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The Association Of Festival Organisers

Artists

9th - 11th May 2008: Cromer Pier

Running from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May the festival will offer some of the best names in the industry from the British Isles plus a number from abroad, with a programming balance between 'acoustic roots’ and mainstream electric acts.

A special concert preceding the Folk on the Pier festival to launch a new 2CD of the same name in aid of the Cromer Lifeboat Crew Fund. Headlining the evening will be award winning folk musicians John Tams and Barry Coope and it will also feature Fred Wedlock, Liz Simcock and Hayley Moyses and the Bluegrass Forum. All of these artists have donated tracks to the new the new double CD as well as many more who have been part of the festival over the last ten years.

Thursday 8th May

7.30pm onwards

All seats £10.00

Box Office 01263 512495

FRED WEDLOCK
Achieved the perfect start for an entertainer - born and brought up in a pub. First paid gig, singing to the customers (age 4). First fee, sixpence (old money).  Has a deep love of all things West Country, especially his native Bristol (Even tolerates Bristol Rovers). Acknowledged authority on the local dialect, but speaks English as well.  Keen on all sports. Comes from a famous footballing family (Father and Uncles played for Bristol City - Grandfather captained England).

Experimented with several careers, including teaching in the East End of London, but has managed without a proper job for over 25 years now. Jokes, Stories, Parodies and Comic Songs (mostly self penned). Plays useful guitar.

THE CHURCHFITTERS (BRITTANY/UK)
The Churchfitters - one of the most inspired groups on the folk scene today.
Their energetic and superlative show unites the rhythms of rock, pop and jazz with the universal appeal of traditional music. With three explosive voices, the use of a dozen or so acoustic instruments and their own flamboyant personalities, the group is taking audiences by storm at festivals and concerts throughout France, Europe and the UK.

MOR KARBASI (ISRAEL)
“Spine Tingling Gypsy Music” from a bright new singing talent.
Described by London’s Jewish Chronicle as a purveyor of “Spine tingling Gypsy Music”, young London based Israeli singer Mor Karbasi sings in Ladino, Spanish, Hebrew and on rarer occasions, English. Fortune has brought her a wonderful singing voice and she puts it to most excellent use.

BOB FOX
Bob Fox is one of the UK’s great solo folk singers. With numerous award winning albums under his belt and over thirty years of performing, he is quite simply a master of his craft. With good humour, masterful guitar work and a unique voice, an unforgettable high quality performance is guaranteed.

JULIE ELLISON
Original songs and instrumentals, alongside inventive re-workings of classical pieces and guitar standards, confirm Julie as a leading female guitarist and a singer songwriter of note. Drawing on ragtime, country blues, rock and classical influences, Julie delivers astonishing diversity in a performance that is moving as often as it is surprising.

THE HAMSTERS
The guitar, bass and drums trio The Hamsters have long been established as our premier blues-rock attraction, having performed 4,000 concerts in 21 years. They've a mailing list exceeding 20,000 and a website which receives 1,000 visitors a day, and although primarily playing their own brand of rootsy Rock, Blues and Americana, they're also widely regarded as the UK's leading interpreters of the music of Jimi Hendrix and ZZ Top. The band's guitarist/singer Slim's appearing in a new 3-hour DVD documentary about the Fender Stratocaster titled 'Strat Masters'. Players featured in the film are Ry Cooder, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, Chris Rea, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Robert Cray and Rory Gallagher among others.

THE SPIKEDRIVERS
Taking inspiration from their American roots and the country’s rich musical heritage, the Spikedrivers’ songwriting, vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation make their sound fresh and exciting.
The atmosphere created by the band takes you on a journey, from southern jukejoints and lazy front porches to the huge open spaces of dust bowls and railroad tracks disappearing into the distance.

THE SONGS OF NICK DRAKE
AROUND 5 YEARS AGO, KEITH JAMES, A SINGER-SONGWRITER AND ACOUSTIC MUSIC PRODUCER, BEGAN TO PERFORM the legendary NICK DRAKE’S SONGS LIVE IN CONCERT TO SUCH AFFECT THAT TOGETHER WITH RICK FOOT HE HAS NOW PLAYED ALMOST 300 DATES THROUGHOUT 8 UK TOURS AND RECORDED HIS OWN ALBUM OF 12 OF NICK’S SONGS.

