What is "The Willows Folk Club"?
The Willows Folk Club is a weekly folk club that runs every Wednesday in Arundel, West Sussex. The club has existed since 1972 and has been devoted its entire life to promoting the best in folk & acoustic music, be it local, national, or even international. The club also prides itself on being a friendly, welcoming club, and as such is also a great place to make new friends as well as enjoying the music.
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Where is the Willows located?
The Willows meets every Wednesday night in the function room of Arundel Football Club, Mill Road, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 9PA, at the rear of the large public car park opposite Arundel Castle. For a map and more details, check out our
Where To Find Us page.
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Didn't you used to be at Arundel Cricket Club?
We certainly did – the Willows actually ran in Arundel Cricket Club for no less than 33 years, from October 1972 – December 2005. We moved at the end of 2005, and have been delighted and proud to be associated with Arundel Football Club since that time!
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What type of evenings do you run at the Willows?
Basically the Willows runs two different types of evenings:
Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights, where we basically open up our stage to anyone who fancies to come along, get their name down on the MC's list and play a short set.
Guest nights, where we offer performances by some of the biggest and best professional performers on the folk scene, with them usually playing two sets of 45 minutes each.
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What time does the evening start?
The music kicks off at 8:00pm or very shortly thereafter. For guest nights, we start the evening off with floorsingers and the guest will take to the stage at roughly 8:45pm.
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What time do your doors open to the public?
Our doors open to the public at 7:30pm.
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What is the car parking like at Arundel Football Club?
Very good indeed! The Football Club has its own spacious car park, which they invite visitors to the Willows to use. On really busy nights it may get slightly crowded, but on those occasions we are fortunate in that the big public car park is directly adjacent to the Football Club car park. Parking in the Football Club car park is free at all times, parking in the big public car park is free from 6:00pm onwards.
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Does the Football Club have a bar?
It certainly does, with a very good and varied selection of drinks on offer, not just alcohol but also soft drinks, snacks, and (normally) tea and coffee as well – and all at club prices! The Football Club bar is located immediately adjacent to the function room and is not in the club room itself and therefore the noise of people ordering drinks is outside of the performance area.
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We'd like to come along, but don't know whether we have to join up as members first – do you charge a membership fee?
The Willows does not charge a membership fee of any kind, you just turn up and pay at the door. We always say that you automatically become a member of the Willows Folk Club when you turn up for the first time! We love to welcome new friends, and as we say, you do not have to pay a membership fee to attend any of our evenings.
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Are children allowed at the Willows? Is there a lower age limit?
Although not set in stone, as a guideline we try and keep the lower age limit at the Willows to around 10 years old, ideally a little bit older, for various reasons. If you’re unsure it’s always a good idea to get in touch, we are always pleased to hear from you and answer any questions you may have. However, we would say that if your children are infants or toddlers, if we are honest they would be a bit too young. We would also advise you that, unfortunately, we are unable to offer concessions or free entry to under-18s – see below for more on this.
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I'm travelling a long distance to come and visit the Willows - is there somewhere nearby I can stay?
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Do we need to buy advance tickets to your guest nights?
Ordinarily, the Willows doesn't sell advance tickets, you just turn up and pay at the door. We are very fortunate at Arundel Football Club in that we are allowed to admit 120 people into the function room under their fire regulations, which for the majority of the evenings we run is a more than adequate number to enable us to admit everybody. However, for some of our bigger name guests, when we feel that we may be at risk of selling out, we will sometimes sell advance tickets, with them going on sale usually 2 – 3 months prior to the performance date.
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How do we know who qualifies as a "bigger name guest"?
As a rule of thumb, the big name guests we run will carry an entrance fee of £6.00 or higher. Some of the acts we have sold advance tickets for in the past include Eric Bogle & John Munro, Keith Potger (ex- of The Seekers), Julie Felix, The Tannahill Weavers and The Wrigley Sisters, all of whom were between £6.00 - £10.00. Our flyers and website will make it quite clear if an artist we are presenting will be an advance ticket gig.
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I think I see a big name guest act listed on your website or elsewhere, but there's no mention of advance tickets! Does this mean you aren't selling them?
Normally yes. However, we would say that in the past we have made advance tickets available for a couple of guest nights due to the large number of enquiries we have had regarding the possibility of tickets for that evening. If you see an act listed on our website and want to come along and see them, it's well worth getting in touch – we always love to hear from you, and if we get a large number of enquiries it may well cause us to rethink whether we need to sell advance tickets for them or not!
