Folk
We have had some of the most iconic folk artists play for us
30th anniversary year
We are delighted to announce dates for our acoustic and folk music evenings for 2024.
Keep an eye on our “What’s On” page and our Social Media to see the great acts we have coming up.
The Kalamazoo Klub has been bringing great quality folk and acoustic music to North London for the last 25 years. Run by Guy Simpson and Paul Alcantara, it has brought a plethora of World-class names to our audiences over those years.
Fronted by House Band, The Blinkin’ Buzzards, each month’s meeting brings a top-name artist from the worlds of folk and acoustic music. It is now one of the best-known folk music clubs in London.
Next gig
The London Bluegrass Band
November 14 2025
With support from The Blinkin’ Buzzards
£15
Book tickets
From the small but thriving Bluegrass scene in London, the London Bluegrass Band emerged in 2021 from its roots in sessions and jams across the city.
The collective, dedicated to showcasing and fostering the Bluegrass scene in the capital, is made from a diverse, international group of musicians who love Bluegrass old and new, and love sharing it! This line-up includes Jack Baker on mandolin and vocals, Matt Kendall on guitar and vocals, Chris Lord on banjo and Pete Thomas on double bass.
Jack Baker is the UK’s foremost Monroe-style mandolin picker and the band’s undisputed expert when it comes to Bluegrass history. In 2015, he won a scholarship to attend the Monroe Mandolin Camp in Nashville and outside of the London Bluegrass Band he plays with his band, The Vanguards, another well-known band on the European Bluegrass scene. Jack is a regular at London Bluegrass sessions and is the closest thing you can get to Bill Monroe this side of the pond.
Originally from Canada and having spent many years in the States, Matt Kendall finally landed in the heart of London. Talent like his doesn’t go unnoticed for long and he soon became a fixture on the London Bluegrass scene, with his virtuosic guitar solos and prodigious repertoire of classic Bluegrass songs. Matt has taken tuition from such greats as Bryan Sutton and Chris Eldridge and has honed his own distinctive style that always wows audiences!
Chris Lord has been on the rise for a while now; having toured with Emmy-nominated US band Gangstagrass and played alongside such American talents as Maddie Witler (of Della Mae and The Lonely Heartstring Band) and Kathleen Parks (of Twisted Pine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra), he is fast becoming the go-to player for Bluegrass banjo in the UK. His play style incorporates both traditional Scruggs and Stanley picking with more contemporary melodic styles and he loves nothing more than showing people what banjo can do.
Speaking of go-to musicians, Pete Thomas is one of the busiest bass players around – and for good reason! Pete graduated from the Newcastle College of Performing Arts and cut his teeth on jazz music, playing with bands such as the London Django Collective and PM Warson. Pete has also been playing Bluegrass for well over a decade now, with his band The Vanguards and also more recently with Paul Armer and the Dawn Chorus. No one has a more solid rhythm and he elevates any performance he’s a part of.
——————————————————————————————————–
We are delighted to announce that we recently auctioned a signed poster of March’s artist, Martin Carthy and have donated the proceeds to UNICEF Children’s Fund. Many thanks to Martin!
We also auctioned a signed poster from Michael Messer, Chaz Jankel and Matt Round and the proceeds are going to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Where to find us
We meet usually on the second Friday of the month at The Great Northern Railway Tavern in Hornsey and sometimes at the Union Chapel in Islington. Make sure you check the What’s On page to see which venue we are using and for more details on how to buy tickets.
PLEASE NOTE that this gig is in an upstairs room with no disabled access. We do not guarantee a seat for every ticket holder, so if you need a seat we advise that you arrive early.
Now you can buy The Blinkin’ Buzzards’ CD, packed with great tunes like Jigsaw Puzzle Blues, Blue Prelude, Humming Blues and Big Feet Rag, at any of our gigs..
The CD contains 11 tracks plus a bonus track, Pizza Rider, by Merlin Wildman. The CD costs £12 plus £2 p&p. Order yours today! Just email info@kalamazooklub.com and we’ll sort out the rest!
The Blinkin’ Buzzards
Listen to House Band, The Blinkin’ Buzzards playing Autumn Leaves, live.
Autumn Leaves Live
The Kalamazoo Klub’s house band play each month at the Klub and are:
Guy Simpson – Dobro
Paul Alcantara – Guitar, ukulele, banjo
John Paxton – guitar
Andrew Kemp – bass
Jamie Alcantara – ukulele
Listen to Mr. Trump Don’t Like It by the Blinkin’ Buzzards
Listen to Jigsaw Puzzle Blues
By Eddie Lang, born Salvatore Massaro in Philadelphia in 1902.