Instrument Workshop (Québécois tunes) with Maisie Greenwood - Free Entry

January 15th, 7-8pm
Free Entry to all ticket holders to Hackney Folk Club.

Bring a melody instrument for a 1-hour workshop with Maisie Greenwood from Club Débris, who'll be teaching a Québécois tune and an introduction to podorythmie (seated rhythmic foot tapping), which is traditionally used to accompany tunes in Quebec. At the end of the evening, you’ll be able to put your new skills straight into practice at the post-gig session in the bar!

Maisie is a versatile and well-travelled fiddle player, firmly rooted in the London session scene with a vast repertoire of tunes from Ireland, Scotland, England, Scandinavia and North America, including many learned from playing at sessions in Montreal and Quebec City.

Hackney Folk Club ~ The Winter Carnival of Quebec!
Chats Palace
Thursday 15th January
7pm - 11pm, £15/£13

Timings
Doors: 7pm
Free Workshop lead by Maisie greenwood - Learn a Quebecoise tune and how to podorythmie foot stamp (all instruments and abilities welcome):7 - 8
Floorspots: 8-9
Club Debris: 9-10
Quebecoise Session in the Bar: 10-11

Join hackney folk club on 15th Jan 2026 for the warmth and energy of our ‘Winter Carnival of Quebec, a night celebrating the vibrant musical traditions of Québec,’ with tunes, dance, and community spirit.

At the same time as our regular session in the bar, there will be a Québécois workshop lead by the mighty Maisie Greenwood in the back room. This workshop is aimed at all levels and all instruments. Expect to come away with a new tune from Quebec and the ability to podorythmie foot stamp. This workshop is included in the price of our club ticket. 

As always, we’ll have floorspots between 8 and 9pm, your chance to share a tune, song, or dance. We’re delighted to feature an invited spot by the Tower Ravens Rapper dancers this time, bringing their sharp swords, fast footwork, and infectious energy to the floor! 

Club Débris
Club Débris are a Quebec-inspired folk band based in London, playing high-energy French-Canadian trad music in brazenly major keys: no-nonsense tunes with a pro-nonsense attitude.

The band formed as a celebration of the close ties between the trad music that the band members grew up with and the joyous Québécois tunes that they’d gravitated towards over the years, especially through playing together in the vibrant London session scene. Their sound, rooted in centuries of mixed influences between French, English, Scottish and Irish dance music, brings together fiddles, accordion, banjo and piano, accompanied by driving, galloping foot percussion rhythms, featuring a percussive dancer who genuinely lights up the stage. 

Over the past couple of years, Club Débris have performed at festivals including Shrewsbury, Broadstairs and Fire in the Mountain, as well as releasing their debut album Ricochet.

The band is formed of Will Allen (accordion/fiddle), Maisie Greenwood (fiddle), Duncan Menzies (fiddle/banjo), Will Chamberlain (piano) and Jessie Collins (percussive dance).

Hackney Folk Club
Chats Palace
Thursday 29th January
7pm - 11pm, £15/£13

Featuring

Mná

MNÁ comprises Jess Collins (fiddle, dancing, voice), Phoebe Harty (cello, voice), Tara McCarthy (fiddle, viola, voice), Kathleen Sarsfield-O’ Shea (flute, guitar, voice) and Tara Viscardi (harp, voice). All members are passionate about bringing their musical traditions to wider audiences and strive to merge traditional Irish, English folk and contemporary music in an innovative way while remaining true to their roots. Their performances feature traditional and folk music from Ireland, England, Brittany and further afield as well as their own original compositions. Active musicians on the traditional, folk and classical scenes across the UK and Ireland, band members have had their music featured on BBC and RTÉ radio.

Watch Here on Youtube

TIMINGS
Doors 7pm
Irish Trad Session: 7pm
Floorspots: 8pm
Mna: 9pm
Singaround: 10-11pm

Hackney Folk Club
Chats Palace
Thursday 5th February 2026
7pm - 11pm,
£15/£13/£12 members

Whiskey Moon Face
To describe Whiskey Moon Face as an alternative folk group doesn´t even begin to do justice to the breadth of inspiration and style in their music. Based around double bass, accordian, and clarinet, they´re led by the superb vocals and hallucinatory lyrics of singer Louisa Jones. Capable of being both ear-to-ear-grinningly entertaining and profoundly moving, they combine elements of Eastern European traditional & klezmer music, old-time New Orleans jazz and the baroque/ chamber folk styles of Sufjan Stevens and Beirut with their own unique take on contemporary folk music to make for a superbly realised, truly beautiful, and utterly original sound. There is simply no-one in the UK making music like Whiskey Moon Face.

