Bob Wood – 9th August

Irvine Folk Club is delighted that the special guest at their Burns Night on Wednesday 21st January is the extremely talented Fiddler Alistair McCulloch.
From Ayr, Alistair is very much sought after both as a performer and a tutor. His great versatility and breadth of repertoire alongside a huge sense of fun have kept him at the forefront of the tradition for almost 20 years.
Alistair learned classical violin at school while at home he was playing traditional music. Having studied music at University, his busy diary has taken him to 20 countries including China, Canada, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, USA and throughout Europe. As well as his solo gigs, he has his own trio – the other two members being Aaron Jones of Old Blind Dogs and ex-Capercaillie man Marc Duff. Alistair also plays with The Ian Cathcart Scottish Dance Band and Coila.
His skill as a tutor of the fiddle are much in demand. Last year he took part in the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina and the Southern Hemisphere International School of Scottish Fiddle in New Zealand. However, Alistair also offers lessons on Skype!
This month Alistair has the exciting privilege of playing the Gregg violin which was played by Robert Burns. This arrangement comes courtesy of the National Trust for Scotland. It will therefore be great that Irvine Folk Club can bask in the reflected glory of the man who will play the very fiddle played by the Bard himself – in Irvine in the Burns season! Serendipity indeed.
It is shaping up to be a very enjoyable night of Burns music and song at Irvine Folk Club on Wednesday 21st January in Vineburgh Community Centre in Quarry Road. The Club starts at 8pm and it’s BYOB.

DAVE ANDERSON BIG BAND in Concert Mure Church

On Friday 16th January, a 16- piece Big Band will be playing in concert at The Mure Church in Irvine’s West Road and it’s for everyone who enjoys the Big Band sound.
The Mure will be playing host to The Dave Anderson Big Band and the evening starts at 7.30pm. The concert is organised by the Church’s Entertainments Committee and is one of a series of such events run not to raise funds but simply to bring people together.
Dave Anderson Big Band members come from all over Ayrshire. A couple of the band are professional musicians but the majority are semi-professional or enthusiastic amateurs! The Band comprises five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, piano, bass and drums. The vocalist on the 16th January will be John Griffin.
The Band was established some 14 years ago by Dave Anderson and their repertoire includes Count Basie, Glen Miller and Duke Ellington plus some more contemporary arrangements for big bands. The Band plays for concerts and dances including for the last several years, a Strictly Sunday dance event at the annual Live@Troon festival.
Tickets to hear The Dave Anderson Big Band are priced £6 and they are available from Joyce Hodge on 551047 or you can pay at the door. The ticket includes Tea & Shortbread.
If you like Big Band music or maybe learning a brass instrument or simply just like live music, be in the audience on Friday 16th January at The Mure Church to hear The Dave Anderson Big Band.

Mike Vass & Innes Watson
New year, new calendar of artists at Irvine Folk Club and first up on Wednesday 7th January is Mike Vass & Innes Watson. Mike has played the Irvine Club before with his twin sister Ali and so it will be good to welcome him back.
From Nairn, Mike is an accomplished and highly regarded musician and composer. He plays fiddle, tenor guitar and mandolin and began learning the fiddle at school. From there he was taught by renowned fiddler Ian Hardie of Jock Tamson’s Bairns. That probably explains why Mike has two Mod Gold Medals to his name and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.
For 10 years, Mike and twin Ali played as a duo. Now they both feature as members of the international ensemble Fiddle Rendezvous which includes the fabulous Bruce Molsky and Gerry O’Connor. In addition to that, Mike plays gigs as part of Blazin Fiddles and Malinky and also alongside Fiona Hunter. Sometimes he plays solo and on occasion with guitarist Innes Watson who will be at the Irvine Club. Mike also does workshops up and down the country.
In May 2014, Mike replicated a voyage off the West Coast of Scotland undertaken by Neil Gunn in 1937. Mike came up with the idea whilst recovering in hospital from a life-threatening condition and decided to follow Gunn’s route with the aim of finding inspiration for his own composing. He was joined on his voyage by various guest musicians including Innes Watson. The resulting album ‘In the wake of Neil Gunn’ has met with deserved acclaim.
Wednesday 7th January in Vineburgh Community Centre in Quarry Road is where to hear Mike Vass & Innes Watson. The club starts at 8pm and it’s still BYOB – but don’t forget the excellent café.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and good health in 2015. The club starts again on 7th January with Mike Vass and Innes Watson.
Memberships are due – at £15 for the year January to December it’s a bargain.

