What's on

Saturday 26 September 2009
Martyn Wyndham-Read

Saturday 31 October 2009
Vin Garbutt

Saturday 28 November 2009
Jez Lowe

Saturday 2 January 2010
Christmas party
Guest TBC

Saturday 6 February 2010
Bella Hardy

Saturday 6 March 2010
Martin Carthy & Norma Waterson
Steve Turner
Venue TBC

Saturday 10 April 2010
John Kirkpatrick

Saturday 22 May 2010
Rory McCleod

Saturday 26 June 2010
Colum Sands

Venue details: Unison Club

UNISON CLUB

Finding us. We've got some links for you. We're in the cellar (and down the stairs) of a red brick victorian house surrounded by trees in the BIG car park in front of Lincoln City Council offices. So usually you can park relatively easily although we are ashamed to say that you have to pay after 6.00 pm AND on Sundays. The car park entrance is from Beaumont Fee Road just before (or after) and roughly opposite the Police station behind a row of victorian houses.

There is no big sign saying UNISON CLUB, as you might expect, so we are putting out our banner, which is bright green and a steward to help direct you.

Access. Because of 'and down the stairs' access isn't as easy as we would like, BUT there are actually two sets of stairs. The second set, which form the fire escape, are much shallower steps. If you need to use this entrance, please let us know.

Comfort. The cellar has its own pleasant and separate bar. The beer is good and reasonably priced. Seating in the concert room is on padded bench seating around the room or on bar stools. There are also chairs. Again if you would like us to reserve chairs or bench seating we will be pleased to do so.

Performing. John Renbourne says that playing for us is like the old days! The acoustics are fantastic because of course the concert room is a cellar. Damian has provided us with proper stage lighting now, as well as his usual excellent sound, and the ambiance, which truth to tell did lack a little subtlety, has been improved with fairy lights so that we can turn off the stark overhead strip lighting.

We have a small stage, which the artist uses if he wishes. The artist is very close to his audience and this makes for an intimate experience, which peformers like. All our performers are contracted to play for an hour and a half. This allows him, and you, to really 'get into' the music and we feel is a different experience from say a festival performance of perhaps twenty minutes or half an hour. We really have had some fantastic evenings!

Venue details: Other venues

WESTGATE JUNIOR SCHOOL HALL

Obviously in Westgate which is a road leading out of Bailgate. Bailgate is the road leading of Castle Square which is inbetween the Cathedral and the Castle.

The School fronts onto the road. It probably takes five minutes to walk from Castle Square to the school, so thats how close it is.

Lovely, lovely hall with city car parks over the road. Good stage and the hall can comfortably hold 150 people. We have proper chairs which we borrow from the Methodist church in Bailgate (so thank you them).

WE do our own bar, with real ale, and our own cafe with home-made cakes and light snacks. Doors will open about 6.30 pm, so come along and eat and buy books from our book stall.

VICTORIA PUB

Is just around the corner (5 seconds) from Westgate Junior school and at the top of Union road. It is a famous CAMRA pub.

About us

We are
Damian Woodings - Sound and lighting, publicity and guidance!
Andy Watkins - Booking, Finance and top man
Marianne Watkins - Cakes and publicity
Dick Morris - Steward and mover
Jane Morris - Steward and patient seller of books (We have a book stall at our big concert)

From time to time various other people come and help us. For example Colin Holland of Lincoln Folk Club, is running our bar at our big concert this year.

Mission Statement
We are a concert club. Our delight is to bring folk and blues artist of the highest national and international reputation to Lincoln. Sometimes we put on artists that you want and we don't really! but generally we put on artists we think are fantastic and we thoroughly enjoy the whole thing!

Any profit we ever make is rapidly swallowed by publicity or the gigs which don't 'go' very well. So we are very much a non profit making organisation who do this because we are slightly mad and love folk and blues music. Sometimes we get funding from the City, but that seems to have dried up now. The county Council are hopefully providing some funding for the Big Concert.

Support Artists. These are all semi-pro and of the highest standard.


What do you want?

Please let us know if you have any wishes regarding artists. We would love to do bands, but we can only manage that once a year in our big concert.

Venues are a thorny problem. The perfect one hasn't yet been invented but we keep on trying. We won't pretend the UNISON club is perfect, BUT it has got lots of pluses and we really like the way that you can get close to the artist and Liz the manager is really helpful and keeps it clean.