‘Quite possibly the world’s most beautiful female voice’, in Havant? YES PLEASE.
🎶 Cara Dillon 🎵
🗓️ Friday 16th April
📍 The Pallant Centre, Havant, PO9 1BE
🕗 Doors open 7.30 for an 8pm show, limited unreserved seating
🍷 Licensed bar serving Langham Brewery 🍻
Few voices linger in the soul like Cara Dillon’s. A towering figure in Irish music, she has earned global acclaim and major awards including four BBC Folk Awards and the Meteor Award for Best Irish Female. For nearly 30 years, her voice—deceptively delicate yet emotionally powerful—has bridged tradition and innovation.
Alongside husband and collaborator Sam Lakeman, Dillon has created a timeless, distinctive sound. Their intimate live shows feature now-classic renditions of ‘Black Is the Colour’ and ‘The Parting Glass’, among many others.
From Óige and De Dannan to Disney soundtracks, chart-topping remixes, and Derry Girls, Dillon continues to defy genre boundaries. As Mojo once wrote, she possesses “quite possibly the world’s most beautiful female voice”—a legacy she continues to affirm—with a voice that lingers long after the last note fades.
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WemsFest is an entirely volunteer-run community interest company.
All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested into our local community, delivering musical workshops in local schools each October in celebration of Black History Month
If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance at adwemsfest@gmail.com or 07802 500 050 and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.
TARRAN
TARRAN are an exhilarating contemporary folk group from Glasgow, with roots in both Ireland and New Zealand. We saw them perform at Celtic Connections and we are so excited to be bringing them to WemsFest!
TARRAN Saturday 13th June The Old Malthouse AKA Chidham Village Hall, PO18 8TP Doors open 7.30 for an 8pm show, unreserved seating Licensed bar serving Langham Brewery
TARRAN are: Sophie Joint (keys), Breanna Wilson (fiddle), Malachy Arnold (harp) and Rory Stark (whistle/bodhran). Using elements of funk, blues and contemporary rhythm, the band create a lively and innovative twist on traditional music. Award-winners and title holders, they’re very much on a rapid rise to the top !
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As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, & soft drinks
All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested into our local community, delivering musical workshops in local schools each October in celebration of Black History Month
This year our charity bucket on the bar is supporting relationships & sex education in local schools, delivered by Options Chichester – please do help us support this important work
If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance at adwemsfest@gmail.com or 07802 500 050 and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.
The Mark Hummel Trio – with Bob Hall & Dave Peabody (SOLD OUT)
Mark Hummel is one of the premier blues harmonica players of his generation. He is a multi-award winning performer and recording artist, as well as a nominated author.
In the company of 2 great stalwarts of the British blues scene:
Bob Hall on piano – he cut his teeth with Alexis Korner, Peter Green, Charlie Watts, and, of course Savoy Brown.
Dave Peabody on guitar – awarded UK Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year on 3 occasions and highly respected for his work with Honey Boy Edwards, and Charlie Musselwhite.
In short – a fabulous evening of blues in a very atmospheric venue.
The Mark Hummel Trio will play The Havana, Chichester, PO19 1PH for an evening show at 8pm on Thursday 26th March.
Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm show.
Unreserved seating
The Havana’s licensed bar, cosy seating, and brilliant sound system make for a very enjoyable musical experience!
All profits from ticket sales are reinvested into our local community
If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance at adwemsfest@gmail.com or 07802 500 050 and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable. Please note however that unfortunately this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Le Vent du Nord
Le Vent du Nord are firm friends of WemsFest, and their local audience continues to grow despite the likelihood that many listeners won’t understand a word that’s being sung – it doesn’t matter! If you’ve seen them before, you know. If you haven’t, take a chance on something different – you will not regret it!
The multi-award-winning and highly acclaimed Le Vent du Nord is a leading force in Québec’s progressive francophone folk movement. The group’s vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions, while enhancing its hard-driving soulful music with a broad range of global influences.
Since its inception in August 2002, Le Vent du Nord has enjoyed meteoric success, performing well over 2,500 concerts over 4 continents and racking up several prestigious awards, including a SONGLINES MUSIC AWARD -Americas (UK, 2023) Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros (France), two Junos (Canada’s Grammys), three FÉLIX at ADISQ (Québec), a Canadian Folk Music Award, and been awarded Artist of the Year at the Folk Alliance annual gala.
The group exhibits great finesse and flexibility, appearing regularly on Canadian, American, French, and UK television and radio, and participating in a wide variety of special musical projects. They’ve collaborated and performed with a diverse range of artists including: Väsen, Sharon Shannon, Harry Manx, singer Julie Fowlis, Dervish, The Chieftains, Yann-Fañch Kemener, Québécois roots legend and master storyteller Michel Faubert, Apiary fiddle band, Breabach and many more. Not content with standard approaches to tradition, Le Vent du Nord has also created since 2007 a symphonic concert that, according to Voir Montreal, “puts all traditional folk naysayers to shame.”
As an amazing live performance quintet, Le Vent du Nord continues to explore new sounds with stunning vocal arrangements. On stage these 5 friends create intense, joyful and dynamic live performances that expand the bounds of tradition in striking directions.
THE BAND Nicolas Boulerice – vocals, electro acoustic hurdy-gurdy, piano André Brunet – fiddle, foot-tapping, vocals Réjean Brunet – basses, diatonic accordion, jaw harp, piano, vocals Olivier Demers – fiddle, guitar, foot-tapping, mandolin, vocals André Gagné – vocals, bouzouki, guitar
On stage these 5 musicians create intense, joyful and dynamic live performances that expand the bounds of tradition in striking global directions. This is the modern sound of tradition, a music of the here and now.
