Dartford Folk Club

11/06/2026

Marj Mitchell

TUESDAY 16 JUNE 2026 WINTER WILSON

When Mike Harding dubbed Winter Wilson as one of the hardest working duos on the circuit, he'd clearly done his homework. UK based, Kip Winter and Dave Wilson have performed worldwide, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums, one of the highlights being 'Live & Unconventional', the live album, recorded on tour and at Cropredy Festival with folk rock icons Fairport Convention.

It is in live performance where these two really excel. Kip and Dave bring a sense of intimacy to every venue, blending superb, often hard-hitting original songs, stunning harmonies and musicianship with sometimes hilarious humour and tales of life on the road. You will laugh; you may cry. You will certainly want to see them again!

We are very grateful to Winter Wilson for stepping in at short notice to entertain us as we wish Steve Ashley a full and speedy recovery.

TUESDAY 23 JUNE 2026 KENNY SPEIRS

Kenny Speirs has been a well-known figure on the national and international folk circuit for over twenty five years ever since the John Wright Band burst onto the scene in the early nineties. From his beloved homeland of the Scottish Borders the band propelled Kenny from the pubs and clubs of his local area to some of the biggest festival stages throughout the UK and Europe. Turning professional in 1995, Kenny released seven albums with the JWB, earning a deserved reputation as a sensitive guitarist, singer and arranger, also finding time to release two solo albums to wide critical acclaim.

In 2002 Kenny moved on to form Real Time with his partner Judy Dinning of Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies fame. For the next eleven years they toured extensively until Judy's untimely death in October 2013. The six albums from this intimate collaboration have been the highlight of his career to date. Since losing Judy, Kenny decided to carry on with Real Time, and the band continues to enjoy huge success with Eilidh Grant taking on the main singing duties.

Tonight, we are very pleased to welcome Kenny Speirs back to Dartford Folk Club as a solo performer.

29/05/2026

Marj Mitchell

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB

TUESDAY 02 JUNE 2026 PETE COE

"There's a very good reason why Pete Coe's career has been such a long and successful one: this is a man who never rests on his laurels and who is constantly looking for new angles from which to approach his music. In addition he's an extremely competent singer, musician, arranger, step dancer and a stage performer of rare ability..." John Waltham (Living Tradition)

Pete Coe has had more than 50 years of music making on the English folk scene. His contributions include traditional song research and song writing, the founding of several seminal bands plus solo and duo performances, dance calling, recording, and teaching at various levels. Together with his wife Sue, he received the Gold Badge Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) in 2016 for their outstanding contributions to folk dance, music or song.

TUESDAY 09 JUNE 2026 VICKI SWAN AND JONNY DYER

Vicki and Jonny are two of the most versatile musicians of the folk circuit today, a on stage - and now online, the duo are recognised for the high quality of their polished concerts; not only by their charismatic singing and playing but also by their involving, winning presence and easy rapport, their polished delivery that genuinely respects their listeners, and their lively, informed backstories.

They have developed an enviable reputation for their ability to reimagine folk and folk dance music; creating sounds that are simultaneously new and progressive, and yet entirely sympathetic to the tradition. They have become deeply involved in folk dance over the last ten years; contra, ceilidh and social dance both as the duo and as Purcell's Polyphonic Party. They often insert Performance elements into their dance music.
You are very likely to find yourself dancing to a song - and we dare you not to sing the chorus as you go!

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

15/05/2026

Marj Mitchell

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB

TUESDAY 19 MAY 2026 LOUISE and CHRIS ROGAN

Louise and Chris Rogan are an award winning daughter and father Folk Duo.
Whether in the intimate surroundings of a Folk Club or the grand setting of a Festival's main stage, Louise and Chris have a "relaxed and engaging manner" with their audiences and are regularly invited back - the greatest of all compliments. Described as having a "pure and soaring voice", Louise is a singer of the highest quality. Audiences enjoy their arrangements of traditional favourites as well as their self-penned songs.

In 2023, Louise and Chris won the Audience Vote of the Great British Folk Festival. In March 2023, Louise was invited to join McCusker, McGoldrick and Doyle as part of their UK Tour at The Waterside, Sale and The Crescent, York. In January 2024, they headlined the UK West Coast Folk Festival replacing an unavailable Cara Dillon and were followed onstage by Richard Thompson. They were also selected to play on the Danny Kyle Open Stage at Celtic Connections. In 2025, Louise and Chris headlined at the Costa Festival Ibiza.

TUESDAY 26 MAY 2026 CHRIS CROMPTON

Christopher Crompton is a singer-songwriter, musician, writer and poet from the West Midlands of England.
His work is created from a diverse palette of influences that cross genres and cultures. His distinctive voice and guitar playing draw these threads together into a unique sound and presentation. The subjects he addresses are equally heterogeneous, from the personal to the political, from the Stoic to the spiritual, from the everyday to the extraordinary. In every corner of experience, Christopher seeks the sensibilities that render the individual universal.

