Dales Music and Dance Collective

Event information

Nigel Broadbent and Jim Jarratt will set the scene with songs, tales and tunes from Upper Wharfdale that will cover well over 50 years of music and dancing. They will be joined by Matt Palmer, stepson of Muppett who played a key part in the recent revival of the tradition. Matt will give us a set of Muppett’s utterly unique songs. Colin Speakman, writer and very active promoter of the Yorkshire Dales and of Yorkshire Heritage who has walked the tracks & pathways of Upper Wharfedale for over 60 years, will add his poetic insights. Musicians Richard Hargreaves and Joy Leach will add a note or two to the dance numbers.
Nigel has a long history with Yorkshire Dales music having first been introduced to the Jackie Beresford/ Harry Cockerill sessions at the Buck Inn, in the late 1960’s and 70’s, then, in later years, playing in Tim Boothman’s “The Boothman Band”, at dance events throughout the Dales, when available, on occasions when a bass player was needed.
Jim is a writer, folk singer & Northern Regionalist who, like Nigel has a long history with the music of the Yorkshire Dales. Born in Bradford in 1950, this one-time actor and countryside ranger has had a somewhat colourful career. In the 70’s he worked with Bob Pegg with whom he appeared on television and at the Ilkley Festival. It was around this time that he began writing his highly distinctive local songs & monologues.
Matt Palmer will be performing the songs of the much loved and missed Muppett. As Muppett’s stepson, in the 80s he was dragged kicking and screaming around the folk clubs of Yorkshire. Something clearly sunk in as Matt is an avid lover of folk music to this day and has been playing in various outfits on the circuit for over 30 years. He'll be performing some of Muppett’s favourite home-grown folk songs as a tribute to this unique character who touched so many lives.