A live music session in the heart of Ruthin, Denbighshire, every Thursday evening.
The club started 31st October 1996, in a back room of the Feathers Pub in Ruthin.
It was initiated by Llinos and Campbell Finney, two local musicians, who ran it for ten or more years. They not only provided the backbone of the organisation, but were (and still are!) also brilliant performers. Llinos, well-known hereabouts for her beautiful singing, has done some great work with a couple of musicians (John Rowell on bass and the late Bryn Roberts on guitar, collectively known as Mantra) in the area of modern folk music. Campbell has an excellent line in gentle contemplative folk music as well as a contrasting interest in humourous ballads.
The club has had various homes since it started, but settled in the upstairs room at The White Horse in Llanfair DC several years ago. This venue proved very successful in terms of location and ambience!
When Llinos and Campbell decided to take more of a back seat, John and Cathy Rowell took the helm,
By Christmas 2009, it was firmly established at The Cross Keys when John and Cathy stepped down due to pressure of work. John remains a very valued musician at the club, in his own right but also meeting requests to support other performers on his bass guitar.
John and Ros Ryder took over its running through until 2013 when they handed over the reins to Joe Lyon assisted by Chris Birchall who runs the club’s new website and Facebook page.
2015 to the present – Back ‘home’ at The Feathers
December 2014 brought the news that the Cross Keys was going up for sale and so began the quest for a new meeting place.
The newly refurbished Feathers Inn had indicated that their function room would be available, so we took up the offer and returned once again to this town centre venue. At the same time, Joe decided to step down and hand over the tiller to Chris and Jayne Birchall.
It has to be said, however, that Joe very much remains a key figure in the running of the club, taking an active role in the preparation of the room each week and generally assisting in the smooth running of club nights.
The new owners at The Feathers have been extremely accommodating, building us a lockable chest to store our equipment and giving over storeroom space for us to keep rarely used lighting stands and other sundries. This new venue very quickly gained favour with members and visitors alike and has been referred to as Ruthin’s answer to The Cavern!
Past professional guest artists have included Nick Harper, Helen Watson, Mike Silver, Ken Nichol and Phil Bates of ELO 2 fame.
We've also been lucky enough to attract impromptu appearances by professional artists who have just mixed in with the regular crowd. So recently we've been entertained by Phil Cool, and also the incredibly talented, world renowned jazz guitarist Gary Potter.
The club meets every Thursday evening at The Feathers Inn, Well Street,Ruthin. See our website for a map.