Christopher's words and music set out to make you feel something. They challenge but carry compassion. They empathise, lament, celebrate and encourage.

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

02/05/2026

Marj Mitchell

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB

TUESDAY 05 MAY 2026 LINDE NIJLAND AND BERT RIDDERBOS

Linde was described "best folk singer of the Netherlands" (Heaven). For many years she has been performing and recording with multi-instrumentalist Bert Ridderbos ('seemingly a one man orchestra' fRoots) on guitars, cittern, accordion, banjo and dobro.

Together they tour all over Europe. In 2008 Linde and Bert made a musical friendship journey, over land to Bhutan (through Serbia, Iran, India) after which they released a documentary which shows them performing together with traditional local musicians and giving concerts in several Asian countries. More recently they released Linde's brand new album 'Ten Years' which was nominated for the esteemed German award 'Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik'.

TUESDAY 12 MAY 2026 DAN McKINNON

Blessed with a glorious baritone voice, a graceful mastery on guitar, and a hearty laugh that delights any room, Dan McKinnon has carved out his own unique, musical path. From early beginnings in the coffee houses, pubs and bars of Atlantic Canada, to yearly tours throughout the UK, Dan's performances reveal an enduring respect for the past, tempered by a profound attachment to the present.
Dan's keenly observed stories and passionately delivered songs convey a deep inquisitiveness into the human condition combined with the rich heritage of the Maritimes.

Hearing Dan McKinnon for the first time reminds me of the first time I heard Stan Rogers or James Keelaghan..." - Rich Warren, Sing Out!

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

22/04/2026

TUESDAY 28 APRIL 2026

Clive Carroll

Clive Carroll's unique tone, versatility, and unmistakeable voice as a composer, have seen him become one of the world's premier acoustic guitar players and "...arguably the most accomplished fingerstylist in the world today..." - Total Guitar Magazine

Clive made his musical debut at age two as a banjo-strumming cowboy singing nursery rhymes. His parents had a passion for Irish, American country, and old-time music, and it wasn't long before he was playing in the family band on a homemade banjo. By his early teens, guitar in hand, Clive was traversing the worlds of soul, pop, funk and traditional Irish music. This breadth of musical curiosity was to become one of his strengths; even as a child Clive was as comfortable accompanying a group of folk singers as he was jamming along to Nirvana or performing on banjo and guitar in the orchestral pits for musicals.

A chance meeting with English guitar legend John Renbourn proved the catalyst for Clive's debut album, 'Sixth Sense', which Renbourn deemed 'a milestone in the journey of the steel-string guitar'. He subsequently took Clive on the road with him and the pair toured North America and Europe together, launching Clive's solo performing career.

To continue the story, please visit Clive's own website.

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

09/04/2026

Marj Mitchell

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB
TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2026 SOUND TRADITION

Sound Tradition is an a ca****la folk foursome (David, Linda, Catherine and Moose) singing in glorious harmony. Their varied repertoire ranges from lively chorus songs to lilting ballads, and from medieval times to the modern day, but always with an ear for the English folk tradition.

They have proudly supported such luminaries as Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick, Chris Wood and Roy Bailey but also enjoy the main stage in their own right. Hailing from East Anglia, Sound Tradition can be found at clubs and festivals across the country - come and join in!

Please visit their website to read their individual biographies.

TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2026 CULVERAKE

Culverake is a new traditional singing trio promising gusto and harmonies a plenty. The trio is made up of Seb Stone, Matt Quinn and Lizzy Hardingham, and together they breathe new life into timeless melodies.

Matt Quinn is a singer and instrumentalist but primarily a mandolin and duet concertina player. He is also well known for his skills on the melodeon and as a singer, and is always in demand on the English folk scene.

Folk-infused singer songwriter Lizzy Hardingham sings songs that drive straight to the heart, giving audiences a chance for genuine connection and empathy. Paving her way as a powerhouse performer, with her wonderful voice grabbing listeners from the very first note and holding on until the last, just think Christine Collister, Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny and KT Tunstall all wrapped into one! In short, 'Lizzy has a dazzling combination of voice and songwriting talent that rarely appears.'

Seb Stone is a traditional singer, whistle player and uilleann piper from the Peak District. He draws on a varied repertoire of traditional English and Irish songs, focussing on the stories they have to tell, and their relevance to our modern world, singing them with 'understanding, sensitivity & strength'.

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

27/03/2026

Marj Mitchell

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB
TUESDAY 31 MARCH 2026 SIMPLY DYLAN

No frills, no gimmicks, no pretence SIMPLY DYLAN is John O'Connell's personal exploration and celebration of the rich and diverse work of Bob Dylan. John O'Connell, a rare talent who has had his name indelibly written in to the tapestry of Liverpool's music scene, has collaborated with other highly reputable musicians from the city to form his Dylan Band.

