Merry Hell and Bek Jones make up the Live At Over Hulton Folk Club bill this month.

In the midst of global turmoil when crazy leaders are spurning opportunities for peace the good folk of Over Hulton Folk Club were joyfully subjected to a musical invasion (from Wigan) of the most pleasant kind. Both artists -newcomer Bek Jones and the accomplished Merry Hell - promote the qualities of tolerance,  co-operation and love to their fullest.

BEK JONES

Making her debut at the Folk Club, Bek’s short set showed a promising future with her self- penned country flavoured songs which enchanted the packed out room. Soulful and powerful vocals to Change and From The Heart were a taster of her forthcoming EP release which is still a work in progress but surely one to look forward to. 

A song of heartbreak, inspired to by the lockdown, preceded the only cover of the night when she bravely sang her arrangement to Stevie Nick’s Landslide. She wisely kept her version simple and carried off the Fleetwood Mac classic with aplomb. She received much deserved appreciation after ending her set with British Bulldog. A song in a rocker style and dedicated to her grandfather, a WW2 parachutist. Already released as a single tonight’s acoustic arrangement rightly impressed the discerning Over Hulton crowd and hopefully further inspired her children who were dutifully supporting mum. We look forward not only to her debut recording but also a welcome return. Having recently received acclaim as an online streaming hit, Bek should go far.

MERRY HELL

Having had a break recently following a highly successful  2023 (culminating with a stunning performance in front of the huge crowd at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention) you would forgive Merry Hell for being slightly rusty! But none of it. Merry Hell were as strong as ever in the more intimate OHFC. An evening dominated by all the old favourites began with We Are Different We Are One, you could easily select your best of Merry Hell and it was there tonight. As usual, their affinity with their adoring fans gave them plenty of opportunity to join in with gusto. Mixed between each song were many passionate introductions and the usual comic banter between Virginia and Andrew

They never appear to be short on self-confidence but that assuredness is positively directed into an extremely tight musical unit with their acoustic set nurturing a warm polished performance. Lean On Me Love was particularly poignant as the theme of unity and caring for one another, which many of their songs promote, has been provided in bucket loads by a poorly family loved one. They promote peace, British pride and the right to protest, which comes through strongly in some of their newer material like Virginia’s Louder Than War and the more familiar turns, Sister Atlas and Come On England. 

New songs are starting to appear, destined for a new Merry Hell album later in the year. We heard Vagabond Army; a song written by Bob relating to the 16th century government policy of making vagabonds of people who lost the rights of ownership to their land and property. We also had the jaunty swing of Only Love written by keyboard player Lee that sat alongside the popular audience participation number Don’t Say I Say Us. With new music high on the list, Virginia’s solo effort of Violet complemented the release of her latest album with The Rolling Folk, East Of Everywhere – keep an eye on our pages for a feature.

The second set began with an emotional acapella  Coming Home followed by more favourites - the anthemic We Need Each Other Now, Leave It In The Ground are always welcomed, yet it was the vibrant Three Lions From Albion, which is folk rock at its best and shows how Simon Swarbrick on fiddle, Colin Foster on bass and Lee Goulding on keyboards may be the backroom engine on stage but are the glue that holds everything together for the frontline Kettle quartet.

Merry Hell may be strongly entrenched in the folk family but they extend the boundaries of folk music with their variety of styles. They swing, jazz out, rock and encourage a sing-a-long,   but like their rousing finale, Baker’s Daughter, always rouse the spirits as well as engaging our social thinking. OHFC  host Corrie  Shelley, now cheekily christened by Andrew as ‘The Law,’ permitted an encore of One More Day Without You.

It’s often encouraged that a group’s performance is accompanied by chorus singing or in the case of Merry Hell life risking actions, but to have audiences singing practically every word of every song is truly rare. A fine accomplishment not only for the band but by my audience companion for the evening, Peter, who sang his heart out from beginning to end!

In the coming months, many more wonderful nights are in store for us at the club with Karen Pfeiffer and Paul Walker in March followed by the return of AJ Clarke in April.

Merry Hell: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Bek Jones online: Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Soundcloud

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