Celebrating 40 Years 1964-2004

The Cambridge Crofters and the Cambridge Folk Club celebrate 40 years of folk music in Cambridge with a Saturday Folk Day, 26 June, starts 1pm and ends at 11pm.

History of the Club

The origins of the Cambridge Folk Club go back to 1959 and the Cambridge University St. Laurences Folk Society.
The committee comprised two folksters - Mike (Sid) Scott (Scotty), and Erik (Fingers) Grainger, who later became well known as Ricky G, all fingers banjo player.

At first the Club was resident somewhere along Newmarket Road. It was Erik Grainger, along with Andrew Kendon (The Cambridge Crofters) who kept things running over the next 30 odd years. Gradually during 1962-64 it changed from the St Laurences to the Cambridge Folk Club with the inauguration in November 1964 of "THE CAMBRIDGE FOLK CLUB".
One of its homes during this time was the Horse and Groom in King Street. Rumour has it that Dave Benford (The Cambridge Crofters again) was the first guest, but there is no factual evidence to verify this. It was in 1965 that the Club gained a higher profile. Ken Woolard, the originator of the Cambridge Folk Festival, was a committee member and one whose influence was to steer the Club into having a broad eclectic approach to folk music, an influence still promoted today.

The Club has made its mark on the local live music scene for forty years. Known as a bluegrass club in its early days, with a strong flavour of both traditional English and Irish music, the original singer-songwriter/instrumentalist (Paul Simon and Stefan Grossman in the early days) was never very far away. And still, flocks of performers and audience come along to hear live music every Friday night. Jazz, blues, folk, singer-songwriters, traditional English and Irish music, instrumental guitar, story telling, poetry, open stage, you name it, it's been and is still here at the Cambridge Folk Club. Audiences have commented on the friendly, intimate atmosphere of the club, still a mainstay for live roots music in Cambridge after all these years. It is this, along with a varied music programme which has changed with the times that is seen as the main reasons for the club's survival and for audiences coming back again and again.

For more information about the origins of the Cambridge Folk Club visit www.cambridgefolkclub.org.