Real Ale, Real Music

If you asked me to name any folk bands that a non-folk fan should go and see live, there would be 2. Bellowhead would be one of them, whilst the other would be the Peatbog Faeries, who I saw at Bury Met last night, in front of a crowd ranging from 20 year olds up to 70+. I'd seen them once before, a couple of years ago at the Victoria Hall in Saltaire, when I'd had to miss the end of the gig so I didn't miss my train. No such problem this time, as I was staying over at the Premier Inn. The Faeries were formed back in the early 90's, and are based in the village of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, not really known outside the area as a musical hotbed. Two of the original members still remain, Peter Morrison (pipes and whistles) and Innes Hutton (bass), and along the way they have picked up Tom Salter (guitar), Ross Couper (fiddle), Graeme Stafford (keyboards) and Stu Halkney (drums). So, what do they sound like? They are best described as Celtic fusion, in that they tak...

Several months ago I wrote an article for 'Calder Cask', the branch magazine of Halifax and Calderdale CAMRA, in which I described the rise and rise of the Micropub, and concluded with a hope that the first one would open in Calderdale before too much longer. Well, I am glad to say that wait is now over. For those of you who do not know what a micropub is, let me explain. According to the Micropub Association it is defined as follows: 'A small free house which listens to its customers, mainly serves cask ales, promotes conversation, shuns all forms of electronic entertainment and dabbles in traditional pub snacks.'  The first was set up by Martyn Hillier at The Butcher’s Arms in Herne, Kent, back in 2005. This was in an old converted butcher's shop, and this tends to be the pattern, old shops and odd buildings lending themselves to being converted into a one-room pub. Possibly because the first one was in the county of Kent, a lot of them have been opened there. ...