Another first at Banbury Folk Fest...

Playing on the back of a lorry at Burnham recently, was a first. We had another first at Banbury Folk festival last weekend too. A craft fair.

Yep, a craft fair. There was a craft fair going on. And BarlowCree were playing the background music. We were sceptical at first but, by the end, we were sold. Not literally - no-one bought us! But we had a great time!

You can see the set-up in the photo (above) - the usual trestle tables and crafty wares for sale. We were on a stage at the end of the room, playing acoustically.

By the time we were done, people had pulled up chairs at both sides of the stage. In fact, we sold more CDs at this set than the other two put together! Another first to add to the collection.

We also played at the Mill Arts Centre on Friday night and at the Reindeer Inn on Saturday evening. Both went down well and we were chuffed with the enthusiasm to join in the songs. For those who want the lyrics to our own material, you can donwload them on the left hand side of this page, under the SquareSpace logo.

Thanks to Derek and Mary for booking us and looking after us, to Ted for MC-ing (again!) and Lawrence for the knob-twiddling!  Good weekend all 'round. Cheers, BC.

Folk goes to church in Redwick...

Last Friday (4th October) BarlowCree went to church. Well, sort of...

Redwick Folk Club invited us to play a gig for them and the venue was the beautiful church in the village - St Thomas'.

So after a lovely beef stew at Linda & Mike's, we played two 45 minute sets.

Beforehand we were a little concerned that the building might turn out to be difficult sound-wise. But what a great venue it turned out to be!

Neil Roberts, sound engineer from Newport Folk Club, did a cracking job on the sound desk. He knows our stuff well and balanced the acoustics superbly with the PA system. The quieter pieces were particularly conducive to the church setting.

As always it was great to see some familiar faces, like Ruth & Andy, Tracey and Bob, and to make some new friends as well.

The 2nd BarlowCree Leek Awards seemed to go down well, too!

Overall, it was a cracking night! Thanks to everyone who came. Cheers, J & L.

Bromyard...everything was damp except our spirits!

Got back tonight after a chilly and damp couple of days in the border country at Bromyard Folk Festival.

Despite the weather, for those who've never been, this really is a festival worth adding to your calendar for next year (12-14th September 2014). It's a compact and friendly gathering with all the usual benefits of a folk weekend, including some good stuff for the kids (ceilidhs, Keith Donnelly, Jan's Van, the arts fun house, etc.).

BarlowCree played four sets, including opening on the main stage on Saturday afternoon. The contracted Song House venue worked really well and is a much more intimate and fun place to play as a result - good call Dick!

We rounded off the weekend with an acoustic set in the Falcon Mews. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time with lots of audience participation and banter - we love it!

We'd like to say a particular thanks to those who came to see us and those who bought our CD. Some came to all four sets - you know who you are. THANK YOU!

Burnham-on-Sea Folk Fest...

30 August to 1st September 2013 - Click here for details.

We've played in a fair variety of places these last three years. But this was a first...

The Lorry Stage!

Behold, The Lorry Stage!  As Liam observed, "I've had a few things off the back of a lorry, but never thought I'd be one of them!"

Actually, it worked pretty well. Placed right opposite the Victoria Hotel, the "stage" allowed us to be high up and loud, so we could contend with the conversation of the 150+ punters having their evening drinks.

The view from The Lorry Stage!Graham on the sound desk made the best of a nightmarish echo bouncing straight back to the stage from the pub wall - thanks for trying Graham!

Our earlier set was at the Waterfront on the esplanade. A much more cosy affair. The punters won that round, one nil. There were more of them and the sound system was no match for their enthusiastic chat.

As always, the trip was a really good crack. Thanks for booking us Dom!

Festival of the Celts...

What great time we had at this little festival last Saturday (24/8).

Tucked away in Green Valley, Upper Cwmtyrch near Swansea, the Festival of the Celts was a real find. Actually it was organiser Mike Simmons who found us! We did a couple of sets, watched by miscellaneous folkies, including an inordinate number of dogs and kids...

The highlight was the after-dark set in the tipi - what a treat! It was lovely doing San Jose sat around the fire - a great way to kick off our autumn prgramme. Check out the gigs page for more details!