It is their precise playing and high energy renditions of Dylan's work from the 1970s onwards which has gathered momentum and generated incredible interest. From a modest project recognising Dylan's 70th Birthday in 2011 Simply Dylan has gone from selling out the Cavern Club 6 times, to receiving fantastic reviews from the Spanish Press, to impressing Dylan fans from across the UK on their Tours with SJM Concerts, to opening up the IOW Festival 2019 performing on the Big Top Stage.

No ordinary interpretation, this is a remarkable and exceptional project which promises to delight Dylan fans young and old and to ignite a new wave of passion for one of the world's most prodigious songwriters.

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB
TUESDAY 07 APRIL 2026 KATIE GRACE HARRIS & ANDY NICE

Katie Grace Harris is a multi-tasking, foot tapping, piano, dulcimer and accordion playing singer and story-weaver. Inspired by real stories of social injustice and with a fast-growing reputation in the UK Folk world, her sound has been described as 'boot-thumping, heart-filling acoustic/folk music'.

'Does your life not just feel better after listening to a little bit of Katie Grace Harris?' - Patrick Kielty - BBC 5 Live

'Integrity pours out of her performance and her as a person. - Reg Meuross

'Beautifully written... tightly observed songs and stories about real people and places. - Fatea Magazine

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

23/03/2026

Marj Mitchell
We are delighted to be hosting this amazing night - Don't miss it!

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB TUESDAY 24 MARCH 2026

KATHERINE ROBERT & SEAN LAKEMAN

Duos come and go, but few nurture and refine their craft with such dedication and originality as Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman.

Roberts and Lakeman have forged a creative bond that is as enduring as it is inspiring. Their 30 year journey together - from young trailblazers in the 1990s folk supergroup Equation to one of Britain's most admired and decorated folk duos - stands as a testament to their artistry, authenticity, and masterful musicianship. Their contribution to the British folk landscape has not gone unnoticed.

Kathryn and Sean have twice been named 'Best Duo' at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, in addition to accolades from Spiral Earth and Fatea Magazine. Their live shows - brimming with charm, wit, and musical mastery - have earned them a devoted following and a reputation as a cornerstone act of the British folk and acoustic scene.

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

12/03/2026

Marj Mitchell

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB

TUESDAY 17 MARCH 2026
JOHNNY CAMPBELL

Johnny Campbell is a multidisciplinary Folk musician based in Yorkshire. He focuses on promoting the radical history of Northern English working class struggles and celebrations in original and traditional song. Taking inspiration from traditional material, as well as self-penned songs, he explores what it means to be human today, as well as looking back at our history. Through songs, Johnny explores the symbiotic connections between the land, the music, the stories and the history that has shaped northern identity.

Alongside his music-making, Johnny's knowledge of radical histories, landscape and geography have earned him a freelance writing role with Britain's most popular walking magazine Country Walking as well as praise from author Nick Hayes, a feature on BBC Radio 4 'Open Country' and an episode of the award-winning Folk on Foot podcast.

TUESDAY 24 MARCH 2026
KATHERINE ROBERT & SEAN LAKEMAN

Duos come and go, but few nurture and refine their craft with such dedication and originality as Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman. Roberts and Lakeman have forged a creative bond that is as enduring as it is inspiring. Their 30 year journey together - from young trailblazers in the 1990s folk supergroup Equation to one of Britain's most admired and decorated folk duos - stands as a testament to their artistry, authenticity, and masterful musicianship. Their contribution to the British folk landscape has not gone unnoticed.

Kathryn and Sean have twice been named 'Best Duo' at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, in addition to accolades from Spiral Earth and Fatea Magazine. Their live shows - brimming with charm, wit, and musical mastery - have earned them a devoted following and a reputation as a cornerstone act of the British folk and acoustic scene.

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]

27/02/2026

MUSICAL MARCH!!

TUESDAY 03 MARCH 2026 The Ashen Keys

The Ashen Keys are a multi instrumental, multi voiced celebration of heartfelt storytelling from Kent. Their sound tells of influences
from folk, blues, pop, classical and even early music. Expect to be taken on a journey through dark folk tales, bittersweet love stories and reveries on nature, all with exquisite vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation. The Ashen Keys's have performed at Rochester Cathedral, Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, Black Deer Festival, and at Shrewsbury Folk Festival as one of the winners of the 2023 Launchpad competition.

The Ashen Keys are: Hannah Ellerby (vocals, violin, oboe and ukulele), Rachel Lowrie (vocals, guitar, ukulele and clarinet), and Vicky Price (vocals, French horn, accordion)

Here is a taster of what to expect! just click on the video below:

From The Name on Your Compass, The Ashen Keys' debut album.This video was filmed at St Mary's Church, Higham in Kent by the wildly talented Erim Ahmet, who a...