Irvine Folk Club will close its 2014 diary on Wednesday 10th December with another excellent evening. With Mick West & Muldoon’s Picnic as special guests a really first class night’s entertainment is guaranteed.
Mick West is widely regarded as one of the finest interpreters of traditional song. His rich, warm and expressive singing is out of the top drawer. Mick has been around Folk Clubs and Festivals for a number of years and his musical talent eventually took him to the National Centre for Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton where he tutored adults and young people.
In 2011 whilst listening to and being very impressed by a debut performance of a cappella group Muldoon’s Picnic, Mick thought of a project called A Scots Chorus. Like all the best ideas it’s simple. Mick believed that a folksong with a good chorus would unlock the self-belief of non-singers in their ability to sing.
Muldoon’s Picnic – ask them at the Irvine Club for an explanation of the derivation of their name – and Mick started exploring the different harmonic possibilities of the most interesting and representative songs they could find. This culminated in the production of a limited edition CD and accompanying booklet of lyrics and arrangements called A Scots Chorus. At Celtic Connections in 2013, A Scots Chorus played to a sell-out audience.
The kind of tunes you might hear at Irvine include Time Wears Awa’, Aye Waukin O, Mary Mack , The Broom o’ the Cowdenknowes – all well-known and easy to pick up melodies. People like joining in, whether it’s singing along with tribute bands, nursery rhymes, Mama Mia or The Sound of Music – singing has so many benefits.
Therefore, for the final Irvine Folk Club Night of 2014, be at Vineburgh Community Centre in Quarry Road on Wednesday 10th December at 8pm to hear Mick West & Muldoon’s Picnic. It’s BYOB.
And finally, Irvine Folk Club starts back on Wednesday 7th January with Mike Vass as guest.

Irvine Folk Club has Brooks Williams as the special guest on Wednesday 26th November and given the man’s busy diary and the thousands of miles he covers, the Club it seems has struck it lucky.
Brooks Williams is an American acoustic guitarist and a singer and a songwriter who is described as a joy to watch and a classy act from start to finish. Born in Statesboro Georgia he walks a line between blues and Americana with a style that combines roots, blues, jazz, classical and folk.
He has been performing for 25 years and has released 19 CDs, the most recent being New Everything – an album he takes great pride in. Included in these 19 albums are some devoted to folk and some entirely instrumental guitar. He is ranked in The Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists – his instrumental version of Amazing Grace has been described as mind-blowing.
Each year Brooks devotes a significant part of his time to leading workshops on guitar and songwriting. Workshops have taken him to Turkey, Belgium, France, the UK, all over the USA and in 2010 he was in Tanzania in East Africa working with Primary School pupils using his resonator guitar. Brooks has released two instructional DVDs on blues guitar and slide guitar both of which have been praised for their accessibility.
Added to all of the above, Brooks is a visiting lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge where he works with aspiring musicians. His diary shows that on Sunday 23rd November he is playing on The Isle of Man, Wednesday 26th at Irvine, Thursday 27th in Dorset and Friday 28th in New York!! Busy or what!
Be at Irvine Folk Club on Wednesday 26th November for 8pm to hear the very talented and much acclaimed Brooks Williams. The Club meets in Vineburgh Community Centre in Quarry Road and it’s BYOB with a great café.

