‘Shadows on the Wall’ is a compilation of Toby’s reviews and photographs of concerts at The Barn, compiled over the last decade and beyond. The reviews have been appreciated by artists and are sometimes published in the folk press.
Lots of pictures taken at the Barn, help to tell the story.
Since many artists and bands return to the Barn, this book can be an invaluable reference to remind you about previous visits. A minimum donation of £5 will enable you to catch up on your reading and also support a worthy local charity.
The book has been sponsored by Traditional Music & Song at The Barn but all proceeds are going to Dementia Support, South Lincs.
Copies will be on sale at The Barn at each of our monthly sessions.
Congratulations to Toby for producing such a quality publication…and a real bargain.
200th Concert With Granny’s Attic
The Concert on November 28th was our 200th concert covering most of the previous 20 years. Our first show at the Barn was in November 2004 with Les Barker who came back to the Barn as part of a rare double bill with Haddo (Will and Nicky Pound).
For many years Toby Wood has written a review of each show and taken photos of the artists performing in the Barn. We have published the reviews here and in the book Shadows on the Wall mentioned above.
As part of our celebrations Toby has taken the names of all of the artists who have been with us over the last 20 years and created this intricate word cloud.
At the end of our 200th show, everyone was given a presentation card of the word cloud.
We have a few copies of both the Word Cloud and Shadows on the Wall.
BIG NOTE – Our Concerts now starts earlier than before. We start at 7:30pm
With exceptional musicianship and boundless energy, Granny’s Attic are going from strength to strength. Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (melodeon, anglo concertina, vocals), George Sansome (guitar, vocals) and Lewis Wood (violin, vocals) have honed their skills touring the UK and Europe since 2009. They are much loved by audiences up and down the country, with bookings everywhere from Cambridge Folk Festival to Cecil Sharp House.
BIG NOTE – Our Concerts now starts earlier than before. We start at 7:30pm
This project began with a chance meeting at a folk session in 2018, which led to Will and Jenn’s music travelling around the world as a viral internet sensation. In their live shows they play a game of ‘musical cat and mouse’ improvising and responding to each other, weaving virtuosic performances that are unique and in the moment as only two musicians highly accomplished in their craft can produce.
BIG NOTE – Our Concerts now starts earlier than before. We start at 7:30pm
Jon Doran and The Northern Assembly are a ground breaking new collaboration with Jon Doran ( BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award finalist 2019 ) combined with the virtuosic playing of Jordan Alkin ( Breabach ) and Heather Ferrier ( accordion )…..songs overflowing with ideas for the production of imaginative, entertaining music.
BIG NOTE – Our Concerts now starts earlier than before. We start at 7:30pm
Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell are a two-man trad tornado tearing through the folk world with foot percussion, fiddle, guitar, vocals, and groove to spare. Kitted out with grooving basslines, tight harmonies, and offbeat charm, they’re just a couple of lads with a tangle of strings – yet they somehow summon the sound and swagger of a much bigger band. Their music blends original compositions with tunes and songs they’ve found in the wild, delivered with harmonies, tall tales, and a streak of serious silliness. Their shows mix clickety clacks, plucks and strums, with easy repartee and sharp turns – every piece crafted to keep toes tapping, faces smiling, and the whole room leaning in. It’s groove, grit, and guaranteed good times.
Musically, they straddle tradition and invention, bridging the folk archive with a fearless modern edge. Some tracks glisten with clean lines and elegant harmonies – crystalline structures that shimmer in the light of contemporary trad. Others veer gleefully off course, hopping on the blues train for a whistle-stop tour of the Québécois folk line. One moment it’s reels and foot taps, the next it’s jazz chords, pop turns, and grooves that could jump the track and land somewhere between Vulfpeck and Le Vent du Nord. Arthur, a fiddler raised in Aberdeenshire, builds rolling, riff-heavy tunes grounded in his family’s musical traditions and shaped further by studies with Jonny Hardie (Old Blind Dogs). Kerran, a melodic schemer from Cumbria, draws on pop and choral training to weave in crisp harmonies and satisfying twists.
Since first meeting at Sidmouth Folk Week in 2018 (one of them tipsy – you can guess who), Arthur and Kerran have grown from pub jam sessions to becoming festival favourites across the UK. As broadcaster Mike Blackburn put it: “One of the very best live acts I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot!” They’ve earned repeat invitations and enthusiastic followings at events like Sidmouth Folk Week, the UK’s longest-running folk festival; Purbeck Valley, known for spotlighting rising talent; and Edinburgh’s Scots Fiddle Festival, a cornerstone of Scotland’s traditional music scene. Their growing profile has also reached international audiences, with a 2024 tour of Québec and Ontario and a standout set at Festival Trad Montréal, one of Québec’s premier traditional music events. In 2025, they were named winners of the Robinson Emerging Artist Showcase at the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival, Canada’s leading pan-Celtic celebration. With performances in 2025 at the prestigious Shrewsbury Folk Festival, as well as FolkEast and Aberdeen’s Tall Ships Races, they’re quickly becoming one of the most talked-about acts on the circuit.
After charming critics and crowds with their last album Music for Cows (2024), Arthur and Kerran have traded pasture for pyrotechnics. Their next release, Controlled Burn (due February 2026), leans hard into original material – with foot-stomping grooves, driving tunes, and a few tracks that come in smoking hot. The name? It was inspired by chance encounters, good times on the road, and possibly a barbecue on Lake Huron – but that story’s for another time. As Folkworld put it, their sound is “powerful and dark, fresh and fun” – and this time around, they’re striking the match on something bold, strange, and entirely their own. UK dates will follow in the spring, with North American shows lined up for summer 2026. Expect trad turned sideways, storytelling with soul, and grooves that smoulder, spark, and occasionally catch fire.
BIG NOTE – Our Concerts now starts earlier than before. We start at 7:30pm
For this latest Pagoda Project line up, the inimitable Paul Hutchinson ( accordion) and Karen Wimhurst ( clarinet / bass clarinet ) are joined by the stellar fiddle singer Hannah Cumming. Inspired by the folk tradition of the UK this is music and song cut through with experimentation, boldness, humour and risk. Expect ethereal to turn gutsy, passion and tears to be tempered by a good laugh and a tide of improvisation which means no two evenings are ever the same.
John Tams, described by MOJO as ‘one of the ultimate British songwriters’ has a career spanning five decades in every medium. A member of the Albion Band and Home Service he is perhaps best known for his work at the National Theatre and as Rifleman Daniel Hagman in the Sharpe television series. He is a seven times winner of the BBC Radio2 Folk Awards, including an award for ‘best duo’ with longtime collaborator and friend Barry Coope. He was the Songmaker for ‘Warhorse’, and was a member of the original creative team and toured the World with the production.
BIG NOTE – Our Concerts now starts earlier than before. We start at 7:30pm
World class mandolin, elegant vocals, guitar & fiddle wizardry….anything from a Vivaldi concerto to a tango, folk song, 1930’s swing or French Chanson….a show that moves from evocative to hilarious…selling out fast
Starting with our 201st Concert in December 2024, rather than publish a full review, we are now taking photos, sometimes adding text and captions before publishing them in a photo gallery page.
You can access the Gallery via the menus on every page – or follow this link to the gallery
Baston Traditional Music 
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