Dartford Folk Club

16/09/2026

What a night! Were you able to join us for Steve Tilston accompanied by Hugh Bradley yesterday? Any highlights? Please share your thoughts in the comments 👇🏽

14/09/2026

If you are still deciding whether to join us tomorrow night then surely this video of Steve performing on Jools Holland will seal the deal!

🎶 Steve Tilston - Tuesday 15th September 🎶

⏰ Doors open at 7.15pm with live music from approx. 8.00pm until 10.30pm. Tickets available on the door.

From October 2011

13/09/2026

🎶 A quick update from Dartford Folk Club 🎶

Our website is currently down while we put the finishing touches to a brand-new one.
We’re hoping to have the new site live very soon, so please bear with us in the meantime.
If you need to get in touch or have any questions, just send us a message here or on Facebook Messenger.
Thanks for your patience — and watch this space! 🎻

11/09/2026

🎶 Steve Tilston - Tuesday 15th September 🎶

Steve Tilston is one of our most celebrated song smiths, widely recognised within the world of folk and contemporary music; the words, arrangements and subtle, quite superb guitar playing could be no one else.

Steve Tilston’s last album, Last Call, was released in March 2025, over half a century on from his first and on a par with his finest.

With the accompaniment of good friends and long-time musical collaborators, Steve looks both back and ahead as he travels the musical spectrum, across blues, traditional folk, poetry and even a hint of jazz. From social and political comment to rustic reflection, from autobiography to eternal geographical history; it’s a thing of audible joy and circumstantial sadness.

“The more you listen, the more there is to discover.” - Bob Harris

📆 Steve will be appearing at Dartford Folk Club this coming Tuesday and we would love to see you there.

⏰ Doors open at 7.15pm with live music from approx. 8.00pm until 10.30pm. Tickets available on the door.

09/09/2026

A great evening with George Boomsma at Dartford Folk Club last night. Here are a few snippets from a brilliant live performance.

08/09/2026

Here’s a lovely video to get you in the mood for tonight — or perhaps tempt you to change your plans and come along and join us at the Folk Club! We’d love to see you there.

🎶 GEORGE BOOMSMA - Tuesday 8th September 🎶

⏰ Doors open at 7.15pm with live music from approx. 8.00pm until 10.30pm. Tickets available on the door.

Recorded from my live introducing session on BBC York Radio, 11th A...

06/09/2026

🎶 GEORGE BOOMSMA - Tuesday 8th September 🎶

"For my own sound, my influences include Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Radiohead, Rufus Wainwright and Ron Sexsmith to name a few. I write songs mostly about personal stuff - family, relationships, grief, navigating life, mental health, 20-somethings (and now 30-somethings), and anything else that seems to come out as an unsolicited reflection. Most recently, my latest album 'The Bracken And Tread' was written all about my travel experiences through Nepal, an unforgettable trip I took a few years back with my Sister and Brother-in-law." - George Boomsma.

Mark Radcliffe, from BBC Radio 2, says George is a “Skilled guitarist, distinctive songwriter & a fine singer”.

Cambridge Folk Festival described him as "Completely captivating, from infectious tunes to breathtaking a ca****la".

📆 George will be appearing at Dartford Folk Club this coming Tuesday and we would love to see you there.

⏰ Doors open at 7.15pm with live music from approx. 8.00pm until 10.30pm. Tickets available on the door.

09/07/2026

TUESDAY 14 JULY 2026 KELLY AND WOOLLEY

Kelly and Woolley are an acoustic duo who hail from Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. They sing songs and play tunes from a wide variety of styles, but particularly Folk, Americana, Country and Cajun. They have been playing together as a duo for fourteen years.
Matt is a multi instrumentalist and plays in a number of orchestras as well as Thursday's Band, a fine quartet which is a vehicle for some superb songwriting. He played in post punk group Strumpet City in Brighton in the mid-eighties, and with The Lizards, a Cajun and blues band in South London. He played in Ti-fer Cajun band in the 90s with Phil Underwood and Will Sneyd. He also had a brief stint as alto sax player in Raj and the Magitones.

Gary started playing the guitar and singing songs at the age of 14. His early influences were Nick Drake, John Martyn and Tir Na Nog as well as singer songwriters from the States and Canada. After playing at school in a duo with life long friend John Rainer there were stints fronting rhythm and blues bands. Gary returned to his first love after seeing Dick Gaughan play in the late 80s and discovering the playing of Nic Jones, Pete Morton and Roger Wilson.

