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The Mellstock Band plays and sings the dances, songs, carols and music of English village and church bands from the Eighteenth century to the present day. The repertoire and style come from living traditions of song and instrumental music, from all parts of England and beyond. With fiddle, concertina, clarinet, oboe, flute and serpent the music is enhanced with period costume and spoken word. The Mellstock Band returns by popular demand with a celebratory afternoon of songs, tunes and stories from the Northamptonshire poet and fiddler John Clare. Clare's vivid descriptions of the natural world and heartbreaking poetry of lost love have endeared him to many readers. Lesser known are his racy accounts of village life and his fiddle playing in pubs and around gypsy campfires.