| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Coordinator: | |
| Group email: | Folk Band group |
| When: | Weekly on Monday afternoons 2.00-4.00 weekly |
| Venue: | Lonsdale Rd Methodist Church |
"THIRD AGE FOLK"
We meet at Lonsdale Road Methodist Church (GL2 0TA) either in the large hall or the church itself on MONDAY afternoons, usually from 2.00 - 4.00. Sometimes, however, our sessions are from 12.30 - 2.30 (group 1) and 2.00 - 4.00 (group 2) with tea at the crossover of the 2 groups. There's no difference between the groups except for when it happens to be more convenient for individual members to come. There's no obligation to attend every week.
Except for Bank Holidays, we get together most weeks in term-time, visiting other venues a few times each term to entertain informal audiences.
The cost is currently £25 per term, which goes towards the hire of the venue.
We play and sing a range of folk music: from traditions of the UK's 4 nations, continental Europe, and further afield. Some members learn tunes largely by ear while others read staff notation with various degrees of ease. On the whole, members play acoustic instruments but, as the band has grown, vocalists often use some amplification.
This is an open group: we'll do our best to accommodate any instrumentalist and/or singer, whatever your prior experience. If you'd prefer a different kind of group (such as strictly acoustic only / dedicated to dance music / focussing on '60s folk-rock / holding folk club style sessions / etc.) Sarah is very happy to support setting it up.
Please don't hesitate to contact Sarah (group leader) by using the link above, if you think you might be interested to join us as a singer and/or instrumentalist - you'll be very welcome 🙂
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3 Choirs Festival 2026
We were fortunate enough to get a slot at the 3 Choirs Festival on Monday 27th July 2026. After some initial difficulties getting set up we performed a 45 minute set of mainly Gloucester themed folk tunes. We had a small but very appreciative audience & I think we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. A covered outdoor bandstand certainly suited us!
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TAF at Park View
On Monday 11th May we played at a new venue for us: Park View care home on Southgate street in Gloucester. It was a lovely afternoon with a highly appreciative audience who needed no encouragement to sing along. Despite a lack of time to rehearse for this one we absolutely nailed it. We'd have no hesitation in accepting if we're invited back.
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Pontesbury u3a folk band visit
On 16th March 2026 the Pontesbury (Shropshire) u3a folk band visit6ed us at Lonsdale Road. We were treated to an excellent lunch by the community group that meets there on Mondays. We then spent a couple of hours playing music which was really enjoyable. It was a good opportunity to meet another group, play together & exchange ideas etc.