Five folk gigs, and how they came to be

Folkroom is a small, independent promoter - that is to say, hello, my name is Stephen, and I book and run all of our gigs. I work a full-time job, write freelance on the side, and am perpetually tired. This is why, generally speaking, there are only one or two Folkroom gigs a month - it’s all I have in me!

Sometimes, though, opportunities arise, and I find it hard to say no. Here is the story of how I came to put on five gigs in May (and how you can make it worth my exhaustion).

The one guaranteed Folkroom event in any month is my regular engagement at Peggy’s Skylight, the gorgeous jazz club in the centre of Nottingham that feels like it’s been pulled directly from the streets of Chicago. Knowing that I have a spot to fill on the second Sunday of every month, I’m able to book early - which is useful, as many of the busiest folk musicians in the UK tend to book their tours a year in advance. Currently, I know who is headlining every Peggy’s gig I’m putting on, right up to June 2027.

When Mikey Kenney played a solo set at Peggy’s in April 2025, I was mesmerised by his performance - he’s one of the finest fiddle players I’ve seen perform, and I knew I wanted to see more. Mikey, too, was enamoured - with the venue, with the audience - and before the night was out, we had not only made initial plans for his full trio to play a gig in May 2026, but had even agreed on our ideal support act - the wonderful Rosie Brownhill. A year later, these plans will finally be realised on May 10th - this Sunday. You can buy your tickets here.

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When I’m not hosting gigs at Peggy’s, I usually opt to work with The Grove. A cosy 60-capacity spot in Sneinton Market, Nottingham’s creative hub, The Grove is run by Cameron Worne. Cam is as indispensable to the Nottingham music scene as Robin Hood is to its international tourism. He runs the venue, sound engineers as well as anyone in the city, and performs in roughly half the bands in town, too. Sometimes, he’ll message me and ask for my thoughts on a folk act that has asked to play at his venue. A few months ago, he did this for Michael McGovern - and I cheekily snapped up the opportunity, and decided to put the gig on myself.

Michael is a phenomenal singer-songwriter. He had a viral moment early this year when Paul Mescal championed his song ‘Evelyn’ during the Hamnet press tour - and rightfully so. ‘Evelyn’ is one of those love songs that sounds like a standard the moment it’s released. It recalls early Damien Rice, or perhaps a less gruff Leonard Cohen. What’s more, it’s clear that Michael is also a great champion of the musical community in his native Scotland. He has written with and performed in Scott C. Park's band, whom he also brings along as support for our show on May 13th. I’ve added the wonderful Eleanor McGregor to open the show. You can buy your tickets for Michael’s gig here.

Most of my bookings come from direct approaches by artists’ agents - but with so few gigs to fill, I usually end up putting on acts I’ve already been listening to for some time. When Chris Brain’s agent approached me looking for a Nottingham spot for Chris’s upcoming album tour, I leapt at the chance - I’ve been trying to make a gig with Chris work for almost seven years now. He is one of the most distinct voices in English folk music right now - a singer who has frequently been compared to Nick Drake, but who grows more distinct, more mature as a writer and performer, with each new record. And so I booked Chris in, despite having a gig already set for three days earlier. Chris Brain plays The Grove on May 16th, supported by Zoe Cure. The last few tickets are available here.

And at this point, really, I should have stopped. Three gigs in a month is plenty. Except for two things: firstly, I forgot to mention that Cam and I had been working to bring a couple of great London-based acts to The Grove - Scottish band Neev, and Ukrainian singer-songwriter Maria Mahailik. I’ve always been intrigued by the magical musical barrier that is the M25. It is incredibly difficult for small, independent artists from outside of London to book gigs inside the city - and it often seems equally difficult for independent artists in London to find decent gigs anywhere else in the UK. Much of this comes down to the exorbitant prices of public transport in the UK, making travel to gigs difficult for young artists. There is also the challenge of finding support slots that can cover these costs, when most cities have so many great local acts who are willing to play for lower fees.

Cam and I decided to combine our desire to host Neev and Maria with my own interest in hosting my first local headliner since starting Folkroom events in Nottingham. I called on Posturing, a phenomenal act who had yet to headline in the city. Their cinematic folk is such a gorgeous fit for Folkroom, and also big enough that it wouldn’t feel rude bringing in a band like Neev to play just before them. Of all the shows I’m hosting in May, it’s possible that I’m most excited for this gig, on May 28th - it feels the closest in spirit to Folkroom’s early incarnation as a hub for new, independent artists. Tickets are here, and I’d love to fill the place out!

And then, finally, I was checking the Folkroom inbox back in January, all these gigs already booked and ready to go, when I spotted an unexpected name among the senders: Joseph Decosimo. I clicked on the email as fast as my cursor would allow.

You see, I knew Joseph Decosimo’s name because I already had a record of his sitting on my shelf. And I knew how rare an opportunity it was to see him play live - let alone to host the gig myself - because I had bought that record directly from his record label, who had shipped it over from America for me.

Joseph Decosimo is an American old-time folk musician. A banjo, fiddle and guitar player whose album While You Were Slumbering was one of my favourite albums of 2022. He hadn’t toured the UK in over a decade, and now here he was in my inbox, looking for gigs to help justify a trip to play at Fire in the Mountain festival. He had seen Folkroom listed among the 2025 tour dates of fellow old-time folk luminary Riley Baugus, and wondered if I might be open to hosting him in Nottingham. I was, though making it happen was a bigger challenge, given the limited dates Joseph had available and the fact that I already had four other gigs in the period he was booking. Still, what’s the point of being a promoter if you can’t take advantage of an unsolicited email from one of your favourite acts? Joseph Decosimo plays The Grove on January 23rd. Tickets are available here. I asked him if he had any thoughts on support, and he said ‘Rosie Brownhill’ - so Rosie gets her second support slot of the month, alongside Folkroom favourite Emily Ashberry.

And that’s my May. It can be your May too, if you fancy it - all the ticket links are there for you to go crazy on. It’s my busiest month for gigs since before the pandemic, and I’m thrilled that tickets have been flying out the door for all of them. And of course, the year continues to trundle along from there. In June, Folkroom hosts Steve Turner at Peggy’s Skylight. I’ve just announced a show for Rachel Sermanni, held on Stonebridge City Farm in collaboration with Nest Collective - one of two outdoor shows I’m working on hosting in Nottingham this summer. More news on that in next month’s newsletter, as well as a wealth of new Peggy’s Skylight gigs! Until then, I hope to see you at one of my many, many May gigs.

Stephen