TIMINGS
Doors 7pm
Session: 7pm
Floorspots: 8pm
Whiskey Moon Face: 9pm
Singaround: 10-11pm

Hackney Folk Club
Chats Palace
Thursday 19th February 2026
7pm - 11pm,
£15/£13/£12 members

THE WEAVING

Debut album release – 11th February, St Gobnait’s Day

Listen here: https://on.soundcloud.com/DX4FLPRUsPohlCYrlN

The Weaving is Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich (accordion, vocals) and Owen Spafford (fiddle) and Cáit Ní Riain (piano, vocals). This trio brings together the rich musical traditions of three counties Kerry, Tipperary and Yorkshire, their three regions of origin. Their music is imbued with the driving rhythms of the Gaeltacht of West Kerry where they first met; fierce dance music and raw harmonies inspired by a deep understanding of their musical inheritance. The trio have performed across Ireland, France and the UK in venues such as The National Concert Hall, Paris Centre Culturel Irlandais and Sidmouth Folk Festival.

After a sold out performance at Feakle Festival alongside Martin Hayes and extensive UK and Ireland tours 'The Weaving' look forward to releasing their debut album drawn from the rich musical wellspring of the West Kerry Gaeltacht.

"This album is about embracing our musical connections, finding the dances, tunes and songs that we hold in common and celebrating the different musical accents with which we play them. The aim was not to homogenise our approaches but to explore ideas of local identity and place through our own respective backgrounds. We feel this is particularly important in reference to the historic cultural oppression that the Irish language and music has faced under English rule. There is an honouring and healing of colonial history that can be found in sharing the traditional music of England and Ireland and while this is not a political project there is something inherently political about celebrating the music of two connected but historically divided communities. The fact that we can now share a stage sharing music and song is testament to the power of art to cross social boundaries and international borders. Music for us is about celebrating people and the natural world - and woven into traditional music is the love we hold for our family, friends and communities and the land we call home.”

Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich is a singer, songwriter and musician whose musical expression and stylings are deeply rooted within the Irish music, language and song tradition of her homeplace of Corca Dhuibhne, the Gaeltacht of West Kerry, Ireland. A native Irish speaker, Méabh was born into the renowned musical family of the Begleys whose undeniable influence has helped in shaping her energetic instrumental playing, emotive and sensitive singing style as well as inspired her development of, and transition into her passion for composing and songwriting. Méabh has enjoyed a full time career in traditional Irish music thus far and has performed both nationally and internationally in countries such as Japan, Taiwan, America, Canada, Russia and across Europe with groups such as acclaimed Irish band Téada, The Pure Irish Drops (The Women of Ireland- The Next Generation), Cuas, Catherine Young Dance, Irish Christmas in America and “Aisling? – An Ród Romhainn” directed by Darach Mac an Iomaire.

Owen Spafford is a fiddle player and composer from Leeds whose creative life orbits the worlds of traditional, experimental, and improvised music. Equally at home in a traditional music session as he is in a free improvisation workshop, Spafford’s understanding of the oral tradition and love for vernacular music from around the world enables an inventive and thoughtful musical voice. As well as playing with The Weaving Owen has released with post-folk duo Spafford Campbell and also works with artists such as Billie Marten, Johnny Flynn, Clara Mann and Chris Brain.

Cáit Ní Riain is a traditional singer, multi instrumentalist, and folklorist from Upperchurch in Co. Tipperary. She grew up in the world renowned music pub, Jim of the Mills, where she was deeply influenced by the constant stream of musicians and singers that came from near and far, gaining a deep appreciation for her own culture and its place and relevance in the world. She studied music and Irish in University College Cork where she was awarded the Quercus scholarship for receiving the highest results in the arts department. She also received the Donal Doc Gleeson award for excellence in musical performance. Cáit continued her studies in the National Folklore Collection in University College Dublin, where she completed her MA thesis on the songs and associating folklore in North Tipperary, being awarded the Máire Mac Néill scholarship for excellence in research. Cáit has received medals in the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for both traditional singing in English and in Irish. She has performed and collaborated alongside various artists, musicians, singers, and ensembles for many years in Ireland and further afield in the United States and Europe. Cáit is currently working on her first album of traditional songs.

