About 15 minutes walk from my cottage, just past Tesco’s, is a big roundabout. On that is an old pub called The Lamb. It is so old that it has outbuildings, and in what might be an old stables or carriage house is the current home of the local folk club, The Village Pump. I’ve know it exists for some time as the club runs an annual folk festival, but I had never actually visited it. Last night, however, I had good reason to do so, because Talis Kimberley was the headline act.

I wish now that I’d taken my proper camera (the one on my phone has stopped working) because the venue is lovely. Fortunately I can link to one from the club’s website:

Talis was very taken with the place too. And that’s much more important because there are cow pats that have a better ear for music than me. If the talent says that the venue is good, that means a lot more.

The club is very participatory. In addition to Talis and the support band, there were brief floor spots from four other acts. That meant that a substantial part of the audience was made up of performers.

Interestingly, their definition of “folk” included a lot of country. Of course America was originally settled invaded by people from the South West of England so we do have a connection. And this is a poor, rural part of the UK, so a lot of the themes of country resonate with people here.

Talis and the band were awesome. This is the first time I’ve been able to hear her set properly. That’s partly because conventions don’t have the same, purpose-built sound systems as a folk club, and partly because I’m always distracted by other things at BristolCon. It was a thorough enjoyable evening.

Back in 2011 I drew your attention to the song that Talis had written about the occupation of St.Pauls. I wasn’t aware that she had written a follow-up. Here it is.

And if that’s too serious for you, here is the magnificent Ex Libris.

And now, please all go to Talis’s website and buy music.