No damsels or dragons.....

Ok ok, I know.... I'm very behind in keeping you updated!

So, very briefly:
the last few gigs have all been excellent...
there's been a holiday in Falmouth, taking in the International Shanty Festival ('5 Men Not Called Matt' asked me up to sing with them)....
my Australian daughter came home to find work (but the best offer is back in Australia)....
there's a new song beginning to bubble up (Will You Still Dance With Me When I Grow Old?)...
today I saw no damsels or dragons, again, but plenty of bees....
and....the new album is selling well.

Here are more lyrics:

Above The Flood

 Above the flood

The dove she finds safe land at last

Her bonds of tender gossamer

Allow her to be cast

And when her wings begin to fail

She finds her home, and takes her rest

        She does come home …the call and pull…

 She does come home …the pulse and draw…

        She does come home, she does come home again

       

Below the tide

Inviolate the rock holds fast

And by the earth is anchored deep

Secure against the blast

She sets her flight by steering true

To all kept safe within her breast

She does come home…the call and pull…

She does come home…the pulse and draw… 

She does come home, she does come home again

Inside the nest

The song that wakes all that has passed

The only key to memory

Her colours at the mast

She savours love drawn from the heart

Where home is here, and all is blessed

She does come home…the call and pull…

    She does come home…the pulse and draw…

She does come home, she does come home again

She does come home, she does come home again  

Thank you for stopping by :)

BBC, Buskers and Bats....

That was short and sweet :)
The BBC radio interview, I mean....
Nick Coffer, our host, played 'The Goodwife And The Collier', we chatted about Folk Music and what it is...or isn't...talked a bit about forthcoming gigs and our musical backgrounds, and apparantly lots of you out there heard us. Thanks so much for tuning in!

(And I was brave enough to find it on iPlayer the following day and listen to it. We were pretty good!)

Today Steve and I have been busy:
watching the 4 YouTube 'Live At Home' pieces that have now been uploaded, and making sure people can find the blog and the website (by the way, they're pretty good...)
sorting out the set list for Buskers Supper Club tomorrow evening (sold out days ago...)
looking ahead to next week's StonyLive gig on 6th June (advertised on 3 Counties - thanks Nick...)
and further ahead to Wimborne Minster Folk Festival on 8th June (8, or maybe 9 songs...?)
and finally getting round to rehearsing!
It's all sounding better and better and better....


Did I mention I'm feeding a friend's rescue hedgehog this week?  They can go on holiday any time. It's one job I'm delighted to do - cute things, hedgehogs. Her garden is surrounded by tall trees, and the cherry on the top tonight was not only a snuffling hog feeding by my feet, but 2 bats zipping about. Not sure what they're feeding on at the moment though, as it's so cold and there haven't been many insects flying today....

Anyway,  you, dear reader, have probably had a busy day, too.
Thank you for stopping by - tomorrow there'll be more lyrics from 'Under A Big Orange Moon'...

The hat-trick.....

....or is it a hat-trick+1?
I'm going to be on the radio again!

It's always a bit disheartening to be rejected  - I'd offered my services when a request went out for StonyLive! artistes to appear on an outside broadcast in Stony Stratford today.
However, the 'no thanks' was followed immediately by a 'However, I listened to your music and think you'd be suitable for being on the Afternoon Show....'!

And so I followed Dani (from the BBC)'s suggestion and contacted another radio person with our details, and ...... it was that simple!

So, for Friends, Family and Fans:

Michèle Welborn and Steven McDaniel   
will be on BBC 3Counties Radio from 12.30pm on Tuesday 28th May. Put it in your diaries!

Thanks for calling by to read my blog...

Raising roofs in Stony Stratford....

It's been a busy time! 

