JON BODEN & THE REMNANT KINGS – THE QUEEN’S HALL THEATRE, CRANBROOK – SATURDAY 16 MAY
Happening this Saturday, a gig that you should not miss!!
Jon Boden has become the ‘stand out performer of his generation’ (The Guardian) of folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre. Perhaps best known as the founder, lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead, he also has the ability to turn an 80's disco hit into a beautiful, slow, waltz-time ballad, to create a disturbing, post-apocalyptic future in a trio of albums and yet is equally comfortable playing an acoustic solo show. A gifted multi-Instrumentalist who plays fiddle, guitar, electric guitar, melodeon, and concertina, he is also a songwriter of some note. A true modern renaissance man indeed.
With his band The Remnant Kings, all of whom are fine performers in their own right, they perform what they call 'Napoleonic power-pop' and 'Waitsian parlour ballads', together with modern interpretations of traditional music which completely refresh the mind. The band combine a deep understanding of traditional music with musical audacity and theatrical brio to produce a show quite unlike any other and which is a joy to behold.
‘Ambitious, genre-busting folk’ ~ The Guardian
Tickets for this outstanding show cost £22.00 each and are available online at or via the theatre box office online at /whats-on
LIAM VINCENT & THE ODD FOXES with SNEZ - OTFORD MEMORIAL HALL, SEVENOAKS – FRIDAY 17 JULY
Liam Vincent & The Odd Foxes are an explosive contemporary folk-rock band whose energetic performances are built on defiant messages, catchy tunes and seamless musicianship. With a line-up consisting of established musicians from across the UK’s folk and rock scene, it’s no surprise that this dynamic and experienced live band are making friends wherever they go.
The band play a style of explosive, infectious folk rock that leaves you feeling both uplifted & emotional, while wanting more. On the surface, much of their music comes across as bouncy and joyous, but it's only when you dive into the lyrics that you see that these are songs that show huge dissatisfaction with some of the aspects of the world we find ourselves living in in the 21st Century.’ Their influences are quite clear. There’s a lot of Levellers, Waterboys, Saw Doctors in their mix but also a deal of more traditional Irish music too.
In the live arena the band really excel, with a quality of musicianship that is second to none, playing captivating music that delivers a message. When the drums kick in and the mandolin and fiddle weave along behind the guitars, creating the driving rhythm that typifies the band's sound, you won’t be able to resist tapping your feet or getting up to dance.
To open the show we are very lucky to have, all the way from Australia, singer-songwriter Snez who has spent the last 15 years travelling round Australia with her music, and who is now making her first UK tour. Her songs are acutely observed and often deeply personal, her authentic, original style is poignant and melodic, focusing heavily on storytelling to create a strong emotional connection with the audience.
This all adds up to a very fine evening indeed. Tickets for this exciting show cost just £17.00 each and are available online at
MICHELL, PFEIFFER & KULESH – OTFORD MEMORIAL HALL, SEVENOAKS – FRIDAY 15 MAY
Happening this Friday! Odette Michell, Karen Pfeiffer and Daria Kulesh are three award-winning singers and songwriters in their own right; together they produce songs of beauty with exquisite harmonies that just amaze. Don’t miss this show!!
Their stunning three-part vocal harmonies bring to life spellbinding folk tales, expertly woven together with a vibrant international twist - a project that would never have transpired had it not been for the lockdowns, when three of the busiest female performers on the folk scene found themselves somewhat less occupied than before. Introducing Stage winners at The Great British Folk Festival 2023 by public vote, they wow their audiences with a deeply moving, exciting and unique live show. Theirs is a unique cross-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-instrumental collaboration, turning familiar folk tunes into something fresh and powerful.
"Tremendous" (Mike Harding), "Exquisite" (Folking) and "Entrancing" (FATEA)
Tickets for this charming and compelling show cost only £15.00 each and are available online at
DORIE JACKSON & BAND – OTFORD MEMORIAL HALL, SEVENOAKS – FRIDAY 5 JUNE
Dorie and her band are a dynamic, multi-generational collective performing original songs from her two solo albums and selected tracks from three Kaprekar’s Constant records on which Dorie shared lead vocals. Dorie has enjoyed a successful, parallel career to date as a backing vocalist to a variety of artists, including Squeeze’s Chris Difford, Francis Dunnery and Marti Pellow but she is now stepping forward to front her new project.