From Leigh in Lancashire, Bram Taylor is the welcome guest at Irvine Folk Club on Wednesday 12th November. He has a growing fan base in this neck of the woods having played at the Club and Marymass Folk Festival a couple of years back.
Bram has a busy diary that covers appearances throughout the UK and also includes the US of A and Europe. He has played a couple of times at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Ontario where he was delighted to be on the same bill as his heroes from the Sixties Gordon Lightfoot and Don Mclean.
Described as a collector and interpreter of songs, a set from Bram might include contemporary material from the likes of Colum Sands or Eric Bogle as well as traditional songs like ‘Bogie’s Bonnie Belle’. When selecting songs, Bram always asks himself ‘Is this a good song’. To date this has proved to be successful, having 10 albums to his name and all recorded on Fellside Records. The session musicians on Bram’s albums are a guide to the respect he enjoys among his peers – Stuart Hardy, Steve Lawrence, Wendy Wetherby, Alastair McCulloch and Tom McConville being just some of the names to be found on the credits.
Bram has a strong and clear voice and plays guitar, duet concertina and baritone ukulele. He has an engaging personality both on and off stage. Hear Bram Taylor at Irvine Folk Club on Wednesday 12th November in Vineburgh Community Centre in Quarry Road. The Club starts at 8pm and it’s BYOB.

Canadian folk singer and songwriter James Keelaghan is currently on a busy tour of the UK and Irvine Folk Club is on the gig list. James will be at the Irvine Club on Wednesday 29th October.
Calgary born but now based in Winnipeg, James has been in the music business for over 25 years and has nine albums to his name. It’s said that he has one of the most distinctive and easily identifiable voices in Canada. Much admired as a songwriter, his nine albums have brought him an enviable share of nominations and awards from Australia to Sweden.
James’ Dad was an Irish man and it is to him that James owes much of his early musical inspiration. His Dad was also a great storyteller and James is still trying to be as good as his Dad. The love of storytelling gave James a passion for language and history and both aspects are evident in his songwriting. As well as his own material, James also does some covers, Gordon Lightfoot being a favourite.
Appearing with James at Irvine will be Canadian multi-instrumentalist Hugh McMillan. Expect to hear a mix of roots, rock, Americana and contemporary folk when James Keelaghan plays at Irvine Folk Club on Wednesday 29th October in Vineburgh Community Centre in Quarry Road. The Club starts at 8pm and it’s BYOB.
Finally, the 2015 Celtic Connections programme is now available. From 15th January – 1st February, 2100 artists will play at 300 events over 20 venues in Glasgow. Names to look out for include the Californian Feetwarmers, the interestingly titled Dick Gaughan and Lynched, longtime lead guitarist in the E Street Band Nils Lofgreen, Kieran Goss and Fairport Convention. The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall has full details.

Hey Harley is a new American duo based in Nashville featuring two excellent musicians and they are the special guests at Irvine Folk Club on Wednesday 15th October. The Irvine Club is part of a two month tour of the UK and Europe.
Lizanne Knott and Bill Reveles are Hey Harley and although they have recorded a number of albums as individuals, the duo’s debut record will be launched in January 2015. Hey Harley plays Americana and fans of that genre in Nashville are united in the belief that the only thing better than a great musician is two great musicians – and that’s the case with Hey Harley.
BBC Radio’s Bob Harris has championed the singing and playing of Lizanne Knott since her debut release in 2002 and since then she has featured frequently in his radio shows. Her most recent album released in 2013 ‘Standing in the English Rain’ was one of Top 20 Folk Albums of that year. A vocalist, award-winning writer and fine guitarist, her voice is described as having an almost hypnotic quality and along with her self-deprecating humour it’s little wonder that Lizanne is described as a class act.
Bill Reveles is an L.A. songwriter, singer, producer and arranger. He has four solo albums to his name and works regularly with L.A’s best session players. Such is the reputation of Hey Harley that Taylor Guitars offered a coveted artist partnership to the duo for their tours. Their musical skills will be evident at the Irvine Club as Hey Harley move effortlessly from country to jazz to soft shoe shuffle.
Hey Harley, a new duo can be heard at Irvine Folk Club in Vineburgh Community Centre on Wednesday 15th October and it starts at 8pm.
Finally, news of the sudden death of Tommy Jeffers has stunned Irvine Folk Club. Club MC Willie Sinclair called for a round of applause last week to mark the memory of Tommy and it was done with much fondness and respect for a long standing member and supporter of the Club and Marymass Folk Festival. The condolences of everyone at Irvine Folk Club go to Tommy’s wife Christine, their son Colin and family.

Due to a change in travel arrangements Tommy’s Funeral Service will now be held in The Volunteer Rooms on Wednesday 15th October at 10.30am thereafter to Knadgerhill Cemetery.