Double bill of folk music at Lancaster church in February

By Michelle Blade
Published 31st Jan 2023, 15:51 BST
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Lancaster Methodist Church will be hosting a double bill of northwest folk music by Cumbrian songwriter Steve Wharton and Lancaster musicians Eleanor Servanté and Oliver Cross.

Contemporary Cumbrian songs will meld with traditional Lancashire ones for an entertaining evening in this atmospheric eighteenth-century church.

Steve has been on tour to promote his latest book.

Contemporary Cumbrian Folk Songs (and how to write them) is an inspiring collection of local songs.

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Cumbrian songwriter Steve Wharton will be performing at a Lancaster church in a double bill of folk music.Cumbrian songwriter Steve Wharton will be performing at a Lancaster church in a double bill of folk music.
Cumbrian songwriter Steve Wharton will be performing at a Lancaster church in a double bill of folk music.

The book features melody notation, transcribed by Ally McGurk, with guitar tab, chords, lyrics and comprehensive background notes for the sixteen songs, thirteen of which are originals and three are settings of 19th century Cumbrian poems by William Wordsworth, Robert Anderson and John James Lonsdale.

Steve said: “Having grown up in Ulverston, I’m acutely aware that many traditional folk songs from the area are not Cumbrian at all; they are Lancashire songs from before the boundary change.

“Whether this applies to songs I have written about Ulverston and Barrow which are set pre-1974 is something I’m happy to debate.

"That said, I think it’s apt to finish my songbook tour in Lancaster, a place which is nearer than Carlisle for most south Cumbrians and also where I developed my passion

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Eleanor Servante and Oliver Cross will be playing folk music in a double bill at a Lancaster church. Picture by Margaret Martin.Eleanor Servante and Oliver Cross will be playing folk music in a double bill at a Lancaster church. Picture by Margaret Martin.
Eleanor Servante and Oliver Cross will be playing folk music in a double bill at a Lancaster church. Picture by Margaret Martin.

for folk music whilst working at the Lancaster Maritime Festivals.”

Sharing the stage with Steve are Oliver Cross and Eleanor Servanté.

They are due to perform at festivals around the UK in Summer 2023.

The concert is on Saturday, February 11 at 7.30pm.

Tickets £10 - available on the door, from www.stevewharton.uk/shop or via this link https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML1WHYWB125XD/checkout/3O6BH6T2GUYWRD2

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Related topics:Lancashire