Dorie’s latest album, Stupid Says Run, sees Dorie further exploring her virtuosity as a lead vocalist and vocal arranger; it is filled with close harmonies and careful orchestral arrangements. Across twelve tracks, it demonstrates the confidence and maturity she’s developed over the course of her career; blending folk, rock and prog influences with inspiration from folklore, myth and everyday life, the album is a brilliant accumulation of sound and storytelling. The core is Dorie’s beautiful voice, her charismatic contralto and silky tones are emotionally incisive and often feel deeply personal. Organic, rustic and providing the escapism of which she talks, the music delivers a bountiful helping of soul food.
Dorie’s live band includes her father, legendary sax player with Van der Graaf Generator and Peter Gabriel, David Jackson. Other bandmates are fellow Kaprekar’s members Mike Westergaard on piano and Nick Jefferson on bass. Fourth member is Danny Dunnery on guitar and backing vocals. With Dorie’s stunning vocals to the fore, this is a treat that no-one should miss.
Tickets for this very special show cost £15.00 each and are available online at
DOUBLE HEADER: THE ASHEN KEYS + THE JOHN WARD TRIO – THE VESTRY HALL, CRANBROOK – FRIDAY 26 JUNE
THE ASHEN KEYS are a multi-instrumental, multi voiced celebration of heartfelt storytelling from Kent. Their sound tells of influences from folk, blues, pop, classical and even early music. Expect to be taken on a journey through dark folk tales, bittersweet love stories and reveries on nature, all with exquisite vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation. The Ashen Keys's have performed at Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, Rochester Cathedral, Black Deer Festival, and at Shrewsbury Folk Festival as one of the winners of the 2023 Launchpad competition. They released their debut album, The Name on Your Compass, in September 2024. One of their most popular songs from the album, Gathering, was featured in the Fatea Showcase Sessions Spring 2025.
JOHN WARD has achieved an excellent reputation as a writer of powerful, thought-provoking and witty songs that draw upon his life in a gritty port town, his wider travels in the world, and often capture the spirit of the times. John performs with wife, Lynne, and band mate, Les Woodley, as the imaginatively titled JOHN WARD TRIO! This line-up delivers powerful 3-part harmonies, with acoustic guitar, bodhran, harmonica, double bass, mandolin, accordion and recorder to bring a fuller sound to John's excellent songs. The Trio also draws on its wider repertoire of traditional and contemporary folk tunes. Their performances are authentic and heartfelt, engaging audiences with their choice of material, thoughtful arrangements, versatility and humour, which all blend to delight and entertain folk audiences in intimate venues and bigger stages alike.
Tickets for this exciting double-header cost only £16.00 each and are available online from
DAN WHITEHOUSE with special guest GUSTAF LJUNGGREN – OTFORD MEMORIAL HALL, SEVENOAKS – FRIDAY 19 JUNE
Dan Whitehouse is an award-winning UK artist living between Tokyo and Wolverhampton - a singer-songwriter, composer, producer and spoken-word performer. Born in the industrial heart of the Black Country, his music is rooted in pop and rock sensibilities yet moves with ease through ambient, indie, electro and folk, creating and performing work that is both deeply emotive and intellectually rich.
His acclaimed albums ‘The Glass Age’ and ‘Voices From The Cones’ explored the fractures and connections of our digital world and the heritage of glassmaking communities. In 2026 he releases ‘Only Love’, a solo-piano collection reflecting on human connection, resilience and fatherhood across continents. His immersive live shows weave song and story with piano, guitar and synth, inviting audiences into a reflective, transformative sound world.
Joining Dan for this gig will be the incredible Swedish multi-instrumentalist and composer Gustaf Ljunggren. Originally educated as a saxophonist, Gustaf is also the master of various keyboards, the piano and sundry stringed things, including the guitar in various forms. In 2015 he received the Ken Gudman Award, one of Denmark’s most prestigious music prizes.
