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Jon Boden

Forbes Mutch reports on Jon Boden’s folk concert at St Andrew’s on Friday 23 September 2022

He stands six feet tall and stamps his heavy boots on a wooden board. He lifts his fiddle and plays a lament like a busker in the rain. He commands our attention immediately. But who is he? Who is this Jon Boden?

The short answer is ‘contemporary English folk singer’. The longer answer is, ‘Charismatic multi-instrumentalist, capable of engaging an audience in a musical journey through post-apocalyptic Britain but somehow making it fun’. There’s another answer too: ‘He’s the latest folk artist to grace the altar stage at St Andrew’s’.

Jon Boden St A 23 09 22You would be forgiven for not knowing who Jon Boden is if you are not party to English folk circles but, for the past 20 years, he has become well known and greatly respected as a singer, musician, composer and arranger.

Born in Chicago but raised in Winchester, he gained a BA in Medieval Studies and a Master's degree in Composition for Theatre. His first instrument is the fiddle, but he also plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, melodeon and concertina. He has won 11 Radio 2 Folk Awards. He has played with melodeon player John Spiers; with the popular Eliza Carthy band Ratcatchers and he helped form the 10-piece ‘big folk band’ Bellowhead. Take it from me, these are big names in the world of folk music.

He has released five solo records since 2006, including Songs From the Floodplain, Afterglow and Last Mile Home, which form a post-climate-change trilogy of albums. These provide most of the material for his one-man concert at St Andrew’s. He recently explained in a Radio 3 interview that he views ‘the prospect of a post-industrial world without gas or oil as sitting in harmony with folk music and social singing’. More of us might be inspired to listen to folk music this winter, then.

His songs reflect a changed and changing world. With his strong and resonant voice, he introduces us to the dark and mysterious tale of an ageing couple from Sheffield who make the journey to the flatlands of Lincoln after an undefined apocalypse. It’s a theme that he returns to throughout the evening, picking up the couple’s shadowy mystery tour with different songs to reflect the stages and emotions of their journey.

There’s variety in his music, despite the dark themes. Dancing in the Factory, for example, is set to a lovely traditional tune and, whether he's doing reflection (We Do What We Can), sinister (Going Down to the Wasteland) or joyful rebirth (Under Their Breath), an inherent beauty prevails. There’s an optimistic undercurrent too, as society in his imagined future world is forced to start again from scratch in small communities.

And there’s humour, particularly when he starts the second half of his show with the familiar All Hang Down (Behind) which he explains was originally a Salvation Army hymn that Victorian workers turned into a drinking song.

Chris Jon Pat 23 09 22Friendly and personable, during the interval he chats to the audience and signs copies of his CDs. After the show, he takes the time to explain to eight-year-old Sienna how his percussion board (an amplified wooden platform) works. Nice one, Jon!

A great evening; another coup for Hertford St Andrew’s growing reputation as a must-play venue for artists on the folk circuit. Thanks go to Chris Seward for organising the show and Pat Crilly for setting up the sound (both pictured here either side of Jon).

Oh, and incidentally, Boden contributed a version of Mike Scott's How Long Will I Love You to the soundtrack of the Richard Curtis 2013 feature film About Time. He appears as a busker in the film.

More information

Find out more about Jon Boden on his official website: www.jonboden.com

 

Glenys
Hello and welcome to St Andrew's. If you are new, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
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Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello 

No one belongs here more than you.

We look forward to meeting you! Here's some information so that if you're planning a visit you know beforehand what to expect on a Sunday morning.  We have other pages telling you more About Us, our approach to Faith and our Online services.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details below) for our main Sunday Service starting at 10.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you find a parking space and can settle in before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Plan your journey:
While, unfortunately, St Andrew's does not have its own carpark, there is a council-run pay and display carpark a short distance along St Andrew Street, to the east of the church; there is a £1.50 flat-rate charge for parking in this carpark on Sundays (though half an hour or less is free).

This is a useful East Herts Council website page for full details of parking in Hertford.

There are single yellow lines outside the church with parking restrictions, but some 30-minute parking bays are situated on the opposite side of the road for short stays (longer on Sundays).

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Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There is a disabled toilet towards the back of the church, behind the kitchen.

Our Service

The service will usually begin promptly at 10.30am and will last between 60 and 75 minutes. We enjoy the presence of an excellent choir who help us sing hymns (modern and traditional) as well as provide anthems and special songs through the period of communion. We have a traditional organ but also benefit from music played on the piano and by our band (eg on the Second Sunday of each month when we have an All-Age Service in which our children and young people are fully involved).

Each 10.30am service includes a sermon, prayers and eucharist.

After the service, everyone is invited for coffee and conversation - some like to stay for a quick chat while others remain in the church for a longer time.

Communion

Children and Young People

Children are never too young to come to church. You and your children are very welcome at St Andrew’s. 

We really value worshipping God together as a family, so children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service before being invited to leave for the young people's activities after the first hymn. Junior Church meets in the St Andrew's Centre (our adjoining hall), accessed through the church on Sunday mornings. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy.

The children and young people then return to the main service in time to join the eucharist and, if confirmed, take Holy Communion or, if not, receive a blessing. We offer a grape or a little box of raisins to children being blessed at the altar.

There is a Children's Corner in church where you can go at any time. You will find books, toys and drawing materials there.

Toilet and baby-change facilities are located at the back of church, behind the kitchen.

There's lots more information here: Children and Young People at St Andrew's

Junior Church celebration

Getting Connected


Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week. Check out Home Groups on our website and see if there’s one that you could join. Alternatively, speak to a member of the Welcome Team who will give you the information that you need.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team. Please contact Phil in the Church Office.

Get in touch with us
If you have any questions, please do get in touch. You'll find our contact details here.

We hope that you will feel at home at our church.