Boston Folk Orchestra to celebrate its 50th anniversary with reunion at Blackfriars Theatre
A town’s much-loved folk music group is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a band reunion.
The Boston Folk Orchestra (BFO) announced that an anniversary gig will be held at Blackfriars Theatre on Saturday, April 5.
It will include solo performances from Dave Fletcher, Kate Abbot and Dave Parkinson, as well as BFO among others.
Formed back in 1975, the band came together when guitarist Stephen ‘Spud’ Murphy introduced vocalist Richard Birbeck to his collection of folk songs.
The duo would perform at the Blackfriars Folk Club and later welcomed other musicians from the area such as guitarist Will Vaughan, Mark Addison who played bass and Graham Neish who played the accordion.
As well as being a celebration of the group, the event will pay tribute to both Spud, who passed away in 2010, and Graham who died in 2015.
“We’ll all be thinking about them on the night,” said Mark.
Over the years, BFO has had a variety of members including Dave Parkinson and Pete Benzie, Richard Peel, Thea Bell and Mel Stopper.
The current band still makes annual appearances at the Music Under the Stars Festival in Buckinghamshire, supported by Kim Biggs, Phil Biggs and Jim Morley.
Richard Birbeck said: “It’s hard to believe that 50 years have passed since, after checking out Spud’s song collection, we put BFO together.
“The 1970s were our peak period but we’re so pleased we’ve been able to keep traditional folk songs on the radar.
“As ever, audience participation is key, and we like to think we can still get a crowd going.”
Tickets for the event can be purchased from Blackfriars Theatre here for £10.50 with all proceeds being shared between the theatre and the Boston-based Butterfly Hospice charity.
Do you have any memories of the band? Let us know in the comments.