Chimera - Folk Band

Not long until we start the ceilidh! And another ceilidh where our vertically challenged caller Annie Bolt has to stand on a chair to see the crowd 😂🎶

Pre-gig pub picture from yesterday! 🍻 We had a wonderful time playing at the reception ceilidh, and we're back playing again this evening for the ceilidh - tickets are sold out, so hope to see some of you early birds there! 🎩🎶

Annie Bolt is busy at work doing our tech check ahead of a weekend of gigs! First, we're playing for a civil partnership today, and then tomorrow we're playing for the ceilidh organised by - super excited to be out gigging again 🌈🎶

Weren't able to make it to our gig? Luckily our friend https://www.instagram.com/zoomingaboutmanchestermusic.fm?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
will be playing an excerpt today at 2 pm on 📻 Be sure to check it out!

Moments before showtime! Thank you, from all of us at Chimera, to everyone who showed up to last night's gig and made it a truly unforgettable experience. We hope to see you all again in the not too distant future 🎶

Chimera gig is tomorrow! If you haven't already, be sure to book your tickets on the event page, or by scanning the qr code below. See you there!

With one more day to go till our gig, its time for the last, but by no means least, post!

Meet Harry Aspden. Described as "the beating heart of the band," Harry brings unbeatable drive and boundless energy to our lineup. Starting off with playing the spoons, he moved on to bodhran, then the cajon, and finally found his true calling with the djembe. When not kilted and kitted up on stage, he can be found at the occasional singaround belting out sea shanties, thriving off the energy of the room.

See him yourself this Wednesday 13 March when Chimera takes to the stage at The University of Manchester Students’ Union Academy 2 for a night filled with driving music, breathless dancing, and a guaranteed great time.

Day 5 of Chimera's posts!

Meet Arthur Geoghegan (), band lead extraordinaire! This fiddle player hails from the South Coast and drives the bus known as Chimera's music (without the aid of a safety net or driving licence) 🎻🎼

See him yourself this Wednesday 13 March when Chimera takes to the stage at The University of Manchester Students’ Union Academy 2 for a night filled with driving music, breathless dancing, and a guaranteed great time.

Day 4 of our posts!

Meet Jerome McGuinness, Chimera's resident Creweite. Hailing from the supposedly posh county of Cheshire, Jerome can generally be seen playing a viola when performing with the band, but sometimes a violin, whistle, or even a flute.

See him brandish the big fiddle with boundless enthusiasm on Wednesday the 13th of March at the UoM SU Academy 2, where he'll be taking to the stage with Chimera for a night of folky vibes & energetic dancing.

Day 3 of and it's our resident cellist Joseph Dawson!

Joseph grew up in Birmingham and eventually moved to sunny Manchester to study the cello, and has remained there since. After somehow avoiding the folk music scene in Manchester all through music college, he eventually got round to going to folk sessions and it turned out the music quite suited him.

Whilst learning new tunes at sessions, Joseph has discovered the ideal amount of cider to maximise folk playing abilities is roughly two pints- for one for energy and one for confidence. Any more and you start forgetting how to play your instrument.

Hear him yourself, this Wednesday 13 March when Chimera takes to the stage at The University of Manchester Students’ Union Academy 2 for a night filled with driving music, breathless dancing, and a guaranteed great time.

Day 2 of our posts, and today it's our very own Alex Jones!

Hailing from Yorkshire on a tide of Brass, AJ brings a bright, bold sound to Chimera. Whether he's sliding around with his trombone or bellowing verses about ships, AJ is never hard to recognise!

Hear him yourself, this Wednesday 13 March when Chimera takes to the stage at The University of Manchester Students’ Union Academy 2 for a night filled with driving music, breathless dancing, and a guaranteed great time.

With only days to go till our gig, it's time for the very first of Chimera's posts!

Meet Annie Bolt (.bolt), Chimera’s answer to the question “how much folk can you compress in to 5’4” of woman”. Annie is many things, including our resident caller, melodeon-player, whistle-mangler, and PA-wrangler, all of which she does with a fierceness that would make even a very fierce thing wither from her ardour 🪗

See her yourself this Wednesday 13 March when Chimera takes to the stage at The University of Manchester Students’ Union Academy 2 for a night filled with driving music, breathless dancing, and a guaranteed great time.

With one week to go till our gig, we're pleased to announce that our own Annie Bolt will be calling at Towersey festival from the 23-26th August!

Ceilidh is coming......join Whapweasel Banter Blackbeard's Tea Party The URBAN FOLK THEORY Bristol Ceilidh Quartet climax ceilidh Folk Camps Party Band, Climax Ceilidh band and many more...

What a handsome lot 😍 If you, like so many others, want to learn a little more about this ragtag folk band, then come along to our gig on the 13th March (link in bio) where you can expect an evening of foot stomping, heart pounding, ceilidh dancing fun! You can also follow us here on Facebook and on Instagram 😁

Ticket link -

University of Manchester Students' Union

We’ve been out and about putting up posters around Manchester 😁 Make sure it’s not for nothing by getting your tickets for our gig ceilidh combo event on Weds 13 March at Academy 2 in the UoM Students Union 🥳 Ticket link and event in bio!

Chimera at rest ☕ We've all been hard at work for the last few months, and we will hopefully be able to share some of what we've been doing with you soon 😁

At long last, we've joined Instagram!! Chimera have finally got ourselves a social media 🥳 This page will be your one stop shop for pictures, videos and updates from the band as we go forward into 2024. Be sure to follow us .ceilidh. See you all there🪘🎻🎺🪗

That's all folks!! It's been a wild few weeks, but Chimera have played their final gig at Tatton Park for their Yuletide experience. A big thank you to the wonderful people at Wild Rumpus for being so welcoming. From all of us here at Chimera, we wish you all the best at this time of the year. See you in 2024!!

Another fun, if somewhat cold, weekend spent at Tatton Park.

A big thanks to the lovely people at Tatton Park and Wild Rumpus. Chimera - Folk Band will be playing there as part of the Yuletide winter adventure, every Saturday and Sunday for the next four weeks!

Chimera are excited to announce that we’ll be playing for Blether’s Q***r Ceilidh down in Levenshulme’s Old Library this Friday - if you feel like dancing the evening away whilst supporting a good cause and LGBT+ joy, head to the link and come and join us!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blether-presents-queer-ceilidh-tickets-695339508187?fbclid=IwAR3FxtVXrzpsbaeZI_Nsm2e0Tek6xYtjmJqiDpKb0TxiUXjliE0v0Ya11K0

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And that’s a wrap! Thank you Chester Folk Festival for having us for the Friday night ceilidh with Martyn Christopher Harvey and the Saturday tune workshops - we had an absolutely blast! A very tired band has returned to Manchester with heads full of tunes and ready to tackle our next project. If you saw us, let us know so we can say hi - and please enjoy these very professional pictures of our camping setup!

Chimera are excited to announce we have been invited to play at this year's Chester folk festival, running from Friday 26th-Monday 29th of May. A weekend of Folk music, ceilidhs and so much more. We'll be playing the ceilidh on Friday night, as well as running a few workshops. Click the link below to get your tickets now, and we look forward to seeing you all there.

Chester Folk Festival Tickets| CFF Tickets will be available online until 9 pm on the relevant day, and can be purchased in person from the Festival Office in Kelsall from 3 pm on Friday