FOLK fans have a choice between two popular local acts tonight, when The John Wrightson Band appear at the atmospheric Beamish Mary (there’s a song about her, you know!) at No Place near Stanley, and at Darlington’s Copper Beech, good-time duo Loose as a Goose are the main attraction, featuring Bob Surgeoner on guitar and Bruce Rollo on double-bass. Meanwhile, up in Hexham tonight, at The Queens Hall, you can sample some wild folk rock with a Celtic flavour, from The Peatbog Faeries, still doing the business after all these years.

On Saturday at The Arc in Stockton, part of an impressive line-up of folk and acoustic acts scheduled for the months ahead, Leeds-based duo Plumhall will be making a rare local appearance, with their classy songs and smooth instrumental arrangements. On Sunday at The Customs House in South Shields, someone who has long defied description, but has nevertheless built a huge local following, George Welch, with bass-playing sidekick Christine Jeans will be providing great songs with a twist of zany humour thrown in, starting at 7.30pm.

Next week I’ll be at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Folk Awards, too late to give you an up-to-the-minute report, but I promise to deliver all the hot gossip and behind-the-scenes low-down at the earliest opportunity. The arrangements for televising the event are still being finalised, I hear, but it will be going out live via one of the BBC channels as it happens, so keep an eye out for that.

There’s very little representation from our region this year, I’m afraid, but nevertheless there’ll be some great music and at least one surprise musical guest that I know many of us will be keen to hear. Full details will be on the BBC website by the time you read this.