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If you do make advance tickets available for a guest night, how will we find out?
We will always publish this information on the front page of our website, as well as on our flyers and other Willows promo material. Also, if you have telephoned or e-mailed us asking about advance tickets for an act, if it's someone where we think we may make advance tickets available , we are happy to take a note of your details and contact you, to ensure that you are at the "front of the queue" if we do indeed decide to do advance tickets! (Please note that we never pass on your details to third parties.)
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Do you offer concessions?
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer concessions of any kind. We strive to keep entrance prices as low as we possibly can whilst still offering quality and value for money – like most folk clubs, the Willows operates on a very tight budget. We are also often quoted a minimum door charge or ticket price by an artist or their agent, which contractually we have to adhere to. Taking into account these factors, if we were going to offer concessions, the door price that we charge for everybody would end up being the concession price.
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Why are your guest night entrance charges all £4.00 or higher, when some other folk clubs are cheaper?
This can be down to a number of factors, the two most commonplace being the calibre of the guest and also the frequency at which we run – some folk clubs only book guests once a month or so and are thus able to underwrite these with funds from singers’ nights, and some clubs are even propped up by outside private money such as sponsorship from county councils or other organisations. Additionally, as stated above, a number of our guests actually stipulate a minimum door charge as part of their contract. Whenever possible the Willows likes to run guests once a fortnight, and sadly we have no access to outside sponsorship – however, we work as hard as we can to keep our prices as low as we can, and hope that you share our view that our evenings are both great quality and great value! :)
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Do children get in free?
Unfortunately, for the reasons stated above, we regret that it is not possible for us to offer free entrance or concessions for children or young people, and so the entrance fee or ticket price for each evening does apply to them as well.
Also see above for info regarding age restrictions.
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Do you have numbered seating?
Due to the fact that the seating at the Football Club is not fixed, it isn't possible for us to number the seats, although in many cases we find this can be an advantage, insofar as that anyone who comes to the club is welcome to choose from the seats that are available at the time, which can be a good position to be in! However, if we sell advance tickets, the advance ticket will guarantee that there will be enough seats in the room for everyone who has a ticket.
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I'm a performer looking to show you what I can do - do you have support spots at the Willows' guest nights?
Unfortunately we don't have support slots (i.e., either paid or unpaid extended spots) at Willows' guest nights, as we prefer instead to showcase both regular and visiting performers by having floorspots at guest nights - see below for more on how this works.
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Who are "floorsingers" and what are "floorspots"?
Floorsingers are singers and musicians, usually non-professional (i.e., they don't do it for a living), who will come along to a folk club and play a song or short set, a.k.a. a "floorspot". The name comes because these singers and musicians are not normally invited professional guest acts but are ordinary members of the public who will come up to the stage to perform from within the audience, a.k.a. from the floor! The principle and tradition of the floorsinger is a longstanding fixture in folk clubs all over the UK, and something that the Willows is proud to support and associate itself with. PLEASE NOTE: Being a professional does not exclude you from coming to the club to do a floorspot, we are always pleased to welcome any performer who would like to do a floorspot.
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Do you have floorsingers and floorspots at the Willows?
Absolutely! The Willows is extremely proud of its status as a "floorsinger friendly" folk club, and we consider the club’s fortnightly Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights to be the real lifeblood of the club. Even at guest nights we have a limited number of floorspots available, whereby we will fit on as many floorsingers as time will allow – about which more below.
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I'd like to come and play a floorspot at the Willows – how do I go about doing that?
Different folk clubs tend to approach this in different ways. At the Willows all you need to do to get a floorspot is turn up at the club one evening and ask if it would be OK to do a spot – as simple as that! We would say that at our Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights the entire evening is devoted to nothing but floorsingers and it is very unusual for us not to be able to accommodate everybody wishing to sing or play with a spot of some description. However, we do also have a limited number of floorspots available at guest nights, and again there is more about this below.
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How long is a floorspot at the Willows?
This varies from evening to evening, dependant on the number of floorsingers who turn up wanting to do something. On average, a floorspot will be 2 - 3 songs, usually played back-to-back.
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Do you have floorspots at guest nights?