TUESDAY 21 JULY 2026 THE KIMBERLEYS

The Kimberleys are Isobel and Jim Kimberley, a London-based duo whose music brings the rich traditions of British folk into vibrant, contemporary focus. Isobel, originally from Yorkshire, and Jim, an Essex native, first crossed paths through a shared love of songwriting and storytelling.Isobel's early immersion in folk music, from the clubs of Yorkshire to sharing bills with icons like Dick Gaughan at university, laid the foundation for her artistic voice, further shaped by years spent in the USA. Jim, meanwhile, carved a path as a session drummer in London, with early ties to the folk scene that included a stint with The Albion Band.

What began as a collaboration around Isobel's original songs evolved into something deeper. While touring and recording that material, the pair often returned to traditional folk songs for their own enjoyment. Now firmly established as The Kimberleys, their reimagining of traditional ballads has become their signature:
bold, imaginative, and deeply rooted in respect for the source. They continue to carve a distinctive path through the folk world, balancing invention with tradition. Whether playing a packed folk club, a concert hall, or a festival stage, their warmth, wit, and musicianship leave a lasting impression.

11/06/2026

TUESDAY 16 JUNE 2026 WINTER WILSON

When Mike Harding dubbed Winter Wilson as one of the hardest working duos on the circuit, he'd clearly done his homework. UK based, Kip Winter and Dave Wilson have performed worldwide, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums, one of the highlights being 'Live & Unconventional', the live album, recorded on tour and at Cropredy Festival with folk rock icons Fairport Convention.

It is in live performance where these two really excel. Kip and Dave bring a sense of intimacy to every venue, blending superb, often hard-hitting original songs, stunning harmonies and musicianship with sometimes hilarious humour and tales of life on the road. You will laugh; you may cry. You will certainly want to see them again!

We are very grateful to Winter Wilson for stepping in at short notice to entertain us as we wish Steve Ashley a full and speedy recovery.

TUESDAY 23 JUNE 2026 KENNY SPEIRS

Kenny Speirs has been a well-known figure on the national and international folk circuit for over twenty five years ever since the John Wright Band burst onto the scene in the early nineties. From his beloved homeland of the Scottish Borders the band propelled Kenny from the pubs and clubs of his local area to some of the biggest festival stages throughout the UK and Europe. Turning professional in 1995, Kenny released seven albums with the JWB, earning a deserved reputation as a sensitive guitarist, singer and arranger, also finding time to release two solo albums to wide critical acclaim.

In 2002 Kenny moved on to form Real Time with his partner Judy Dinning of Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies fame. For the next eleven years they toured extensively until Judy's untimely death in October 2013. The six albums from this intimate collaboration have been the highlight of his career to date. Since losing Judy, Kenny decided to carry on with Real Time, and the band continues to enjoy huge success with Eilidh Grant taking on the main singing duties.

Tonight, we are very pleased to welcome Kenny Speirs back to Dartford Folk Club as a solo performer.

29/05/2026

Marj Mitchell

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB

TUESDAY 02 JUNE 2026 PETE COE

"There's a very good reason why Pete Coe's career has been such a long and successful one: this is a man who never rests on his laurels and who is constantly looking for new angles from which to approach his music. In addition he's an extremely competent singer, musician, arranger, step dancer and a stage performer of rare ability..." John Waltham (Living Tradition)

Pete Coe has had more than 50 years of music making on the English folk scene. His contributions include traditional song research and song writing, the founding of several seminal bands plus solo and duo performances, dance calling, recording, and teaching at various levels. Together with his wife Sue, he received the Gold Badge Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) in 2016 for their outstanding contributions to folk dance, music or song.

TUESDAY 09 JUNE 2026 VICKI SWAN AND JONNY DYER

Vicki and Jonny are two of the most versatile musicians of the folk circuit today, a on stage - and now online, the duo are recognised for the high quality of their polished concerts; not only by their charismatic singing and playing but also by their involving, winning presence and easy rapport, their polished delivery that genuinely respects their listeners, and their lively, informed backstories.

They have developed an enviable reputation for their ability to reimagine folk and folk dance music; creating sounds that are simultaneously new and progressive, and yet entirely sympathetic to the tradition. They have become deeply involved in folk dance over the last ten years; contra, ceilidh and social dance both as the duo and as Purcell's Polyphonic Party. They often insert Performance elements into their dance music.
You are very likely to find yourself dancing to a song - and we dare you not to sing the chorus as you go!

For further information, please E-mail: [email protected]