Folk Scene with Eric Cox

THIS weekend gets off to a great start tonight when the Potteries Folk Club, which holds its monthly guest nights at Foxfield Railway Station, Caverswall Road, in Blythe Bridge, has the wonderful Quicksilver on as special guests. The duo, which consists of Hilary Spencer (former member of Artisan and current member of The Mr Ackroyd Band) combines forces with Grant Baynham, who achieved national recognition through TV's That's Life. If you can imagine a fabulous voice of Hilary Spencer, with some zany and well-crafted songs from Grant Baynham with lots of inter-song banter between themselves and the audience, then you will get the flavour of a fabulous evening's entertainment which has universal appeal to folkies and non-folkies alike. Definitely worth seeing and definitely worth bringing your friends along to see as their music has instant appeal (01782 813401).

Tonight also sees an already sell-out event at Biddulph Town Hall when Biddulph Folk Club are staging a joint promotion with Biddulph Literary Society to present Private Peaceful. The performance is based on Michael Morpurgo's award winning book of the same name, and features Michael himself appearing with the acapella trio, Coope, Boyes and Simpson. It promises to be a powerful and moving evening of music and the spoken word, telling the tale of life in the trenches during the First World War through the eyes of a young soldier. Such is the standing of the Biddulph club that they have managed to secure one of only three dates for this moving performance, the others being in London and Derby. Please be assured that there is no chance of getting in on the night as it's been sold out for the past three weeks.

The organisers at Biddulph are in for a busy time this week with another concert on Wednesday, this time at The Biddulph Arms with their guest being Martha Tilston. Martha, whose father incidentally is folk singer-songwriter Steve Tilston who is a guest at Biddulph in January, has a fabulous voice, writes some great songs (if you've not heard her album Of Milkmaids And Architects then it's a must). She is a great performer and represents the great wealth of young talent making its mark nationally on the acoustic scene. Again, well worth taking a chance to see if you've not seen her before, you won't be disappointed in her return gig following an impressive first visit last year. Support for the evening will be Jenny Pickering, the talented teenager from Biddulph who has impressed on previous outings (01782 514896).

Sandbach Folk Club, which runs every Tuesday at The Market Tavern, has a singers' night on this week. Performers please be aware that these evening have proved to be very popular and they must arrive early to avoid disappointment. The start time is 8.45pm, slightly later than most folk clubs in the area (07815 721933).