Yes, we do! However, unlike at our Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights where the entire evening is devoted to floorspots, at guest nights we are only able to offer a limited amount of floorspots due to time constraints, as our guest for the evening will usually be playing for a minimum of 90 minutes. Generally speaking, at guest nights we are able to offer about 60 – 70 minutes worth of floorspots.
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How are floorspots at the Willows issued? Do I have to pre-book?
No, you don't have to pre-book – in fact, the Willows does not actually operate a pre-booking policy for floorspots (more on this below). Floorspots at the Willows are issued on a "first come, first served" policy, which is to say the first x-number through the door get their names down on the MC's list for the evening. As a rule, we say that if you're able to get to the club for when our doors open at 7:30pm, it would be very unusual if we weren't able to get you a floorspot of some description. However, this categorically does not mean that if you are unable to get to the club until a bit later that you will not get a floorspot – at the Willows we pride ourselves on our ability to fit on as many floorsingers as possible, and at a Come All Ye – Open Stage Night it is almost unheard of for a floorsinger who arrives at a reasonable time to not get a floorspot.
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I want to come and play at a Come All Ye – Open Stage Night. Can I pre-book my floorspot?
We do not pre-book floorspots at any of our evenings, including the Come All Ye's. However, if you are travelling a long distance to come and play a set for us at one of our Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights, it's worth giving us a ring or dropping us an e-mail – if we know you're coming, we will endeavour to juggle our timings to fit you in! All we ask is that you try and arrive at the club for the earliest time that you are able – if you can't get to the club until, say, 9:15pm, you may well still get a floorspot (and we will always try and fit you on!) but this cannot be guaranteed.
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I want to come and play at one of your guest nights. Can I pre-book my floorspot?
Unfortunately, no. At guest nights we believe that the fairest thing is to have one rule for everybody, and to that extent we work on the principle of "first come, first served" – i.e., the first x-number of floorsingers through the door gets their name down on the MC's list. As a guideline we always say that if you're able to make it to the club for 7:30pm when our doors open it would be very unusual for you not to get a floorspot of some description. If for any reason you are unable to get to the club until a little bit later, to be honest this is not normally a problem and we are generally able to accommodate every floorsinger who turns up to a guest night wanting to play (even if we put the last couple through the door on for 1 number each). However, the sooner after 7:30pm you are able to make it to the club, the better your chances of getting your name down for a spot!
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Why don't you pre-book floorspots, particularly at guest nights?
To be completely honest, there is no one policy on floorspots at guest nights that will suit everybody, simply because the MC is working with a very limited amount of time. The reason why we decided to adopt the "first come, first served" policy is because in our experience it tends to create a natural balance between the Willows' "regulars" and those who are visiting the club. At our Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights, to be honest it is very rarely an issue, but at guest nights we find this is the fairest workable system.
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Are floorspots at the Willows acoustic, or do you have PA?
Floorspots at the Willows are all acoustic, for a number of reasons. We have very good acoustics in the clubroom, and also feel that keeping it acoustic means that performing at the Willows is not an intimidating experience for new performers or those who may not have a lot of experience working with PA equipment.
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Is it OK if I bring my PA system along with me to play a floorspot at the Willows?
Unfortunately, no. For a number of reasons, including the issue of safety, we only have PA equipment at certain guest nights, but like to keep our Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights all acoustic.
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I'm a new performer who’s never played in public before! Is it still OK for me to come and play a floorspot?
Absolutely! The Willows boasts a very friendly, welcoming and encouraging audience, and we are proud to say that several people who now play regularly, both as floorsingers and even in other junctures, made their debut performances at the Willows! Something that we passionately believe is that, in the development of a singer and/or musician, there is no substitute for performing your music "live" in front of an audience, and that this is one of the greatest things a folk club has to offer to an aspiring performer.
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What sort of material is acceptable to play at your club?
In short – almost anything! Although the basis of our club is folk music, something that we passionately believe is that folk music is full of great variety and as such we believe in promoting folk music in its broadest sense. At a Willows Come All Ye – Open Stage Night you will hear everything from English and Irish traditional music through to contemporary folk, singer-songwriter material (such as Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Ralph McTell, James Taylor, or other, sometimes more contemporary, writers, including some very fine local songwriters), self-penned material, acoustic blues, bluegrass, even country music, “hot club”-style jazz, “old favourites”, 1960s pop, and more! Chances are if it’s acoustic and relatively easy on the ear it will be fine to play at the Willows! If you're not sure you’d be welcome to
get in touch about it.
