Songs and stanzas at festival folk concert

Performers from Wigan Folk Club will take over St John’s Church on Church Street for an evening of dialect, verses and folk songs on Sunday.

The evening will be headlined by duo Road to Poppyville, who will perform a mixture of traditional folk songs alongside their own version of pop tunes and a few rock tracks.

A total of eight acts will perform in the church after the folk club was invited to return to the festival following its successful appearance at last year’s event.

Joan Blackburn, the club
organiser, who will be playing the opening set.

She said: “We really like being involved in community events as we like getting out and about.

“We’ve a number of singers and poets come to the club so it will be quite varied. Ken Scally is performing and he does quite a bit of Lancashire stuff, while Hazel Connelly has recently brought a book of poetry out.

“The church is a lovely venue to play, the acoustics are wonderful.”

The club meets twice a week with sessions at The Bowling Green on Tuesdays and the Swan and Railway on Wallgate on Thursdays.

Wigan Folk Club will perform at St John’s Church as part of the Pemberton Festival on Sunday evening, with the concert starting at 7pm. Entry is free.

To find out more about the group’s events, search for Wigan Folk Club on Facebook.