NEXT MONTH'S EVENTS

Friday 4 December

Virtual Singers and Musicians Night

starts 8pm (Zoom entry from 7:30)

A chance to sing and play via Zoom, replacing our usual first-Friday-of-the-month singaround in the in the beautiful Barlow reading room during this Coronavirus season.

If you would like to join as a performer or as a member of the audience, please email Chris Nash on cnash38913@aol.com and he will email you a link on Friday. If you receive the link automatically, don't forget to email back if you would like to perform.

As this is our pre-Christmas singaround, and we haven't been troubling you for Raffle Money for a long time, we intend to start our usual Christmas collection for Bolton Hospice early! So if you are attending this singaround and would like to make a contribution, please label any money you send with BH and your name. If you need details of how to send money please email folkatthebarlow@gmail.com.

Much as we would like to be together, Zoom does have some merits : -

no matter how far away from Lancashire you are, you can still join us
you can just join using audio rather than video if you like
you can join in to play and harmonise to your heart's content while muted
you can use a microphone, speakers, headphones, equaliser if you have these
you can use your own drink and catering facilities
you can have the words in front of you and no-one will know
you can put your chorus up on "chat" so that people can join in easily at home
you can take time out to feed the cats/wash up etc
you can wear your slippers

Seriously, it's great fun and good to see everyone happily making music. The quality of performance has been excellent, so if you haven't tried it yet, give it a go.

If you are performing, Chris has details he can send you about how to make the most of your sound.

Friday 18 December

8pm Zoom concert with Jez Lowe

(Zoom opens 7:30)

Yes, we'll all be missing our usual Christmas bash with the mince pies, mulled wine, and carols followed by a star act, but at least we'll be getting the star act!

Amazingly talented singer-songwriter Jez Lowe, whose live concert at the Barlow had to be cancelled earlier this year, has agreed to do a Zoom concert for us.

Click photos for a taster song.

Originally from Durham, Jez’s roots in the north east of England have long provided him with source material. His songs tell of the heroism of everyday life, and chronicle the ups and, mainly, downs of life in an area once an industrial powerhouse but with its mines and shipyards long in decline. Jez’s songs are rarely as strident as those of others who follow a similar path, and wherever possible are suffused with a gentle humour. His songs have been covered by a variety of performers, and genuinely give voice to the feelings of people faced with changes that shake the foundations of their lives. He is able to find the profound in the events of ordinary lives. As a soloist, leader of his band The Bad Pennies, as a duo with Kate Bramley or Steve Tilson, and in his other ventures, Jez has produced a plethora of thought-provoking material, which you can buy from his website.

www.jezlowe.com

Tickets are £8 per person : email folkatthebarlow@gmail.com and we will explain how to pay and send you the Zoom link on the day

In the hope that 2021 proves to be a more "normal" year, here is our schedule of third-Friday-in-the-month concerts. The 15 Jan concert will definitely be via Zoom. Watch this space for updates of later ones. Given these uncertain times, the list is subject to alteration at this stage. Click website or photo for links.

15 Jan George Sansome