A brand new series of evenings celebrating the great Mersey tradition of folk and blues music linking with poetry, storytelling and humour is to be revived in the glorious setting of Liverpool’s St George’s Hall.

The first two evenings for the Songs & Words of Folk series have been confirmed for Thursday 19 February and Thursday 19 March and will be held in the Heritage Centre and Catacomb Galleries areas of the hall.

Both evenings will play host to a special guest of stage and screen John Gorman, famed for his years with Liverpool comedy, poetry and music trio The Scaffold, and musician Lucy Mayhew, whose lovely voice and fine guitar playing are quickly gaining a high reputation in her native Wirral.

The two will join author and storyteller, David Charters, whose Bard of Birkenhead column appears every Friday in the Wirral edition of the Liverpool Echo and who, for 25 years wrote a weekly column for the old Liverpool Daily Post.

The evenings will present a wide repertoire of traditional and contemporary songs, plus brand new and original compositions, as well as captivating poetry and short stories.

The series will also feature open-mic sessions giving a platform for all aspiring singers, musicians, poets and raconteurs; offering the city’s newest and freshest talent the opportunity to perform in a wonderful and prestigious venue.

David Charters said:

“We decided to call our shows Songs & Word of Folk because music, poetry, stories and, of course, jokes, can mix together in a celebration of our people of all ages, classes and faiths.”

David recently staged A Dream Of Wilfred Owen, a play about the extraordinary life of Great War poet Wilfred Owen which featured performances from both John and Lucy and returns to the Concert Room at St Georges Hall in March.

Alan Smith, General Manager at St George’s Hall, said:

“The hall is delighted to be able to offer the intimate evenings of folk music and poetry in the Catacomb Galleries of St George’s Hall. It is a genuine delight to be able to animate these unique spaces of the hall with such traditional music and poetry delivered alongside brand new, modern and contemporary renditions and new works.”

Songs & Words of Folk will rekindle the heady nights at the old Everyman Theatre and other venues, still fondly remembered from the 1960s. Tickets for the first two shows in the series are on sale now priced at just £7.50, with further shows to be announced in due course.