There have been 3 excellent gigs.
The Great Knight Folk Club in Northampton on 2nd of April was a delight to play - thank you for having us.
The fund-raiser on 26th April for Stony Stratford RPGroup raised the roof as well as funds, and we played to a house which was bursting at the seams.
Finally, the House Concert on 10th May - what a brilliant night! Everyone crammed in and joined in, and it was a truly beautiful experience. I LOVE working in intimate spaces....! 
(Thanks Phil Underwood for sharing the evening with us and playing a great opening set, and then joining us for the last 5 numbers....) 

We've also recorded and filmed a rehearsal session (thanks, Ian) and will shortly be posting it to add  to our web presence.

And what's next?
Well, we're now looking forward to this Friday, 17th May (tickets are already selling well for 'StonyFolk' at York House in Stony Stratford), and to Buskers Supper Club on Friday, 31st May....


But very best of all.......the album is FINISHED....yessssssss.......!!!!

The GoodWife And The Collier 

(MW: vocals, Steve McDaniel: keys,  Ian Entwistle: Fiddle,  Paul Martin: guitar,  Steve Jones: bass)

They arranged for a simple wedding, under a hot autumn sun,

In her arms she carried red roses, in his he'd soon carry a gun.

She said she was glad to be married, as she knew of a Collier's life - 

Then with the ring on her finger he told her he'd made her a Soldier's wife.

When later they lay together beneath a big orange moon,

She spoke of their child and the Collier wept, said: 'Love, I'll be back soon.'

He gathered her up in his strong arms (they were blue-scarred from the seams),

They were lost in their loving this man and his wife, and found again in their dreams.

When his papers came the Goodwife sighed, and went to kiss her good man,

And helped him into his great winter coat, said: Come back to us when you can.'

And like all Goodwives she waited, then she bore them a child in May,

And she sang of the dove and the rainbow who'd return to their home one day.

 

When later that year he was buried to a single salute from a gun,

In her arms she carried red roses, but he never did hold their son.

They'd arranged for a simple wedding before they knew he'd be gone - 

In her arms she carried red roses but he never did hold their son....

No, he never did hold their son.

(MW)

Gig(gle)ing....

We're gigging again on Tuesday, 2nd April...!

It's been a little while since the last Folk Club booking, and for gigs so far this year we've concentrated on jazzier numbers and those pieces which don't demand a listening audience.

In recent rehearsals we've been working on some of the big songs from 'Under A Big Orange Moon', and re-working some of the wonderful traditional songs I've been singing for a long while.We're also including the new 'traditional' piece written recently for a Shanty and Seasongs event in Stony Stratford. It's called 'The Captain, The Cook and The Cabin Boy' - Steve's worked his magic on what was originally an a capella song. We're going to have a little fun with the new version :)

The album is SO near to being ready, but disappointingly won't be ready enough for this gig.
Hopefully we'll come home with more orders to add to the growing list...

So, on Tuesday we'll be at:
The Great Knight Folk Club in Northampton.
It's in The Old White Hart at Cotton End in the town (not far from the Carlsberg Brewery) on the A508.
Start time is 8.15pm, and entrance is £6.

Visit http://www.greatknightfolkclub.co.uk/ for more information.

Thanks for stopping by to see what's happening with my music :)

The First Posting

So, here I go - the first blog. 
(Yes, I know I've  been a Blogger for over a year now, but I've been busy...!)

At last 'Under A Big Orange Moon', the new album, is almost ready. 
I have the mastered CD to listen to, the artwork is underway, the production company has been chosen, and there's already a rush to buy. Yes, an order(ly) queue is forming...

As soon as I've sold the first copy I'll post the lyrics to all 14 songs. 
Get in touch if you want to reserve or pay for your copy...



The giglist for 2013 is looking good, with 9 bookings so far, and 1 more to be confirmed - very satisfying!
(Tomorrow we're playing at the wonderful Elm Tree Pub in Cambridge....)
 
By the way, if you're a stranger who's just called in out of curiosity, you might be wondering who 'we' are.
To find out more, go to  https://soundcloud.com/michele-welborn  
and visit Michele www.michele-welborn.com  and Steve: www.plantzyz.com

Please drop by again :)