20 October: David Evison – Here We Are

“While we have come from different places and have progressed in different ways, we have all arrived at this point because we enjoy performing music”

David Evison is a regular performer at Folk Club events, and a member of the Jamesons, a long-standing Christchurch band which plays every Tuesday night at the Bog Irish bar. He also regularly joins sessions at the Pegasus Bar and the Little Fiddle.

He will be joined by Steve Stern and Russell Gillies.

Steve Stern is well known as the President of the Folk Club and can frequently be seen performing and doing the sound at the Folk Club. He is a member of the Port Hillbillies and runs an Old Timey session at Wunderbar. Steve plays banjo, fiddle and guitar and also sings.

Russell Gillies is a life member of the Christchurch Folk Club, and past-President of both the Folk Club and the Canterbury Folk Festival. He is well known for his skill on the sound desk. He enjoys playing for Celidhs, dances, sessions and folk club performances. He is a long-time contributor to the Monday night session at the Pegasus.

13 October: Honouring Leonard Cohen

HONOURING LEONARD COHEN..
features ANDY THOMPSON (guitars and vocals) and KRISTRINA GODFREY (vocals and percussion), they are joined by teacher and honoured folkie, MARY RUSTON (keyboard) dynamic musical director of Jazzamatazz.

They will present a brief flurry of original songs before unleashing their LEONARD COHEN works.

Andy Thompson and Kristina Godfrey are the engine room of this production of Leonard Cohen’s Greatest Songs.

KRISTINA GODFREY has amassed accolades for her CD “Good Enough for Love”.. and for her several music manifestations.. the SAFFRON SISTERS .. an all-women group and her collaboration with Andy on SONGS FROM THE DEEP in 2023. She has also appeared with Tony Hale in concerts. She continues to shine a light on Women’s rights issues and shares her influences in songs with the irreplaceable Joni Mitchell and the late Eva Cassidy who inspire her greatly. Kristina also has an African drumming passion from her past.

ANDY THOMPSON is a Tui Award winner for his 2017 album “Stand Like a Tree” and was invited to the Vancouver folk festival in the late 1990s. He performed on stage alongside Billy Bragg, Jewel, Roy Harper and the late, legendary Gordon Lightfoot. He was the CPIT Song and Performance tutor for many years and ran PANG, a community radio show on Plains FM for over a decade. He has 8 albums to his credit, many that are .. as reviewed in ‘The Listener”.. ”Thompson sang songs that shifted one’s consciousness and were gorgeous windows into the Kiwi psyche..”

He also has composed songs for theatre including Tourism Award winner “REWI ALLEY” and “The Kate Sheppard Roadshow” for Canterbury Heritage events. His first Folk Club gig was at Bedford Row in 1970 with Phil Garland presiding.

Andy still teaches guitar and vocal techniques.

6 October: Ceilidh

“Theo and G” are the next barndance band! Theo on accordion with Gary on guitar and calling. They are known for their nights filled with fun, great music and most of all, exceptional dancing. Bring your dancing shoes and smiles, all that is needed for an evening of merriment and “the best fun to be had with your clothes on”.
A cèilidh is a traditional Scottish or Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing, either at a house party or a larger concert at a social hall or other community gathering place.