“Gorgeous… and intriguing” ~ The Guardian
“both extraordinary and beautiful” ~ KLOF
“Subtle and delicate melodies” ~ The Sunday Times
“Sublime…” ~ At The Barrier
Tickets for this very special performance cost only £16.00 each and are available online at
JON BODEN & THE REMNANT KINGS – THE QUEEN’S HALL THEATRE, CRANBROOK – SATURDAY 16 MAY
Jon Boden has become the ‘stand out performer of his generation’ (The Guardian) of traditional folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre. He is best known as the lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead who achieved a quarter of a million album sales, seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and selling out hundreds of venues, notably the Royal Albert Hall.
Live, Boden’s Waitsian parlour ballads and Napoleonic power-pop, are performed alongside the band’s sixteen-year back-catalogue of traditional and original songs and tunes. Bringing together some of the biggest names in English folk music, it’s no surprise that they deliver a deep understanding of traditional music with musical audacity and theatrical brio, and featuring the enormous talents of Sam Sweeney (Bellowhead), Rob Harbron (Leveret), Ben Nicholls (Seth Lakeman Band), Sally Hawkins (Bellowhead) and the vocals and pedal-steel guitar of cult singer-songwriter M.G. Boulter.
‘Ambitious, genre-busting folk’ ~ The Guardian
‘Resurrects the brassy swagger of Bellowhead’ ~ The Financial Times
Tickets for this outstanding show cost £22.00 each and are available online at or via the theatre box office online at /whats-on
MICHELL, PFEIFFER & KULESH – OTFORD MEMORIAL HALL, SEVENOAKS – FRIDAY 15 MAY
Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh are an all-female close harmony folk trio that brings together the exciting talents and exquisite voices of award-winning singers and songwriters Odette Michell, Karen Pfeiffer and Daria Kulesh.
Their stunning three-part vocal harmonies bring to life spellbinding folk tales, expertly woven together with a vibrant international twist - a project that would never have transpired had it not been for the lockdowns, when three of the busiest female performers on the folk scene found themselves somewhat less occupied than before. Introducing Stage winners at The Great British Folk Festival 2023 by public vote, they wow their audiences with a deeply moving, exciting and unique live show. Theirs is a unique cross-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-instrumental collaboration, turning familiar folk tunes into something fresh and powerful.
"Tremendous" (Mike Harding), "Exquisite" (Folking) and "Entrancing" (FATEA)
“Beautiful harmonies enhanced by being sung in three different languages... Carries messages of peace and female empowerment…” - Folk London ★★★★★
Tickets for this charming and compelling show cost only £15.00 each and are available online at
LUKE JACKSON – BESSELS GREEN BAPTIST CHURCH, SEVENOAKS – FRIDAY 3 JULY
It’s impossible to not be totally amazed by Luke Jackson, the way he commands such a presence up there on the stage. It may well just be one man and his guitar but the exuberance with which he plays and sings opens the listener’s mind up wide. When his voice is belting out a song it’s like the force of a hundred folk, all concentrated through his captivating solo vocal. Right from the off he shows he means business. The power packed behind his voice grabs your complete attention as soon as it begins. So you’ve had a terrible day and think your mind may not be in the right place to relax and enjoy a night of live music? Wrong! There’s no chance of that with Luke on the case. Whatever troubles you might have had are smashed to smithereens. The throttle is opened fully and even early on he cements in your mind the cast iron certainty you’ll be leaving the place having been well and truly awed. Put simply, Luke Jackson dazzles - lyrically, musically and vocally. When you've seen him once, you will not be able to keep away, just remember to take along some oxygen for when he steals away your breath.
Tickets for this invigorating show cost only £17.00 each and are available online at
OYSTERBAND'S JOHN JONES with RAY COOPER and AL SCOTT – ST DUNSTAN’S CHURCH, CRANBROOK – FRIDAY 8 MAY
This is a gig that every Oysterband fan should be excited about; the return of legendary vocalist and front man John Jones with his buddies Ray Cooper (Chopper) and Al Scott, who has spent most of his career wirking with Oysterband in one form or another, from producer to cinematographer, and guitarist extraordinaire.
