Hello, and welcome to the website of the Willows Folk Club!
The Willows has been around since 1972, and meets every Wednesday at 8:00pm (doors open 7:30pm) in the excellent function room of Arundel Football Club, Mill Road, Arundel in West Sussex. The club is committed to offering the finest quality folk music at the best value prices, and also prides itself on its welcoming atmosphere - we are always pleased to welcome friends both new and old.
The Willows offers some of the finest guests from the world of traditional and contemporary folk music, and we are also very proud of the club's fantastic fortnightly
Come All Ye - Open Stage Nights, featuring some of the best singers and musicians in the area performing folk music in its broadest sense.
We have a really exciting programme coming up over the next few months - check out our What's On page for more details! For more information about the club and its history, check out our About Us page, and for directions on how to get to us, check out our Where To Find Us page. Don't forget too that you can sample audio clips of our guests, and videos taken in the club, courtesy of our MySpace and YouTube pages, and of course you can keep up with the latest Willows news here on our front page!
Hope to welcome you to the club very soon!
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"One of the best gigs of 2005 was The Willows Folk Club. The Willows has the vitality and atmosphere that first drew me to the folk clubs of the 1960s. It's the kind of place where people are happy to join in and sing along; and yet, when the music dictates it, you can hear a pin drop. It's at the top of my list of favourites."
---Julie Felix, September 2005
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NEXT CLUB NIGHT
COME ALL YE - OPEN STAGE NIGHT Weds 1st September 2010 £2.00 8:00pm : Doors open 7:30pm
It was difficult to choose one more song to add to the Willows' YouTube channel as so many of them were so good, and so we decided to put together a 9-minute "highlight video" showing excerpts of the trio playing several more of the songs from their two sets!
We had a terrific night last Wednesday when local folk legends PIED MERLIN (featuring Rick Willings, Peter English, Mal Simms and Jon Wigg) reunited for another long-awaited reunion gig! As has been previously mentioned, we were forced to reschedule this gig in January when the heavy snow forced its cancellation, and so the long wait to enjoy it made this performance even more enjoyable!
We have two new videos added to our YouTube channel courtesy of Pied Merlin's performance. This first video shows the band performing their version of the song "Smuggler", originally written and performed by famous Scottish folk group The McCalmans:
This second video showcases the band's lovely vocal harmonies, with their rendition of the traditional song "My Johnny Was a Shoemaker":
First of all, apologies for the recent lack of updates - things are currently very hectic and busy here at Willows HQ!
We had another superbly successful Showcase Special at the end of July, with extended sets from two great acts, Greg Harper & The Skroats and skiffle band Sometimes They Come Back! Greg and his band the Skroats performed a sublime selection of songs, including several Greg Harper originals, and thoroughly impressed the large crowd that turned up to support the evening. Sometimes They Come Back closed the evening with an uplifting and energised set of classic singalong skiffle hits that seemed to really bring the house down!
The performances from these two great acts also make up the latest additions to the Willows' YouTube Channel! This first pair of videos shows Greg Harper & The Skroats performing Greg's original song "Sail Away" and then their version of The Eagles' song "Lyin' Eyes". The band were joined for this second song by Willows MC Chris Davis on mandolin, and Magda Taylor on harmony vocals:
This second pair of videos show Sometimes They Come Back performing the classic hit "Tom Dooley" followed by a more obscure Lonnie Donegan song, the powerful "Lonesome Traveller":
Many thanks to all the singers and musicians involved in this memorable evening, and of course to everyone who turned up to listen to them!
Also just a quick reminder that this Wednesday (11th August) our special guests are the legendary PIED MERLIN - we had to reschedule this gig from January when it was snowed off, we're hoping that as it's the middle of August the same thing won't happen again!! The band will be being joined for this performance by acclaimed fiddle player Jon Wigg at what is sure to be a very special evening!
Highlights from Jim Reynolds' gig featured on YouTube!
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One of the Willows' great friends, well-known local folksinger and entertainer TIM KENT of Hat Records, came along to JIM REYNOLDS' gig at the Willows at the end of June and offered to film the evening and upload highlights from the evening to his YouTube channel, and we readily agreed!
Some of you may remember that Tim featured similar highlights on his YouTube channel a couple of years ago when Steve Tilston came to play for us, and the videos from that night have all been extremely popular on YouTube.
Tim has featured three videos from JIM REYNOLDS' evening, and we're pleased to present all three of them here today! This first video features highlights of the floorspots from the night, including MC Chris Davis, both solo and alongside John Griffiths, as well as Anne Winter, Albert Taylor, Daniel Meaney and Graham & Little Jo:
Tim Kent himself played a couple of songs at this evening, and he's uploaded these in their entirety - here's Tim playing "Bedlam Boys" and "Banks of the Bann":
Last but definitely not least, this video features highlights from JIM REYNOLDS' two sets - this video showcases what a talented and versatile performer Jim is!
