STILL the festival juggernaut rolls on, with Allen Valley Folk Festival taking place this weekend, with a vibrant line-up of star-turns including Michael Chapman, Will Pound, Martin Stephenson, Rory MacLeod, George Welch and Stewart Hardy, Johnny Flynn and The Monster Ceilidh Band.

The local club scene has plenty to offer too this week, starting tonight with Hicks and Goulburn at The Beamish Mary, in No Place, and Bram Taylor and Roly Hindmarch at The Copper Beech, in Darlington, and Irish songster Ben Sands at Washington’s Davy Lamp on Saturday. Alistair Russell returns to his home turf on Monday with a visit to Stockton’s Sun Inn, which also hosted a fine send off to their founder Ron Angel earlier this week, with folk faces from all over the area in attendance to offer a final salute one of Teeside’s premier folk sons. On Tuesday the star-studded cast of the Seaham mining disaster presentation She’s Fired will be in action at St Mchael’s Church, Houghton-le-Spring, as part of the annual Houghton Feast.

Looking further ahead, Gateshead’s Sage have an attractive list of concerts coming up in the months ahead, with names like Peggy Seeger, Cara Dillon, Show of Hands and The Poozies all heading our way. On November 13, they’ll also have folk’s top attraction Bellowhead, the eleven-piece band who have just signed to Island Records for a new album due in time for this forthcoming tour.

A few of the other larger venues in the area, like Stockton’s Arc and Durham’s Gala Theatre are also continuing to include folk and acoustic music in their programme, with Kathryn Tickell, Eddi Reader and The Lindisfarne Story all on the upcoming listings. We’re not through with local festivals either, with Whitby’s Musicport starting on October 18, boasting a good few folk acts sprinkled among the eclectic mix of performers. Plenty to sing about, as ever.