50th year celebrations for a Boston based music club

One of the earliest pictures of the club's history taken at Blackfriars in 1966. EMN-160912-111302001

The club first began in April 1966 at the height of the ‘60s folk revival.

Patrick O’Shaughnessy and Bryan Hunt led a 10-week programme on British traditional music.

The course held at Pilgrim College saw 100 people come out to see students perform music and songs they had learnt at Boston Society Folk Club’s opening night at Blackfriars Arts Centre.

Audiences began to dwindle in 1966, but a fresh approach, with musicians and singers performing British and contemporary songs, gave a fresh lease of life to the club.

Artists including Mike Harding, Dick Gaughan and Martin Carthy have graced the club stage over the years.

Local singers have also seen success, with one of these being Dave Wilson, who, with the duo Winter Wilson, has gone on to tour the UK and Europe.

Greg Swain, from the club, said: “Dave credits Boston Folk Club for having an influence on his early work.”

A Christmas party held earlier this month was the perfect way to pay tribute to the club, with crowds enjoying a night of performances from talented musicians.

Mr Swain said: “Many folk clubs claim to be the oldest in the country, and there may be some which have been running longer than Boston, but there cannot be more than a handful which have been continually running for the last 50 years.

“Boston Folk Club duly reached this remarkable milestone in 2016.”