There is nothing more pleasing for a band than when a club gets in contact directly to invite you to play. Terry Parsons from the Newport Folk Club had reviewed the video material on our website, thought we might fit the bill for club members and had contacted us through our web-site. Naturally, we were very pleased to accept his invitation and make the trip to south Wales. We had played in Maesteg in May 2012 and been keen to return to the area ever since.
The Newport Folk Club is not only a friendly and welcoming club it is also a highly professional club. Throughout the whole process, from the initial contact through to giving us the best possible advice for getting home quickly after the gig, Terry, his fellow club members and his family looked after us exceedingly well.
The People’s Club, as it is known to its members, takes place in a pleasant room and provides its performers with a very nice sound system and skilled sound technicians to help get the best sound possible. Given we are not yet as well known in the local area as we would like to be, it was encouraging to see such a big turnout. It was also very nice for me to see some friends in the audience who live locally.
The club numbers some excellent singers and musicians amongst its members and they were very much in evidence through the evening – skilled guitarists and powerful voices.
We performed well and the mix of own songs, tunes and song translations provided the audience with a lot of material new to them. We were able to roll out the new material we had been working hard on in the winter months and during both the interval and after the performance, we received a lot of nice feedback from members of the audience.
With Terry’s expert guidance, we made a very quick return to the M4 and, buoyed by an exciting gig, the long drive home passed very quickly. Frustratus, the God of motorway diversions, seemed to be having one of his nights off.
Many thanks to Terry and all the members of Newport Folk Club for their hospitality and appreciation of our music. We hope we get the chance to return to ‘The People’s Club’ in the coming years.