A big thank you to Tim for all his hard work editing these videos - they're fantastic to see and share!
Last Wednesday we enjoyed another truly memorable performance from one of the folk scene's most inspirational performers, the one and only JULIE FELIX! Julie's performances are still infused with the same passion and energy that they always have been, and this was no less in evidence last Wednesday when she entertained a capacity crowd at the Willows!
We hope shortly to feature a couple of videos from Julie's performance on the Willows' YouTube channel - at the moment we're waiting for Julie to watch them and approve them for uploading. As soon as we're given the go-ahead, we'll bring them to you!
Just a quick note to let everyone know that, unfortunately, JULIE FELIX's gig at the Willows tomorrow night (14th July) is completely SOLD OUT, with no tickets left either in advance or "on the door".
As such, we regret that anyone turning up on Wednesday without a ticket or ticket reserved will not be able to be admitted, as we will be at the maximum capacity allowed by the Football Club's fire regulations.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the sell-out.
We're really looking forward to another terrific evening from this amazing performer!
We had another great Come All Ye - Open Stage Night last Wednesday, despite fierce competition from the World Cup semi-finals!! Thanks to all the fine performers who came along to provide us with such great music and entertainment.
One of the many highlights of the evening was a return appearance to the Willows' stage from our old friend J.D. Walker - J.D. is a superb entertainer based in Hampshire who has played the Willows many times over the past decade as both a floorsinger and guest artist, and it was a real treat to see him! J.D. kindly gave us permission to add a couple of the songs from his set to the Willows' YouTube channel, and we're delighted to present those here for your enjoyment!
This first video shows J.D. singing "Going Gone", a song written by American singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith:
This second video features J.D. performing Buddy Holly's classic song "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", which the audience all enjoyed singing along with!
We enjoyed another terrific guest night at the Willows last Wednesday when we welcomed superb singer-songwriter-guitarist JIM REYNOLDS back to the club! Jim is a firm favourite of many at the club and provided a deft demonstration of why on Wednesday night, with some great songs (both self-penned and old favourites from folk, blues, country and "old standards"), lovely smooth vocals, and immaculate guitar playing!
Jim's terrific performance also provides us with the latest addition to the Willows' YouTube Channel! This video shows off to perfection Jim's masterful acoustic blues guitar playing, as he plays one of his own songs, "Feeling Too Good Today Blues":
Last Wednesday we enjoyed a fantastically entertaining night from superb duo BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST, a.k.a. Paul Sartin and Paul Hutchinson. The "two Pauls" as they are sometimes known delivered two brilliant sets combining brilliant musicianship and vocals with hilarious comedy and comic timing!
Factor into the evening that we had a terrific turnout (including an all-star cast of floorsingers) and a brilliant atmosphere, and it would be fair to say that Belshazzar's Feast's evening will be one that people will still be talking about in several months if not years!
The duo's performance also make for the latest additions to the Willows' YouTube Channel! This first video shows them performing a neo-classical set of tunes, showcasing both their brilliant musicianship and comic flair:
This second video features Paul Sartin leading the audience in the duo's version of the classic folksong "The Mermaid", complete with hand actions!
The future looks bright with young stars lighting the way!
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One of the most inspiring things about running a club is being able to present some of the finest young talent emerging on the UK folk scene, which is why it was such a joy to welcome superb trio ISAMBARDE to the Willows' stage last Wednesday! This fantastic group have been attracting the attention of many established folk artists (including their latest champion, Show of Hands' legendary Phil Beer), venue and festival organisers, and enthusiastic audience members, and it's not difficult to see why - they perform their own interpretations of traditional folk music with such energy and dynamism, and with such an infectious sense of fun, it's almost impossible not to warm to them instantly!
Isambarde absolutely wowed everybody on their Willows debut, engaging the audience from the word go, and it was also gratifying that these fine young musicians had such a great turnout to play to (nearly 70 people).
Isambarde very kindly granted us permission to feature a couple of numbers from their gig on the Willows' YouTube Channel! This first video shows the trio performing their entertaining version of the song "Old Maid in the Garret":
This second video is of Isambarde's driving, high-energy version of the song "A Miner's Lifeguard":
Just a quick note to let everyone know that, unfortunately, JULIE FELIX's gig at the Willows tomorrow night (14th July) is completely SOLD OUT, with no tickets left either in advance or "on the door". 
