Twice monthly, midweek Folk Club
1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month

Got a song to share? Play an instrument? Join us at Chats Palace on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month for lively tunes sessions and sing arounds, open floor spots, headline acts, dances and more.

The rich melting pot of culture in London and Hackney is home to songs, tales and tunes that have drifted over the migratory paths of ancestors and gather and are cherished in the present….in the hackney folk club.

Honouring the traditions of folk clubs up and down the country, the hackney folk club is a community focused evening, exploring the traditional folk songs and tunes of varied cultures. The evening is centred around a guest act which follows a handful of floor spots from our regular attendees and club members. The night is bookended by a tunes session and/or sing around from doors at 7pm, and after the act until late in the bar. This may vary depending on the structure of the night and guest act, but there will always be an opportunity for everyone to join in with songs, tunes and dances (or just come listen and have a drink at the bar).

If you are interested in performing or booking on behalf of an artist, please reach out. Ideally, guest acts should be established and have at least on album recorded. To honour folk club history, we encourage artists to teach choruses and encourage singing along. There are also available floor spots available for people to experience live performance, try out new material or bring together new ensembles. Material performed should be traditional in essence, or music heavily inspired or in the idiom of traditional/acoustic music.

Booking a Floorspot
We curate and invite Floorspots (it’s not an open mic!). If you would like to do a floorspot, please email us a demo, or ideally a vid, of you performing…

The Evening
Doors 7pm
Session in the Bar 7pm
Floor Spots 8 – 8:45pm
Guest/Headline Act 9-10
Open session/singaround 10-11pm.

Accessibility

Chats Palace is fully wheelchair accessible. You can let us know is advance if you are a wheelchair user and attending, and we can arrange a space in the hall where you can see the stage.

I need a chair!
On busy nights we might not put out many chairs. If you need a chair, please let us know in advance so we can get them ready, and put a reserved sign on them. Email hackneyfolkclub@gmail.com