Over the last 20 years, The Kalamazoo Klub has played host to the best-known names on the folk, blues and acoustic circuit, as well as some of the up-and-coming stars of the scene.
The first ever evening of music back in 1995 was a gamble – would anyone turn up? We had booked Bert Jansch as our headline act and the support band was The Invisible Men, a band comprising the Klub’s proprietors, Guy Simpson and Paul Alcantara. The evening came and they set up the sound equipment, held their breaths and opened the door – to see a queue of people around the block. The Kalamazoo Klub was off to a fantastic start.
Since then, the Klub has played monthly gigs firstly at The King’s Head in Crouch End and then in our new home, The Great Northern Railway Tavern in Hornsey, as well as extra special nights in the beautiful surroundings and great acoustics of the Union Chapel in Islington.
Martin Simpson
The superstar of the folk-blues world, outstanding guitarist, song-writer and interpreter of the work of others. Go check out Boots of Spanish Leather. Listen and learn.
Bert Jansch
Our very first guest – revered and much-missed. Influential? Yeah, just a tad. They’d come and sit at his feet and you could have heard a pin drop the moment before he started to play.
Wizz Jones
The most under-rated guitarist ever, said Bert Jansch – and Keef and Clapton would probably agree. How many musicians get to play live on Radio 4’s Today show?
John Renbourn
Guitar Gods abounded on the previous Kalamazoo roster. He came to captivate us again with Wizz at the Chapel in 2014. He talked about retirement for many years but finally he passed away while still delighting audiences. There will never be another like him. Rest easy, gentle man.
Chaz Jankel
He rocked our 15th birthday party with an unfamiliar Kalamazoo groove – the joyous jazz-funk that was the sound he brought to Ian Dury’s Blockheads.
Martin Carthy
The Godfather, The Guv’nor – call him what you will. He remains the most-respected, most inspiring figure of folk and everyone from Bob Dylan to Johnny Marr tip their hats to him.
Julie Felix
An enduring treasure if ever there was one! Still a soaring voice of protest after all these years and the first folk singer ever to fill the Royal Albert Hall.
Tim O’Brien
Supreme US bluegrass star, prolific songwriter, brilliant multi-instrumentalist, he came with the prodigious Darrell Scott and no-one who was there will ever forget it.
Bert Jansch and Bernard Butler
An amazing pairing, the Grandfather of Folk and the young pretender. Great evening from Bert and former Suede guitarist and Producer.
Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham
Fiddle, accordion, beautiful Scottish music and ribald jokes to raise the roof. We love hosting Phil and Aly at The Union Chapel where the acoustics complement their music.
Andy Irvine
The singer, songwriter and musician draws from a wealth of music including his early inspiration, Woodie Guthrie. Founder member of Planxty with Christy Moore, Andy is one of the most influential Irish musicians out there. And that’s quite a claim.
The Blockheads
Following the loss of Ian Dury, the Blockheads revived their set for an occasional tour with Andy Serkis stepping into Ian’s shows. Fun and riots all night long (Image Laurie Lewis www.laurielewis.co.uk).
Bonnie Dobson
The Canadian singer-songwriter is best known for her post-apocalyptic ballad, Morning Dew which has been covered by by Tim Rose, the Grateful Dead, Lulu, the Jeff Beck Group, Episode Six (with future members of Deep Purple), Clannad, Dave Edmunds, Nazareth, the Allman Brothers and others. She has also penned albums’ worth of beautifully arranged numbers (Image Laurie Lewis www.laurielewis.co.uk).
Boo Hewerdine
From mid-Eighties group, The Bible, to his best known hit, The Patience of Angels, Boo has written for many artists as well as for himself and is a prolific writer. His latest album Harmonograph, had to be cut down from a list of over 100 songs to make it into the smaller, perfectly formed album it is.
Chris Wood
Chris Wood is an uncompromising writer whose music reveals his love for the un-official history of the English speaking people. With gentle intelligence he weaves the tradition with his own contemporary parables.