TIMINGS
Doors 7pm
Irish Trad Session: 7pm
Floorspots: 8:15
The Weaving: 9pm
Session in the Bar: 10-11pm

Hackney Folk Club - An International Woman’s Day Special Event
Chats Palace
Thursday 5th March 2026
7pm - 11pm,
£15/£13/£12 members

5th March celebrating international woman’s day

Join us on Thursday 5th March at Hackney Folk Club as we gather for a vibrant, magical night celebrating the lead up to International Women’s Day. This evening is dedicated to honouring women in music — and it’s open to everyone, women, men, trans, non binary alike. Expect powerful performances, community spirit, and space for voices of all kinds.

The night kicks off with a female led session, followed by our usual floor spots. We especially invite anyone who identifies as a woman to take to the floor this night — sing a song, play a tune, recite a poem, or share a dance.

Our headline act is the powerful trio Aklanna Greaca, joined by special guest Lucine Musaelian on viola da gamba and vocals, promising a performance rich with tradition, depth, and musical magic.

The night will finish with a sing around in the bar hosted by Lilith Chinn. All voices welcome, all songs cherished


The Guest Band:

Alkanna Graeca
Alkanna Graeca is a vocal trio blending raw folk traditions from the Balkans, East Mediterranean, and Black Sea with improvisation and expansive soundscapes. Formed by Dunja Botic, Alexandra Achillea, and Irini Arabatzi, the trio’s music intertwines the rich cultural heritage of their homelands with a bold, boundary-pushing edge. Hailed as “rising stars of polyphonic singing”, they have been selling out venues and drawing audiences in across festival stages in the UK and Greece.

Band Instagram

TIMINGS
Doors 7pm
Session: 7pm
Floorspots: 8pm
Alkanna Graeca: 9pm
Singaround: 10-11pm

Hackney Folk Club
Chats Palace
Thursday 23rd April 2026
7pm - 11pm,
£15/£13/£12 members

Mikey Kenney

Mikey Kenney is primarily a respected fiddle player, singer, songwriter and composer from Liverpool, but he is also a multi-instrumentalist, often performing many of the parts on his recordings (on banjo, mandolin, guitar, melodeon etc). 

Embracing duality, Kenney is very much the musical outsider artist; he is hailed by many as an important conduit of learning, conserving and handing down both English and Irish traditional fiddle music in England's Northwest (previously the musical director for the Lancashire Youth Folk Ensemble and currently the Vice-Chair at Comhaltas Liverpool) and yet he is constantly composing alternative and progressive music of his own with his last two releases Counsel of Owls and The Reverie Road receiving widespread acclaim (both 5/5 fRoots magazine).

For Kenney both of these releases serve as stepping stones in his artistic disciplines, as he seeks a way to use his knowledge of traditional fiddle music in his own compositions without compromising the integrity of either. Through direct experience, Kenney allows other musical forms such as psychedelia, bluegrass, jazz and Italian tarantella to seep into his music but never so far as to allow any one influence to dominate his deep love for traditional fiddle playing. The result of crossing these stones is his forthcoming work Tiny Little Light, set to be released in September 2025. 

Tiny Little Light is, with the exception of two instrumentals, a collection of songs written around original fiddle tunes in keeping with traditional forms but progressive in their arrangement and instrumentation. Kenney considers it his finest work yet and the truest expression of a life devoted to his craft. He will spend 2025 celebrating this new material by performing it live accompanied by various ensembles including Michael Paul Metcalfe (drums), Awen Blandford (cello) and Andy Raven (guitar).

Aside from his reputation for his original work, Kenney is also very much in demand as a collaborator and session musician for his fiddle-playing and string arranging and has worked with the likes of: Vinicio Capossela, Alabaster dePlume, Katherine Priddy, Josephine Foster, Bex Burch, Band of Burns, Adam Beattie, Emily Portman, Dominie Hooper, Victor Herrero, Alessandro 'Asso' Stefana, Dan Haywood's New Hawks, Liverpool Céilí Band, Jon Wilks, Johnny Campbell and more.

TIMINGS
Doors 7pm
Session in the Bar: 7pm
Floorspots: 8:15
Mikey Kenney: 9pm
Session in the Bar: 10-11pm

Adam Beattie - Home Fires Burning Album Launch

Acclaimed Scottish singer-songwriter Adam Beattie ‘Uplifting Reveries’ (Mojo Magazine) will be launching his new album 'Home Fires Burning'; a homespun epic which explores family, legacy and belonging. Adam writes melodies inspired by the traditional fiddle tunes of his childhood, played on finger-picked acoustic guitar.

