Firstly, many thanks to all who came to see Fara at the Cut at Halesworth on 11 February. 84 people were treated to a truly memorable evening, having braved the strong winds and freezing temperature – the band said it was colder in Halesworth than it was when they left Scotland! Great singing and playing with a very satisfied audience and we also got some more names on our growing mailing list.

If you missed the band, treat yourself to their great debut CD “Crossing The Line” which is currently on offer at Coda Music in Edinburgh for just £7.99 (www.codamusic.co.uk ), who by the way have the best, friendliest and most reliable online mailorder service for CDs and Vinyl (folk, acoustic and otherwise). Check out their extensive catalogue online and if you should find yourself in Edinburgh be sure to visit their shop on the Mound. You may even be lucky enough to coincide your visit with one of their regular free instore gigs.

Next up is Miranda Sykes on Thursday 8th March at the Seagull Theatre in Pakefield. Miranda has been a member of Show of Hands for many years, playing double bass and singing with Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, but all 3 members are currently concentrating on solo tours. This is actually Miranda’s first solo tour in 20 years and she has been drawing large audiences and great reviews over the last few months. Tickets are £12 and can be obtained in person from the box office (open 11.00 – 15.00 Monday to Friday and on all show nights), by phone (01502 589726) or online (www.theseagull.co.uk/event/miranda-sykes/ ).

On 28 April we will be holding our first Acoustic Music Day, based at the Canopy Theatre, Hungate Church, Beccles, featuring 7 top quality Acoustic artists including headliners Gilmore & Roberts, Alden, Patterson & Dashwood from Norwich, Doghouse Roses from Glasgow, Joseph Parsons from the USA, Honey & The Bear from Woodbridge, The Burkitt Family form South East Suffolk and Penny & Stuart Mack from Northamptonshire . The priority tickets have now come to an end, but at the moment you can still purchase tickets in person from Beccles Books, 1 Exchange Square Beccles or online from Ticketsource http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/459147 . Just £20 for an inclusive ticket to see all 7 artists (tickets for individual sessions are not available). Much more info on all the featured artists in next month’s newsletter.

Our last gig before a summer recess will be Clive Gregson & Liz Simcock on Saturday 19 May, also at the Canopy Theatre in Beccles. Tickets priced at £10 are on sale to personal callers at 1 Beccles Books and online from ticketsource at http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/448907

Martin is now starting to put together the programme for autumn 2018 – Spring 2019 and is in negotiations with some more big names to bring to North Suffolk. Much more about that later, but just to whet your appetite we can tell you that Phil Beer will be bringing his solo show to the Canopy Theatre in Beccles in February 2019! We will let you know when the tickets are ready to go on sale, although this will not be until early autumn.