St Edith Folk has been formally in existence since September 2013 and is now into its 11th season of excellent music. Over the past years we have had the pleasure of welcoming folk luminaries such as Fairport Convention, Oysterband, Jon Boden and Martin Simpson to play at the club, as well as more contemporary folk artists such as Lau, Moulettes, Keston Cobblers Club and False Lights.
Our primary base of operation is now Otford Memorial Hall, originally built as a memorial to those from the village who fell in the Great War. The hall has recently been refurbished to a very high standard; this, along with excellent communication links and parking for up to 110 cars directly adjacent to the hall makes it an excellent base for our operation. With an adjoining bar, well stocked with real ales and a full range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, the hall is ideally suited to live music of a folk nature.
Whilst Otford Memorial Hall will always remain our main base of operation, we are looking to expand our horizons and put on live music in other venues to raise our profile across the county and beyond. The beautiful St Dunstan's Church in Cranbrook, known as 'The Cathedral of the Weald', which has a seating capacity to host larger events than the Otford hall can handle, and the lovely Vestry Hall, also in Cranbrook, are already on our list and will host regular events in the future. Over time, we plan to expand into other venues too.
At St Edith Folk we are all avid supporters of live music, we are dedicated to the promotion of quality live music at all our venues, and seek to engage with a wide range of audiences right across the age spectrum. In addition, we aim to give local performers the opportunity to showcase their talents; contact from local artists, whether new or established, is always welcome. And why not sign up to our mailing list? Our regular newsletter will keep you in touch with everything that is happening.
Our hope is to engage with the local community and beyond, and provide a resource that is both valued and supported by community members. Your personal involvement is important to us and we invite everyone who reads this to contribute, whether it be by recommending artists that you would like to see play at St Edith Folk, commenting on areas in which we can improve our service, or suggesting other ways in which we can connect with the community. Please do contribute! You can get in touch easily by using the ‘Contact’ form on the website.
We are fortunate to have staged many exceptional evenings of music over the past years which have been enjoyed by all who came along and we mean to continue in the same vein. In our opinion, a good dollop of exciting live music is stimulating, uplifting, and pretty much essential in everybody’s life. So get yourself out of a rut, come along to St Edith Folk and share the joyous experience with a family of others who feel the same way.