I played support for Dave Swarbrick & Kevin Dempsey at Cambridge Folk Club in 2012. I hadn't seen Swarbs for the best part of 40 years (the Why is a complete 'nother story) and when he turned up in a wheelchair I was shocked because he looked so small. I knew he'd been ill for a very long time and on death's door at least once but when he started fiddling he seemed to fill the stage never mind the wheelchair. I started the evening with a short set that finished with a Lancashire-Maori version of Pokarekare…Read more

A selection of organizer's comments .... 

New Zealand

"A fantastic weekend with Phil Drane in concert on Sunday, up to his usual high standard and all those attending had a lovely time with Phil's entertaining programme of English folk heritage music." ..... Steve Tolley, Bent Horseshoe Cafe. Tokomaru, New Zealand

“Your gig was brilliant Phil!! Beautiful songs, well sung and lovely guitar accompaniment. I was engrossed from start to finish and your spot flew by all too quickly. It was obvious that the audience…Read more

Must make mention of The Bent Horseshoe Cafe in Tokomaru near Palmerston North, NZ where I performed last night and and the owners Steve and Robyn Tolley. Not only is it located in the most beautiful place (on a bend in the river known as Horseshoe Bend, hence the name) - this little gem of a venue has wonderful charm and atmpsphere. Steve and Robyn are true champions of 'live' music and their programme over the next few weeks is as eclectic and hectic as you're likely to find at much larger venues - the…Read more

Arrived at The Queen's Hotel, Girvan after our SATNAV sent us on the most wobbly circuit imaginable. For some inexplicable reason a 3.5hr journey turned into a 6 hour epic, with only the lovely Ayrshire countryside to admire. On reflection, the A75 is a road to be avoided. We phoned Maggie Millar the organiser as instructed and she came down to the pub to say hello and show us the clubroom which is a really great dining room at the back of the hotel. Even for a soloist like me, acoustic performance is…Read more

I'm pleased to say my new album "The Englisc Lament"  is now available. It's a compilation of traditional and contemporary folk-roots songs that celebrate ethnic English folk-heritage and features a title track that highlights a topic that is taboo in New Britain - the plight of the native, ethnic English people.  The Englisc Lament may not find approval with Anglophobes and the politically-correct brigade but, as always used to be the case in English folk clubs back in the 60s and 70s, that's what real…Read more