SOME grand treats in store in the region's folk venues in the week ahead, not least a visit by Tom McConville and Pauline Cato, who will be bringing their fiddle, pipes and song arrangements to Guisborough's Globe on Friday and to Washington's Davy Lamp on Saturday.

Tonight presents a treasure trove of choice however, with Michael Marra at Dipton's Cap-a-Pie, Ed Rennie at Skelton's Duke William, Dick Miles at Blaydon's Tyne Folk and Rodney Cordiner and Pierre Rudolf at Darlington Arts Centre.

The last of whom I don't know, but will surely be up to that venue's usual standard of artists. Also this week, Andy Caven is back at Robin Hood's Bay on Friday and Stephen Quigg is at Heighington's Locomotion on Monday. A true highlight of the week though, is Janis Ian, the American singersongwriter who appears at Gateshead's Sage on Wednesday.

Once the darling of the singersongwriter circuit, she now presents a powerful and modern approach to her craft, that has impressed me a great deal when our paths have crossed in recent years.

Meanwhile, I'm back from European travels next week, and keen to hear about what's happening in the folk world near you, at Jezfolk@aol. com