January 10, 2008

6:22pm Friday 11th January 2008

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THE great and the good descend on the region's folk venues this week, where audience numbers continue to rise.

This shows that all the pre-packaged music, film and sport that is so readily available to us in the comfort of our own homes, good as it is, merely whets the basic appetite for live performance and human interaction within us all.

And what better place to find all that than in a folk venue, be it soft-seated hall or funky club room. So let's start tonight when Damien Barber and Mike Wilson will be bringing their fine selection of traditional songs to the Black Bull in Blaydon.

Tomorrow, Vin Garbutt is at Marton Country Club, and then Saturday's choice is between the majestic Martin Carthy at Washington's Davy Lamp, James Fagan and Nancy Kerr at Mickleby's White Hart, and a solo spot from me, along with local band Beeswing, at the community hall in Hartley, Northumberland, as part of their commemoration of the local mining disaster.

Two local heroes are on parade on Monday, in the shape of George Welch at Newcastle's Bridge and Richard Grainger at Stockton's Sun Inn. On Tuesday it's a tossup between Brother Crow at Croxdale's Daleside Arms, and some stunning Canadian folk-rock from The Bills at Gateshead's Sage.

Our week ends with the entertaining local songwriter Jack Burness at Birtley's RAOB Club, and what a week it promises to be.

Get down and get with it, as my old mate Cecil Sharp used to say.