The Rev J. Olly Glum left alone to ponder the advantage of placing Dead Skunk before Dream A Little Dream Of Me in the second set while the Serenaders queue for tea at Bednall Pick Your Own Pumpkins farm on the last Sunday before Halloween. Thanks to Kate Sluggish for the pic.

An eight… sometime nine-strong Serenaders managed to dodge the damp at Lichfield Folk On The Farm last weekend by playing for the punters on their way to the main field from the shelter of a small barn full of hay and tractors.

A fine time was had… many thanks to LFOTF for having us. And thanks to Andy P for the pic.

For the third year running the Wayside Serenaders are delighted to have been invited to fill the spaces between the real music provided at Lichfield Folk On The Farm. We’ll be setting up in various spots and might even have a couple of new songs to share with festival goers.

It’s a lovely day out in the country for the whole family and we hope you’ll be able to join us. Tickets for over 12s are £15 which includes the hog roast or vegetarian option. Under 12s have free entry but must forage for food, unless their parents are prepared to pay for their lunch. There is a bar.

Lichfield Folk On The Farm is from 12 noon to 6pm on Sunday 15 September at Woodside Farm near Whittington. For more information and to book, just click on the image below.

Due to the Rev J. Olly Glum feeling a little off-colour today, the Serenaders have very unfortunately had to cancel today’s performance.

Shenstone still has a lot of (more harmonious) things to offer so do visit the village during its festival weekend.

When the Wayside Serenaders are not attempting to make music on the street, they are mostly to be found with their noses in books, so when one of the volunteers who run the lovely Shenstone Library asked if we’d like to play outside, we jumped at the chance.

The occasion is the Shenstone Village Festival, a biennial event in this vibrant village just to the south of the A5 from Lichfield. The organisers are promising it will be “bigger and better” this year. Events will include flowers displays in the churches, a pet show at the Trinity Church, and more than 15 open gardens.

The festival is on Saturday and Sunday, 29-30 June, and on Saturday there will be stalls, children’s events and games on the Glebe, while Sunday’s programme includes a classic car and bike display. There will also be a number of exhibitions, including art works in the library.

The Serenaders will be playing either in front of or behind the library on Saturday between 2pm and 4pm, and there is seating in both areas just in case you are able to stand more than a few moments of our random noises.

A £5 programme gets you entrance to the open gardens and other things, though of course the Serenaders come for free… who would possibly pay us, other than to go away?

Full details of the Shenstone Village Festival are here.

Well, for this weekend anyway. Look out for us in Lichfield city centre between 1.30 and 3.30pm. The line-up will be this one:

CANCELLED! IT’S WET AND DREARY OUT THERE!

The Serenaders are swapping their usual Saturday morning slot for an experimental Sunday morning one this weekend. Look out for us in Market Street, Lichfield, or if not there then in Dam Street, sometime between 11am and 1 pm.

Whether you pass by on the way home from church or having just emerged sleepy-eyed from a lie-in, it would be lovely to see you.

A few Serenaders will gather in Lichfield tomorrow morning to seek out a quietish spot somewhere amid the aromatic bustle and generator-hum of the Spring Food Fair. If you’re out and about do come and search for us – it would be lovely to see you.

First we were five, then six, then seven… here are six of us, caught in the moment with various thoughts going through our heads. Like, what is this chord called? Or where did that note come from? Or, which tune are we supposed to be playing?

Whatever the questions, at least one thing we can be sure of – the generous folk wandering along Market St threw £92.09 our way. We will be passing it on to our favoured charity, Crisis.

Thanks to Andy for the pic (and for a new video, the first in a long time, which is here)

Drop by and hear us from about 10am this Saturday 13 April, if not outside the Samuel Johnson Birthplace in Market St, Lichfield, then not far away in Dam St or in Bore St opposite Cafe Nero.