Unreserved seating
Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm show
Licensed Bar helps support WemsFest – As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery 🍻 as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks. All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.
JUNO Award-winners, The East Pointers, are redefining the ever-evolving genre – modern folk – with dancefloor-shaking, ceiling-rattling, electro-trad breakdowns, and a glorious combination of folk, pop, and dance music. Already internationally acknowledged as musical trailblazers, their latest EPs House Of Dreams and Safe In Sound capture the furious energy of their live shows and push the boundaries of East Coast folk while lighting a path for a new generation of music lovers.
Fans of The East Pointers have Koady Chaisson to thank for being the kinetic force behind the JUNO-Award winning indie-folk trio since the group formed in 2014. The dancefloor-shaking, electro-trad glorious combination of folk/pop has brought so much joy to audiences around the world. And now, even posthumously, Koady’s energetic fire continues to blaze the musical trail onward.
It was on January 6, 2022 that Koady Chaisson of The East Pointers passed away from an unexpected heart aneurysm at 37. Those who were lucky to have been influenced by his creative and generous soul felt like a black hole had suddenly formed where the supernova of Koady’s light had been.
But before his passing, Koady, Tim Chaisson, and Jake Charron, had recorded most of the tracks for two new EPs. Unlike any of the The East Pointers’ material to date, these precious songs are shiny and melodic, nostalgia-flared, folk experimental pop but with the same driving trad hooks for which the band has become known and revered.
The first EP, House of Dreams, was released in September 2022 and was nominated for a JUNO Award in 2023. The second EP, Safe In Sound, was released in November 2023.
The East Pointers have toured extensively in the UK, USA, Japan, and Australia, in addition to their native Canada, and have become firm festival favourites around the globe. Their debut album Secret Victory won the 2017 JUNO Award for ‘Traditional Album of the Year’, their 2017 album What We Leave Behind and their 2022 EP House Of Dreams were nominated for JUNO Awards, and they have developed loyal fanbases in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, Europe, Mexico, the USA, and Canada.
Our WemsFest audience were lucky to experience one of the last concerts The East Pointers played as a trio, in November 2021. We are delighted to welcome Tim and Jake back to our stage for the last date of The East Pointers’ UK Spring 2025 tour.
For this show only, The East Pointers will have support from special guests Saije!
Saije is an award-winning, indie-folk duo whose soulful harmonies, dynamic guitar-lines and percussive breakdowns breathe life into heartfelt stories. Their songwriting is crafted from the depths; stirring melodies bound together with graceful lyricism, and through multitasking techniques, the pair create a full-bodied sound enriched by flavours from their travels around the globe.
After being awarded Folk Alliance Australia’s ‘Young Artist of the Year 2019-2021’, Saije has toured extensively in Australia, throughout Canada in 2020 and most recently two 50-plus-date Europe and UK tours in 2023 and 2024, playing a plethora of sold-out performances and festival appearances, including at Woodford Folk Festival (AUS), Galway Folk Festival (IRE), Surfana Festival (NL), Magpies Nest (UK) and a Folk Alliance International Official Showcase (US). Saije have supported some of Australia’s most renowned singer songwriters such as Ziggy Alberts, Kim Churchill and Steph Strings. They continue to uplift both national and international audiences through their unifying performances and a warmth that fills small halls and overflows from large festival stages.
Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm show.
Licensed Bar helps support WemsFest – As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks. All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.
If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.
The Barleycorn Tavern, which is a stone’s throw from the Village Hall, are very kindly offering ticket holders 2 for 1 meals before the concert. You’ll need to call them and book at least 3 days before the event, and will need to show either your ticket or your WeGotTickets.com email.
FARA
In celebration of their 10th anniversary, Orkney-born folk quartet FARAembark on a whistlestop tour around the UK in 2025, returning to some of their favourite venues and towns from a decade of touring. Presenting an evening of highlights from their three critically acclaimed albums, FARA’s fiery fiddles, foot-stomping piano, and enchanting three-part vocal harmony will take you on a joyful journey through their time performing at the forefront of Scotland’s folk music scene.
FARA have played at WemsFest several times previously and are a firm favourite with our audience! We are delighted to be welcoming them back to The Old Malthouse for a special 10th anniversary show.
“The album (Energy Islands) beguiles right from the pizzicato strings and dancing piano that herald the first track.” – The Scotsman
Comprising Kristan Harvey, Jeana Leslie, & Catriona Price – each on fiddle and vocals – and accompanied by Rory Matheson on piano, FARA have racked up a number of nominations and awards, including:
Scots Trad Music Awards Best Live Act Nominees 2022 & 2019
Belhaven Bursary Nominees 2019
BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award Nominees 2017
German Critics’ Choice Award Winners 2019
“Torch-bearers of a freshly reinvigorated tradition. . . one of the most exciting Scottishfolk discoveries in recent years” – AllMusic
“Gifted, imaginative, complex and engaging. . . a sound that just exudes joy” – FRUK
“Bring contemporary fiddle music to new heights. . . enthralling vocal arrangements” – Scotsman
“From delicate, elegant and beautiful to full and rich and fiery. . . spellbinding” – Fatea
Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm show.
Licensed Bar helps support WemsFest – As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks. All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.
If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.
The Barleycorn Tavern, which is a stone’s throw from the Village Hall, are very kindly offering ticket holders 2 for 1 meals before the concert. You’ll need to call them and book at least 3 days before the event, and will need to show either your ticket or your WeGotTickets.com email.
as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks. All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.