SID KIPPER
Sid Kipper swam, fully formed, from the belly of the legendary Kipper Family. Over the last decade or so he has developed his epic tale of the village of St Just-near-Trunch, and his friends, enemies and relatives, in 6 albums, 5 books, 2 series for Radio 2, a podcast for Channel 4 Radio and a number of themed live shows. He writes, records, broadcasts, sings songs, tells stories, acts, and plays a bewildering array of equally bewildering instruments.

SHOOGLENIFTY (Scotland)
Without a doubt one of the most innovative exciting bands of recent years, the band have a well deserved global reputation for a fantastic show. Formed in Edinburgh, Shooglenifty began life with a residency at the La Belle Angele pub and quickly drew a strong fan base for their energised, contemporary roots material Shooglenifty have a broad international fanbase from performances throughout Europe, Kuala Lumpur. USA and Australia

‘THE MUSIC OF LARK RISE’
This year Ashley Hutchings the ‘God Father of English Folk-Rock’ has taken the music of “Lark Rise to Candleford” on to the road. The five piece concert band consists of Ashley, Judy Dunlop, Simon Care, Ruth Angell and Mark Hutchinson and they will be presenting the music from the much loved National Theatre plays based on the novels by Flora Thompson. The show is in two parts with an interval.

TANGLEFOOT (CANADA)
Hugely popular in the UK and voted Best Vocal Group in the 2007 Canadian Folk Music Awards, Tanglefoot remain one of the most thoroughly entertaining bands you will ever see. With superb musicianship, electrifying energy and a knack for writing extremely memorable story-songs that cleverly illustrate the human condition via the Canadian saga, they have a full-throttle sound that touches on Celtic, French-Canadian and early Ontario roots. Tanglefoot is broadly appealing. Their stunning vocal harmonies and finely-crafted material make them a stand-out act, and their second-to-none live show leaves you "...with the satisfaction of having read an engrossing novel, with the added bonus of a memorable soundtrack," (Sing-Out Magazine, Spring 2007).

MAWKIN:CAUSLEY
In the summer of 2006, Mawkin released their much anticipated debut full length album ‘The Fair Essex’ which recieved rave reviews. Colin Irwin of MOJO magazine gave the album four stars, stating it as ‘Unconditionally Mighty’.
The band look set once more to be recording over the winter of 2007 with Jim Causley as Mawkin:Causley, another development in this fast rising bands brief but exciting history.

SHOW OF HANDS
Show of Hands are without a doubt one of the strongest current forces in acoustic musicAn alchemist couldn’t have come up with a more potent, magical mix than that of Phil Beer, who can, as The Scotsman observed, “play nearly every stringed instrument known to man” and the inspired Steve Knightley, described by Mike Harding at BBC Radio 2’s 2007 Folk Awards as “one of England’s greatest singer songwriters”. After their headlining appearance 5 years ago they make a welcome return with special guests to Folk On The Pier.

LITTLE JOHNNY ENGLAND
Little Johnny England is an English folk-rock band which originates out of the Oxford/Banbury/Northampton section of England. Formed in 1999, the band takes its name from a traditional playground song from Moulton in Northamptonshire. At the foundation of their music is the traditional mix of squeeze box and fiddle that is balanced by a strong rhythm section and a slide guitarist. The combination of instruments and music style creates a unique Folk Rock sound that is drawn from English musical roots.

CROMER SMUGGLERS
The Cromer Smugglers got off to a flying start this year,with a trip to Germany in January. With a new CD on sale called ‘The Old Town Quay and bookings coming in fast their year could not have got of to a better start.
The group continue to work hard at raising money for many local and national charities.

TRUCKSTOP HONEYMOON (USA)
Truckstop Honeymoon play tough, funny, hi-octane songs about interstates, pinball arcades and true love. Katie Euliss pounds a doghouse bass while Mike West punishes a banjo mercilessly. Together they charm festival crowds and drive roadhouse drinkers to the dance-floor.

WHAPWEASEL
Whapweasel are first and foremost a dance band, but they are in increasing demand on the concert circuit, and are busy developing pieces designed as much for listening as for dancing (though they have devised a way for audiences to dance while remaining seated; experts are baffled...).
Meanwhile, hang on to your hats: the Mighty Wind of Whap is heading your way...