About Magpie's Nest

The Magpie's Nest is a folk and acoustic club, the brainchild of Joe Buirski and Sam Lee. Dissatisfied with the lack of folk clubs in London that cater to a younger audience and a younger ear, we decided to form our own club. This was back in March 2006.

With terms like "Nu Folk" being bandied about in the media, and people heralding the "new revival", we set out to explore what was out there beyond the fuss. Having a strong appreciation for the "tradition" and aware that some of the finest talent dedicated to mastering the art yet underrepresented within the current arena, we wanted to provide a platform where the entire spectrum of the genre could be explored and exposed. We sought to create a platform where artists influenced by the tradition, dedicated to the tradition and those productive within the wider ‘folk’ genre could play together and influence each other. This gave birth to our club mantra: New Folk, Old Folk, No Folk.

We never did, nor seek to define the word ‘folk’ neither do we represent every aspect of it. We only aim to enliven and inform that debate. We don’t do nomenclature we just play the music!

But if you want to know more….
New Folk: Often younger musicians re-exploring traditional music and claiming it as their own in a new interpretive fashion. Representing the tradition passing on a generation or evolving from its previous incarnations

Old Folk: Veteran performers, stalwarts of the old scene and gems who may yet be undiscovered by their contemporaries. The ground-breaking sculptors of the previous revival who helped define shape and epitomize folk to its present status. The Legends, Masters and Experts!

No Folk: Singer-songwriters, world acts, sound artists, writers of songs about people and life and representatives of a music influenced by traditional roots or maybe just the idea of it, be it Gypsy jazz, Pastoral Romance, Congolese, Carribean, Shostakovich or Shoreditch. These artists are the ones who make music that leans towards a folk ideal.

And of course……..
Open Mic: A valued and cherished part of our nights. Folk music is music of the people, and this is reflected in our open mic. Always oversubscribed and full of surprises, great talent and a huge variety of styles, experience, performers and wild cards. Many have graduated to a featured slot.

The club is now run collectively by Joe Buirski, Sam Lee and Lauren McCormick, with Federico stepping in to control the sound desk.