for providing arranging all the dancing and being super supportive and encouraging too
- Anita White for helping in the foyer and on the ticket desk and offering her support all round
- Chris Hynch and Fred Cartwright for providing the PA in the Guildhall and helping in the lead up and follow on
- Jill Swarbrick-Banks wonderful friend and all round good egg, without whose encouragement and enthusiasm the folk club may have stayed in the imagination – not to mention for providing the fabulous painting of Dave Swarbrick and giving us permission to use it to honour his legacy at the folk club
- Keith Abrahams for running the ticket desk, doing anything that needed doing, keeping Emma sane in the week leading up to the launch, and being the best friend ever!
- Dale and Vron at Keep Audio Co. for providing and delivering food as well as much needed refuge for short breaks and wifi, throughout the day !
- BickC – for lifesaving hugs 😀
- Bodmin Folk Club for your ongoing support and enthusiasm and simply being Bodmin Folk Club and that is just wonderful 🙂
- Cornwall Folk Festival, Wadebridge Folk Club, Bude Folk Club, and Calstock Arts for having a presence at the launch and being so supportive and collaborative.
- The Ziggy family who are just awesome and much loved 🙂
Final Words
So, after all that, we are now at the start of the ongoing journey.
We follow the values and principles of our mother organisation The Adept Living Foundation CIC (ALFCIC) which are founded around the core ethos of friendship, generosity of spirit, and the basic elements of peer support (SHAPE) Support, Hope, (Self) Advocacy, Personal Responsibility, and Education.
We welcome support, collaboration, and music, from people who share our values and run all our events with our values, principles and the elements in mind.
Each concert is a celebration and a coming together of friends. The longevity of the folk club depends on it!
We have some amazing guests coming up so please do look at our what’s on page that is constantly being updated. We now have bookings every month up until January 2025!
If we make any profits from the folk club, it will all go towards our work in the community with people struggling with PTSD/ Trauma, especially those who work in frontline health/emergency services, veterans, and those with chronic health conditions and disabilities
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