TwickFolk and Revolution Records + USA Trip

 

Two LONDON shows coming up on the 1st and 9th of October! For a little note about my recent trip to the USA, scroll to the bottom of this letter.  Back in 2017 at TwickFolk when I first met the wonderful Biscuits n' Gravy who will be supporting me again on October 9th.

Saturday, October 1, 2022 Revolution Records, Penge Doors 7:00 pm, Concert 7:30pm Tickets £14 1 Central Parade, SE20 7TN (next to Sainsbury’s) The record shop has released FIVE additional tickets for my Saturday, October 1, show! So, we'll be a total of 35 folks! Right now we are 30. So, if you'd like to come, stop by the record shop OR email me to arrange payment to reserve your seat. You can buy tickets through me via Paypal or BACS. Just send me an email at jeniannhankins@gmail.com. The folks at Revolution Records are just plain GREAT! I went in there just after they opened early in 2022 and somehow I ended up flatfoot dancing in the store . . . you know me . . . and then I found a record on which banjo-maker Dave Stacey played back in the 1980s. I got to telling them how I have a Dave Stacey banjo which I bought in an auction up in Lancashire. Then, we started talking about instruments and I mentioned that I played the sewing machine. Well, that was it! We decided there ought be a concert at the record shop! As I said, there are five tickets and the concert is just over a week away, so get touch with me if you’d like to come or stop in at the record shop and say hello to Conrad and Ken. There is no way to buy tickets online, just in person in the shop or from me (PayPal or BACS).   October 9, 2022 Jeni Hankins at TWICKFOLK with very special guests Biscuits n' Gravy Doors 7.45 Performance 8:00. Cabbage Patch Pub 67 London Road Twickenham TW1 3SZ ENGLAND Tickets: £11 on Door/£9 +.90 pence fee online I am RIDICULOUSLY excited about this concert! Biscuits n’ Gravy shared the evening with me when I last played TWICKFOLK back in 2017 and our music went together like a dream, like we really were back home at Mawmaw’s sitting in the old cabin and playing the music that grew up in the mountains! NOT TO BE MISSED. A special note about concerts in these uncertain times! PLEASE consider buying your tickets in ADVANCE for concerts (if this option is offered). One of the greatest anxieties for performers and venues alike is NOT are we going to have a great time, BUT will anyone come? And it's really disheartening not to know until the LAST minute when people start walking through the door. I can't tell the number of times that my duo or I and the venue were on pins and needles when we'd only sold five tickets in advance and then ended up with a full house. It was GREAT to have a full house, BUT we went through a lot of distracting heartache before the show. ONE of the BEST things you can do to support LIVE music and the ARTS is to BUY YOUR TICKET IN ADVANCE! HUGE THANKS! This makes a BIG impact!

I went to the USA for nine weeks this summer and I wish I could write to you all about it, but I'm saving all of my energy for rehearsing right now. It was a crazy trip which began with me getting COVID on the airplane and lying in bed for two weeks. I missed seeing family and making trips which I'd waited three years to make. And then I had to rush quite a lot to get everything done which remained on my itinerary. I discovered partway through my visit that COVID wasn't finished with me yet and I ended up virus-negative, but extremely tired and with a digestive illness. So, I have decided not to plan any further concerts for this year. I am excited to present many of my new lockdown songs and lots of old favorites at these two London shows. BUT I can tell that I need to get on top of this fatigue and the other COVID-associated illnesses. So, thank you for understanding as I take some time to get my health back.  One of the bright spots in my trip to the USA was spending time at Mawmaw's up on Smith Ridge and learning lots of new stories which I'm looking forward to making into songs later in the autumn. Above is a photo from one of the mornings when Mawmaw and I woke up in the clouds. My friend Robin Brooks, who saw this photo on Facebook, said that Smith Ridge looked to be one of those "thin places between Heaven and Earth." And that's mighty true. I'll look forward to telling you more stories from home and sending you new songs later this year.  I hope you are keeping well and looking after yourselves.  Your friend, Jeni   P.S. I’m very happy to have my work “Peg People Dream of Tea” in the Warming The Pot Exhibition at Gallery 6 Scarborough. Thanks very much to Angela Knipe for inviting me to submit work.  I made my work from recycled guitar strings, cardboard, wrapping paper, sheep’s fleece, and tea bags. I hand stitched the teabags together with vintage cotton and silk thread to make a blanket for the dear sleeping vintage clothes pegs. My piece is for sale and you can contact the gallery for more information! The exhibition runs until September 30th. You can read about the exhibition here!