A self-taught musician, composer and song writer, Chris Wood is a lifelong autodidact whose independent streak shines through everything he does. Always direct and unafraid to speak his mind, his song writing has been praised for its surgical clarity.
Robin and Bina Williamson
Robin and Bina Williamson work together so well because they create a perfect balance of voices. They draw on a wide variety of original and traditional songs, stories and music from Celtic, English, Indian and Old Timey roots, celebrating the turning year and the mystery of being alive.
Robin is legendary worldwide as musician, storyteller and writer. He has forefronted many genres over his 50 year career. Bina is an inspired and gifted singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist in her own right with a hauntingly sweet, melodious voice. Their performances together feature their East West vocal harmonies with harp, bowed psaltery, dulcimer and diverse other instruments.
Michael Roach
Michael Roach, one of thirteen children born to Ted and Sadie Roach of Washington, D.C., USA, sings and plays guitar in an East Coast style of blues that dates back to the 1920s. After spending several years learning directly from such well-known figures as John Jackson, John Cephas and Jerry Ricks, Roach has developed his own style and is now an exceptional performer. He interacts with his audience and entertains as he plays.
Rob Corcoran
Dublin troubadour Rob is a solid favourite on the London/UK folk and Americana scene, with his songs already being covered by Irish folk legend Christy Moore. His lyrically compelling, beautifully observed songs are drenched in Celtic soul, drawing from the same deep wells as Van Morrison and Mike Scott. The heart-on-sleeve poetry of his North American influences (John Prine, Hank Williams, Leonard Cohen etc) runs through his songs. Rob’s 2017 album Inverse Alchemy has blown away reviewers at AmericanaUK, Fatea, Folding.com and many more. Rob’s live shows always leave his audiences asking for more.
Errol Linton Band
Three times winner of the British Best Harmonica Player of the Year Blues Awards, Errol Linton is a harmonica wizard from Brixton (of Jamaican descent), a singer, a songwriter, a painter and the hero of the London Underground, where he played his unique and highly original blend of blues with hints of reggae for 20 years! Following the release of his critically acclaimed 3rd album, Mama Said in 2011, his songs can now be heard on national and regional BBC radio and Jazz FM. Brixton born and bred, Errol funded the production costs for his latest album from busking for over 15 years and blends Chicago style blues with his Jamaican and London roots. But he’s playing much bigger gigs now and has supported Dr John and Screaming Jay Hawkins.
The Cosimo Matassa Project
Cosimo Matassa made musical magic in his New Orleans recording studio 75 years ago and became one of the most important figures in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, guiding to stardom Fats Domino, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Dr John, Allen Toussaint, Lloyd Price, Big Joe Turner and many more. He created the New Orleans sound – heavy on piano, bass and horns, copied by many and still hugely influential in popular music today.
Now, in a brilliant revival of the glorious music of that time, The Cosimo Matassa Project, the brainchild of Dai Price (leader of those long-time Kalamazoo favourites, Dai and the Ramblers) and piano maestro Alan Dunn, was created. Bass man Dai leads on vocals and has assembled a crack team of session players : Al “Dente” Dunn (he’s worked with Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III and Bob Geldof), tenor sax man Damian Hind (Van Morrison, Jerry Dammers, Allen Toussaint), trumpeter Dave Priseman (Imelda May, Jeff Beck, Jools Holland orchestra) and drummer Jonathan Lee (James Hunter band).
Ewan McLennan
In just ten years, Ewan McLennan has carved a reputation as one of the finest of the new generation of singer-songwriters.
Troubadour, balladeer, storyteller and campaigner for social justice, he is, says Spiral
Earth, the “perfect embodiment of the modern folk song. An outstanding guitarist, a magnificent interpreter of traditional songs and an immensely gifted songwriter.”
There have been awards and acclaim all the way from the release of his first album in 2010 — a BBC Folk Award and the Alistair Hulett prize For political songwriting, an appearance on The Transatlantic Sessions and a brilliant stage and recording collaboration with the renowned environmentalist and author George Monbiot, ‘Breaking The Spell Of Loneliness.’