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Do floorsingers still have to pay an entrance fee?
Unfortunately, yes. Due to financial restrictions, we are unable to offer free entrances or concessions, and this includes floorsingers – so, if you are a floorsinger coming along in the hope of playing a spot at the Willows, you are subject to the same entrance fee as everybody else.
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I'm travelling a long way to come and play / We are a band coming to play – can we have a longer floorspot?
Possibly, but, if we're honest, this can't be guaranteed. When coming to play a floorspot at one of our guest nights, generally speaking this will be a 2-song spot irrespective of who each act is and how many members they have, simply because there is no time to do anything else in a way that is fair to everyone. At Come All Ye – Open Stage Nights, again all acts will generally be treated the same with no discrimination between solo acts and bands, regulars and non-regulars, etc. On paper, all acts who turn up will each be playing a 2- or 3-song spot, regardless of any outside factor - however, if there is time to fill at the end of a Come All Ye – Open Stage Night, at the MC's discretion, a couple of acts may be picked to play an extra song each, and in that circumstance that is quite likely to be influenced by such factors as the distance they have travelled, how many members their line-up comprises, etc. However, again that is time permitting and at the discretion of the MC, so please don't be offended if it doesn't happen!
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Does the Willows run Singarounds?
Singarounds (where a folk club's members will sit around in a circle and take turns singing a song to each other, moving along the line in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction) have been and continue to be great for building a sense of community within folk clubs, and also as a vehicle for potentially nervous new floorsingers. However, with a number of fine and established singaround clubs in this area already, the Willows has a long tradition of complimenting this by running Open Stage Nights that allow aspiring singers & musicians to experience standing up in front of an audience and performing, whilst still maintaining a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
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Do you book guests for your club?
Yes, we do! The Willows is proud of the exciting and varied programme of music that we are able to offer, running approximately 25 guests a year, every year!
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Do you book new, up-and-coming, and/or lesser-known acts at the Willows, or only established names?
Whenever possible, we like to try and book a varied programme with a mixture of old favourites and new artists, and also encompassing a variety of styles. So yes, we are always happy to hear from new, up-and-coming or lesser known artists looking to play the Willows, and in fact a number of acts who have gone on to become quite famous on the national folk & acoustic scene played one of their first Sussex gigs at the Willows!
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What do we need to do to get a booking at the Willows?
The first thing we need to do is to hear a sample of your music, which can be achieved in a number of ways – you can e-mail us with a link to your website or MySpace page (provided, of course, that these contain music tracks or clips we can listen to). If you don’t as yet have a website or MySpace page, you can send us a demo CD, (please
e-mail us for further details) or indeed you'd be welcome to come and play us a floorspot (
see above for information about floorspots at the Willows). This will then give us an indication as to whether or not your music is suitable for our club and our type of audience.
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Why did you turn me down for a possible booking at the Willows?
We will always give a fair listen to any potential guest contacting us for a booking at the Willows; however, sadly it's not possible for us to book them all. The reason we may have turned you down could be due to a number of factors, including price or logistical feasibility - we would also say that the Willows is a very specific club with a very particular type of audience, so whilst we do book a good number of varied acts, please don't be offended if we turn you down, as it is in no way intended as a slight on the quality of your music, it just may not match the style that we're looking for, or there may be some other outside factor – in other words, don't be discouraged (in our time, we've even turned down artists who've won or been nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards!!). :)
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You turned me down for a booking at the Willows, yet I've seen you run other acts that I think play very similar music to mine! Why is this?
Again, why we decided that they were suitable could be down to a number of factors – we are very specific in what we book and there may be some small difference (such as the number of songs they play in a major or minor key compared with the number that you play, just as one example), or some other factor may come into play such as a local fan following or some other local connection, or indeed we may already be running something very similar in close proximity to the date you were looking for. Again, please don't be offended or disheartened by this, as it's not intended as a criticism of your music. :)
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I'm a guest artist booked to play at your club, and would like to bring my PA system – is this OK?
Yes – we don't have a problem with any of our booked guest artists using their own PA. We would say that many of our guests do play the venue acoustically, which seems to work well. However, we do understand that some bands need to use PA for a balance of sound and also that some artists need to use PA for other reasons, such as when they are undertaking a long string of dates and need to ensure that they don't overtire their voices.
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