Music / Downend Folk & Roots
The venue for folk, roots and acoustic music hidden in a suburb of Bristol
Where do you get to if you get to Fishponds and just keep going? Past the newly opened, and utterly fantastic, The Crafty Egg and Fed? Taking the left hand fork past The Cross Hands? Where does that road go?
It goes to Downend.
Best described as “a village in the city”, the home of W.G. Grace and two original members of Bananarama, home to a lovely cricket pitch, a decent pub, a great deli and, most importantly, most incredibly, the home to the best folk club in the whole of the UK.
is needed now More than ever
In 2014, Ant Miles – a wonderfully determined enthusiasm bomb (he runs Fancourt Music booking agency, has programmed the Bristol Folk Festival, MCs at Priddy Folk Festival, works with St George’s and The Folk House, plays guitar with hometown heroes Road Not Taken, has two kids and supports Forest Green – no one knows how he does all of this stuff!) – put on a folk gig at Christ Church, Downend almost as a favour for some friends.
“I didn’t have any idea what I was doing,” says Miles tells Bristol24/7 over a cup of tea. “But I knew that I wanted to put on gigs by bands that I was interested in and just weren’t coming to Bristol”. It was a beautiful space for music and was filled with the curious and music starved.
In those early days the newly christened Downend Folk Club saw an incredible Bella Hardy fresh from winning the BBC Folk Singer of the Year award and a “special” gig by India Electric Co.
“That was the one when I knew we were on to something, people were there for the music, the audience weren’t just our friends any more”, Miles tells us. That night there was dancing and whooping and hollering. The band have been back to the club twice more since that historic night.
Since 2014 Downend Folk Club has seen a roll call of the brightest, best and most interesting folk, acoustic and roots music in the country. Sam Sweeney, Katherine Priddy, Talisk, O’Hooley and Tidow, Jim Moray, Midnight Skyracer, Josienne Clarke, Lady Maisery, Sam Carter and The Black Feathers have all thrilled packed houses on the third Friday of every month in this out-of-the-way bit of Bristol (or is it South Gloucestershire?).
“Talsik was one of my favourites,” says Miles. “People were on their feet the whole time.”
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So many of these artists have gone on to play at St George’s or The Folk House after Downend and so many of them consider Downend Folk Club to be among the most supportive, professional folk gigs on the scene.
“We’re not really a folk club – that has certain connotations that we have never been part of – we’re a proper gig.” Ant is, rightly, incredibly proud of what has been offered at Downend over the years.
Now, though, there is to be a bit of a change; “It’s not a re-launch, more of a rebrand”, he says. When the Folk Club started Ant did a lot of things himself, including designing the logo and putting together the flyers. As the world pulls itself out of the last few, difficult years Miles decided that it was probably time that his beloved Folk Club had a facelift.
The Downend Folk Club is now the Downend Folk & Roots. There’s a blissed-out, foxy new logo and a new strap-line – “the village in the city” – all of which beautifully sums up this wonderful place. It’s a bit urban, a bit big city, it’s a bit local community, a bit proper, professional set up. It’s a bit magical.
Downend Folk Club is getting a facelift and rebrand! Credit: Ant Miles
Along with the change of name and the redesign there is also an absolute determination that the music will remain the most important thing. On 16 September, at Christ Church, Road Not Taken will play the Bristol show on their farewell tour supported by the brilliant Bella Gaffney.
Jacob and Drinkwater play in October, November sees the highly rated, utterly beguiling Janice Burns & Jon Doran and the traditional Christmas spectacular is provided by Belshazzar’s Feast in December.
It’s a five mile journey from St George’s, just off of Park Street, to Christ Church in Downend. It is a journey that’s well worth taking.
Ant Miles knows that it’s been a difficult few years; “Some people are, reasonably, worried about coming to gigs post pandemic, some can’t afford it anymore but some have just got out of the habit of going out. It’s so much easier to stay on your sofa, isn’t it?”
It might be easier but, the thing is, if you stay on your sofa you might miss out on this friendly, lovely gem of a place, you might miss a great band and you might miss seeing a bit of the city that you’ve not been to before.
Main photo: Ant Miles
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