Sussex folk guide for everything that's going on in the folk world in Sussex.
This folkie goes mostly to the very traditional
Lewes Saturday folk club at the Room in the Elephant,
the more eclectic Seaford folk song club at the Royal British Legion Seaford,
and the Brighton Singers' Club.
A small, friendly group meets on the third Tuesday (15th-21st) of each month at 8 for 8:30, to share and discuss our folk songs, folk music and traditional stories. Newcomers are most welcome. We usually meet at the Ram Inn at Firle, East Sussex (selling Harveys and other ales). If you are interested in joining us one Tuesday, please e-mail or call 504506.
Another good way of singing with gusto is Sacred Harp and Shapenote. The dots are in four different shapes - fa, lah, sol, mi -
and these are easier to read than usual as you don't have to worry about key signatures.
For English barn dancing, choose the Lewes & Brighton based Sussex Pistols they are very good; they watch the dancers' enjoyment and skill in the early dances to determine their subsequent programme. Clever!
You can get to a lot of folk festivals by public transport - check online at Traveline SE large text and mobile (accessible) version, or the uncluttered and easy-to-use Accessible Train Times.
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Alcester folk festival, a singers' festival in the lovely Cotswolds (get a train to Evesham, then a bus).
I went to Folkstation for the first time recently, a small but beautifully formed festival with the camp site right next to the Havenstreet station on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The singing was organised by Andy and Jilly who used to run Miskin
Travelling Folk Song&Ale in Upper Dicker (a few miles from Berwick station) has a walk on Saturday morning.
The Wail has moved from Wareham to Verwood, where we have unaccompanied singing in two marquees and on Saturday at Midnight we share a roast pork "banquet" in another.
At the Tenterden folk festival, as well as singing, dancing, making music and sitting in concerts, we also take a ride on the Kent & East Sussex Railway; I wonder what the other travellers think of it.
In 2009 I went to Bedworth for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it - not least, thanks to Ali & Steve, the unexpected trip to the Village Carols at Dungworth.
Sussex Folk Association SUSFA lists just about all the folk groups that meet in Sussex. An excellent, well organised and comprehensive folk site.
Listen to A Folk Song A Day by Jon Boden, a project that Jon set out to do for a year. That was June 2010 and it's still going. You can download the songs in iTunes. A Folk Song A Day includes lots of information about each song too.
Les Barker's Mrs Ackroyd pages. The most famous collections of Les's poems are the Guide Cats for the Blind double CD of Mr Barker's work recorded by a multitude of more famous people. Les has included a lot of folk links as well.
You can listen at home to The Music Well folk radio.
Sompting Village Morris (Cotswold, North-West, Sussex and Border Morris, ladies included)
Brighton Morris Men (Cotswold),
Cuckoo's nest for women,
Old Star (Border) Morris. Old Star meet at dawn on May Day (that's 4am!) at the Hillfort at Hollingbury Camp and on Boxing Day. Also in Sussex is Broadwood Morris (Cotswold) which Doug used to dance with.
The best site to visit is Mudcat.org where you can find find folk song lyrics, discuss song meanings or provenance or ask people for lyrics and other information.
Other useful sites are Robokopp Folksleider with folk songs from across the world, the Contemplator's folk music search, Rod Stradling's mustrad musical traditions magazine, so-called "celtic" lyrics collection which includes a fair number of English traditional songs and even some recently written songs in English traditional style by English people.
There is a good list of many internet folk music resources at Martin Nail's site. Find all sorts of facts and figures about folk and a list of traditional songs at Folk File: A Folkie's Dictionary by Bill Markwick - you can spend hours browsing there.
For sea songs and shanties (or chanteys) - those wonderfully rythmic traditional songs - try Contemplator's songs of the sea. I quite like to browse Schoonerman's sailing terms too.
I have written some songs in traditional folk style too. The first of my song pages are September and a Wet May Bank Holiday Song .
Janet Elizabeth January 2012