Milkmaid Molly
INCLUSIVE MORRIS
Milkmaid Molly’s whole ethos is to support vulnerable and disadvantaged people to enrich their lives through the joy of music and movement.
Peter Knight's Gigspanner Big Band at The Cut Halesworth
Peter Knight's Gigspanner Big Band at The Cut Halesworth Saturday 11th July
“Their collective elan has a forceful presence unmatched in British folk. A faultless cavalcade” 4⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Guardian
“Turnstone is enthralling. It’s a serious piece of work which will leave your head and critical conscience in a spin. Live performances will deliver pure magic” 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spiral Earth
"The kind of re-enchantment which only comes from top-class musicians with a deep understanding of their material. Simply remarkable" 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ R2 Magazine
The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique force in British folk music...
Their high-energy, virtuosic performances appeal equally to traditionalists and to those looking for something more experimental, and they have garnered praise from publications as varied as fRoots, The Telegraph and The Wire, where they were described as ‘melodically folk-rooted yet open and innovative beyond the constraints of genre’
“Turnstone is enthralling. It’s a serious piece of work which will leave your head and critical conscience in a spin. Live performances will deliver pure magic” 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spiral Earth
"The kind of re-enchantment which only comes from top-class musicians with a deep understanding of their material. Simply remarkable" 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ R2 Magazine
The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique force in British folk music...
Their high-energy, virtuosic performances appeal equally to traditionalists and to those looking for something more experimental, and they have garnered praise from publications as varied as fRoots, The Telegraph and The Wire, where they were described as ‘melodically folk-rooted yet open and innovative beyond the constraints of genre’
Read more: Peter Knight's Gigspanner Big Band at The Cut Halesworth
Me and my recorder
by Val Haines
There’s a meme going around social media: just when you think parenting can’t get any harder your kid comes home with a recorder. Us recorder players still have a lot of convincing to do.
Flashback to 1969. I’m at primary school and we are told to line up and take a recorder out of a large box. I’m at the back of the queue, as always, as my name is at the back of the 
Early daysalphabet. When I get to the box there is one left, a dark brown one, Bakelite I learned much later. Everybody else has a pale wooden recorder with a white top. Appearance is not the only difference I realise as we all begin to blow. Everybody else’s sound like asthmatic mice – mine sounds like a bird. Nothing I can do can make my recorder wheeze like theirs and this beautiful sound encouraged me on.
Unlike the current meme my parents never objected to my recorder. We were told don’t take the recorder home. I took it home. We were told don’t tell your parents you have to buy one. I told my parents we had to buy one, after all once a week playing wasn’t enough, but I had to wait until my eleventh birthday. The night before I could hear my dad blowing it and my mum saying shhh, she’ll hear you. I was too excited to sleep.
I found early on that I could play lots of tunes from memory which meant that if I had to read music it slowed me down. There seemed to be an automatic connection from ears to brain to fingers. When I heard Sparky’s Magic Piano on the radio, I thought yes, that’s how it works. My teacher liked my playing and asked me to play in assembly. I refused to play alone and asked a friend to join me. We played together but I didn’t enjoy it at all. She was too loud and blew all wrong and didn’t think about how it could sound nice. I was too shy to play on my own in public so continued to march around the house playing instead: TV adverts, hymns, pop songs, anything. Then it was time to go to secondary school and I got my trumpet, flugel horn and cornet. Recorders became a bit childish, but at least you could hide them in your bag.
Frederick (Fred) Sanders - an appreciation
Fred Sanders
Neville Parry, Squire of The Morris Men of Little Egypt has sent the following tribute to Frederick Sanders.
“It is with immense sadness and grief that we announce the passing of our dear friend and Founder of the Morris Men of Little Egypt, Frederick Sanders. Frederick passed away at home on Monday 24th May surrounded by his beloved family.
Thorington Theatre
Introducing Thorington Theatre
The new 350-seat outdoor live music and theatre venue on the Suffolk Coast. Built in the husk of a WWII bomb crater that has been reclaimed by nature, the theatre is surrounded by woodland, birdsong and the gentle rustling of trees.
For those that haven’t been yet, Thorington Theatre are quickly establishing themselves as one of the best live music venues in the region. Not only is the calibre of performer improving year on year, but the theatre also serves as a woodland getaway. It’s a hidden gem in an area of outstanding natural beauty, where you can leave the hustle and bustle of the everyday behind and soak in the great outdoors with a drink in hand. Last season (Summer 2022) groups like, The Spooky Men’s Chorale, Alabama 3, James Righton, John Etheridge and more blew audiences away with shows that blurred the line between audience and performers. The layout of the stage space puts performers within touching distance.
Shackleton Trio at The Canopy Theatre
THE SHACKLETON TRIO – Canopy Theatre, Hungate Church, Beccles Saturday 16th May 8.00 p.m.
Captivating songwriting and fiery tunes that combine mandolin, fiddle, guitar and banjo with powerful three part harmonies – that is the unmistakable sound of the Shackleton Trio who bring to life the stories of their native East Anglia and beyond.
One of the hardest working bands on the scene, The Shackleton Trio are gaining significant UK and International exposure, becoming an “in demand” name on the folk circuit.
The Shackleton Trio are Georgia Shackleton (fiddle, vocals), Aaren Bennett (guitar) and Nic Zuppardi (mandolin). Natural talents of the folk tradition, their self-penned material blends seamlessly with their imaginative yet authentic re-workings of traditional folk standards, influenced by British, American and Scandinavian folk traditions, with a regional twist from the group's native East Anglia.
The unique, distinctive songwriting style of Georgia Shackleton, combined with the vibrant instrumental brilliance of Aaren Bennett, Nic Zuppardi and Georgia’s pure and original voice have developed and matured through four critically acclaimed albums The Dog Who Would Not Be Washed, Fen, Farm and Deadly Water, Mousehold and their latest eponymously titled release.
Morris and Covid-19; Part 2 Morris Dancing for the Socially Isolated
Two weeks ago, on the 16th March, when I wrote the first article, in what now is becoming a series, no-one expected that almost immediately all Morris practices, pub nights, day's of dance and festivals would be cancelled until further notice but that is what has happened. Even more astonishingly most of us are now required to remain in our own homes as part of the social (physical) distancing strategy. For those of us who are feeling an urge to get back to dancing here is a way of performing the Upton on Seven Stick Dance completely in compliance with social distancing; kindly provided by Keith Graham of Colchester Morris Men.
Following the Government announcement on 16th March the Joint Morris Organisations issued a statement which confirmed that the JMO National Day of Dance planned for 18th April 2020 in Liverpool has been postponed until April 2021 on a date to be decided.
Similarly, Daniel Fox, Squire of Thaxted Morris Men announced "the not-unexpected decision to cancel this year's Thaxted Morris Weekend due to be held on May 29 to 31. It is the first cancellation since 1939".
Morris On!
Dave Evans
29th March 2020