If you're hesitant about coming, here's a review of the trio from someone who saw the show at Cecil Sharp House recently: "'The key thing is that the combo really works. Yes there are Oyster anthems - audience singing very welcome - and John is in excellent voice. But there are powerful, beautiful Oyster songs, rarely performed; a cover or two, tunes, Al singing, John harmonising on Ray's songs and vice versa. Then the guitars, mandolin, harmonica and the cello, especially the cello which adds a real depth and resonance. Not to mention a tambourine. Above all, it is 3 musicians revelling in live performance together again. And Friday will be John Jones' voice in a wonderful church. Something to look forward to in itself."
I heartily agree with that last comment, to see these three fine musicians in such a setting will be superb. This is a gig I have been waiting for in tingling anticipation ever since I put it in the book. So whilst one chapter may have come to an end, another is just beginning: The Song Goes On! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! I reckon this is going to be one of the highlights of the musical year and I would strongly urge you to be there!
Tickets for this much-anticipated show cost £22.00 each and are available online at
JON BODEN & THE REMNANT KINGS – THE QUEEN’S HALL THEATRE, CRANBROOK – SATURDAY 16 MAY
Jon Boden has become the ‘stand out performer of his generation’ (The Guardian) of traditional folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre. He is best known as the lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead who achieved a quarter of a million album sales, seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and selling out hundreds of venues, notably the Royal Albert Hall.
Live, Boden’s Waitsian parlour ballads and Napoleonic power-pop, are performed alongside the band’s sixteen-year back-catalogue of traditional and original songs and tunes. Bringing together some of the biggest names in English folk music, it’s no surprise that they deliver a deep understanding of traditional music with musical audacity and theatrical brio, and featuring the enormous talents of Sam Sweeney (Bellowhead), Rob Harbron (Leveret), Ben Nicholls (Seth Lakeman Band), Sally Hawkins (Bellowhead) and the vocals and pedal-steel guitar of cult singer-songwriter M.G. Boulter.
‘Ambitious, genre-busting folk’ ~ The Guardian
‘Resurrects the brassy swagger of Bellowhead’ ~ The Financial Times
Tickets for this outstanding show cost £22.00 each and are available online at or via the theatre box office online at /whats-on
LIAM VINCENT & THE ODD FOXES with SNEZ - OTFORD MEMORIAL HALL, SEVENOAKS – FRIDAY 17 JULY
Liam Vincent & The Odd Foxes are an explosive contemporary folk-rock band whose energetic performances are built on defiant messages, catchy tunes and seamless musicianship. With a line-up consisting of established musicians from across the UK’s folk and rock scene, it’s no surprise that this dynamic and experienced live band are making friends wherever they go.
The band play a style of explosive, infectious folk rock that leaves you feeling both uplifted & emotional, while wanting more. On the surface, much of their music comes across as bouncy and joyous, but it's only when you dive into the lyrics that you see that these are songs that show huge dissatisfaction with some of the aspects of the world we find ourselves living in in the 21st Century.’ Their influences are quite clear. There’s a lot of Levellers, Waterboys, Saw Doctors in their mix but also a deal of more traditional Irish music too.
In the live arena the band really excel, with a quality of musicianship that is second to none, playing captivating music that delivers a message. When the drums kick in and the mandolin and fiddle weave along behind the guitars, creating the driving rhythm that typifies the band's sound, you won’t be able to resist tapping your feet or getting up to dance.
To open the show we are very lucky to have, all the way from Australia, singer-songwriter Snez who has spent the last 15 years travelling round Australia with her music, and who is now making her first UK tour. Her songs are acutely observed and often deeply personal, her authentic, original style is poignant and melodic, focusing heavily on storytelling to create a strong emotional connection with the audience.
This all adds up to a very fine evening indeed. Tickets for this exciting show cost just £17.00 each and are available online at