His band will feature some of the finest traditional musicians who will put on night following the Hackney Folk Club's format:

7pm - traditional session
8pm - Floor spots
9pm - Adam and his band
10pm - traditional session

Please note, this is at a different venue from most club nights

*** Venue: Stoke Newington Old Church ***

Hackney Folk Club
Chats Palace
Thursday 18th June 2026
7pm - 11pm,
£15/£13/£12 members

Emily Portman  

Emily Portman is an award-winning singer and songwriter with a passion for traditional songs, hailed as ‘one of the new British folk scene’s most beguiling presences’ (Uncut). She has toured widely for over 15 years as a band leader, with The Furrow Collective, in a duo with Leveret’s Rob Harbron and with the UK Folk chart-topping album project ‘Sea Song Sessions’, featuring Jon Boden and Seth Lakeman. Emily was previously awarded a BBC Folk award for ‘Best Original Song’ and has released three critically acclaimed albums of original songs that recast old ballads and fairytales into new shapes.

Now, with Dominion of Spells, her first solo album in a decade set for release, 2026 promises to be an exciting year for the Glastonbury-raised and Sheffield-based singer.  Central to the album are themes of midlife metamorphosis and magic. Emily, who was raised in Glastonbury, has a lifelong fascination with folk stories and has been writing otherworldly songs since she was a child.

Her new album tells tales of women encountering challenges and transformations in midlife and embarking on quests to find wonder in a jaded age. Shape-shifting selkies and owl goddesses intertwine with relatable stories of female experience. The songs chronicle Emily’s own midlife experiences, with reflections on motherhood, burnout, the redemptive power of music…and shapeshifting into a werewolf! 

The album debuts Emily’s dreamy piano accompaniments alongside rippling banjo-led songs, a perfect backdrop to Emily’s crystalline, disquieting vocals. A stellar cast of guests provides beautiful three-part harmonies, lush strings, and guitar accompaniment.

Praise for Emily’s Latest Album

‘Entrancing and unsettling. A marvellous, original work’ Observer

‘A tribute to her powerful imagination’ Living Tradition 

‘Spooky and surreal’ Guardian

‘Together with her previous two albums The Glamoury and Hatchlings, Emily has created an immaculate triptych of darkly brilliant songs. Make sure to be a completist and get this in your life.’ English Dance and Song Magazine

"An intensely luminous collection of songs whose articulate lyrics, virtuoso performances and intricate arrangements never overshadow the very real humanity which is at the heart of it all." Folk Radio UK

"Intense and alluring" Fatea

TIMINGS
Doors 7pm
Session in the Bar: 7pm
Floorspots: 8:15
Emily Portman: 9pm
Singaround in the Bar: 10-11pm

Hackney Folk Club
Chats Palace
Thursday 15th October 2026
7pm - 11pm,
£24/£17 Concessions and Members

Bruce Molsky & Darol Anger

Darol and Bruce have been musical explorers together for years, sharing a creative universe that’s resulted in some epic collaborations, crashing each other’s concerts and recordings, and just finding big joy in playing together.

Described as “an absolute master” (No Depression), Bruce's take on tradition has landed him in collaborations with some of the world's most highly respected players from roots to rock. His long association with Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas in the Transatlantic Sessions, his trio with Aly and Swedish maestro Ale Möller, and years of solo touring have landed him in the UK dozens of times. He is also a special guest on legend rocker Mark Knopfler’s CD, “Tracker.” Along with Andy Irvine & Donal Lunny, Bruce is a founding member of the supergroup Mozaik. The Grammy nominated Fiddlers 4, Darol, Bruce with Michael Doucet and Rushad Eggleston were at Fiddles On Fire in Gateshead.

Back home, Bruce and Darol tour extensively. Bruce also holds the title of “Visiting Scholar in the American Roots Music Program” at Berklee College of Music, where he is the go-to guy for the next generation of roots musicians.

Freestyle fiddler, composer, producer and educator, Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. Exceptional among modern fiddlers for his versatility and depth, Anger has helped drive the evolution of the contemporary string band through his involvement with numerous pathbreaking ensembles such as his Republic Of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, the David Grisman Quintet, The Montreux Band, his Duo with Mike Marshall, his current touring group Mr Sun, and others. He has performed and taught all over the world with musicians such as Dr. Billy Taylor, Bela Fleck, Bill Evans, Edgar Meyer, Bill Frisell, Tony Rice, Tim O’Brien, The Anonymous 4, Marin Alsop and the Cabrillo Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, Bruce Molsky, Mark O’Connor, and Stephane Grappelli.

TIMINGS
Doors 7pm
Irish Trad Session: 7pm
Floorspots: 8pm
Bruce Molsky & Darol Anger: 9pm
Session in the Bar: 10-11pm