Pete Nutkins grew up in West London during the 2nd Folk Revival in the 1960’s and been involved in Folk Music ever since, playing as regular floor singer at local folk clubs and helping to run a folk club at his local community centre.
He moved to South London in the 70’s and then to Watford in the 80’s, reconnecting with the folk community there.
Well respected within the folk community, he has played many Folk Clubs and Festivals, and his repertoire draws from Traditional and Contemporary folk song, including material from Great Britain and North America. He is both honoured and humbled to have been referred to as a “Custodian of the Tradition” by the organisers of The Invisible Folk Club.
Recommended donation – £10
Sandra Lawes of Unicorn magazine reviewing his 5 track EP “Miscellany” said “This CD has a down-to-earth, intimate feel, almost as though he is performing live directly to the listener. It was recorded, mixed and mastered at Carpenders Park Studios near Watford by Stephen Lenman.
On four of the songs, two traditional and two contemporary, Pete accompanies himself with gentle guitar playing. The other song, the heart-rending ‘Home Lads, Home’, based on a poem by Cicely Fox-Smith, is very hard to sing (in every sense) and you can hear the raw emotion in Pete’s voice as he performs it acapella.
This is a collection of songs that tear at your heart strings, reflecting the darker side of life – loss, struggle, war, industrial disputes are some of the poignant themes.
All the songs are about the trials and tribulations of real people at various times in history – a farmer in Australia struggling to make a living from the dry barren soil, experiencing tragedy and loss, horses sharing the suffering and giving their lives alongside the men in the First World War, blackleg miners working during a strike – these songs give us plenty to think about – just as all good folk music should. “
Actively contributing to the local folk scene, Pete is a co-founder and Treasurer of the current Watford Folk Club and also takes part in Morris and Step Clog dance.
