TLDR: the monthly English Tune Session at the Rose and Crown in Walthamstow is now on Mondays – starting on 17th March 2025.

The Walthamstow tune session is a long established traditional English session and, in its heyday was intricately bound with the venerable Walthamstow Folk club – even, I have been told, spawning a house band who played tunes before the main event started.

Both the folk club and session were temporary casualties of the covid pandemic. After a slightly extended closure the club returned to its home upstairs at the Rose and Crown and now is perhaps stronger than ever. The programme always has extremely high quality main acts – whether championing local musicians or bringing big names to this intimate venue, committed regulars provide floor spots and the club is a destination for many great musicians who drop in more occasionally. Host Kevin must know more songs than almost anyone and has been involved in the folk scene forever.

The tune session has had a less smooth return but, thanks to the determination of Chris Marshall it does live on. After a few popular sessions in The Bell, room availability caused a move back to its spiritual home at the Rose and Crown. Originally these sessions were on late Sunday afternoons with the idea that this would link well to the folk club. However this timing has not worked particularly well – the revived session is therefore moving to the third Monday of the month at 7.30pm – starting on 16th March. It takes place in a back room which can be a bit tricky to find but all the staff will point you in the right direction. As an aside, The Rose and Crown is still the best pub in Walthamstow – always with a good selection of ales, no screens or other distractions and a friendly relaxed atmosphere.

The Walthamstow session is friendly to less experienced players – it’s not one for complete beginners but common core tunes are always played along with occasional diversions to Scandinavia, Northumbria and, with the next session falling on St Patrick’s day Ireland (but this is not an Irish session – a whole different kettle of fish),