The Houghton Weavers are heading to Shaw - this Friday!

The North West’s leading comedy / folk group, stars of TV, radio and stage The Houghton Weavers, are making their way around the region with their 2025 tour.

And the tour includes a show at the Playhouse 2 in Shaw this coming Friday (May 16).

The Houghton Weavers have been entertaining folk for a whopping 50 years, with their unique blend of popular folk music, humour and audience participation, and have recorded over 30 albums!

Having recently performed as a Headline Act at The Great British Folk Festival, their single “Wild Mountain Thyme” appeared in the Heritage Charts Top 40 and due to appear in an upcoming film ‘Between Weathers’

The Houghton Weavers (Steve Millington and Jim Berry) will be joined by Simon Brady, a super-talented guitar and mandolin player, with a creative flair and great vocals.

Steve said: “We absolutely love touring, and are so looking forward to our show at the fabulous Playhouse 2.

"We have played there many times over the years and the friendly staff and lively audience always ensure a lovely warm welcome and a great sing-a-long atmosphere on the night!

“I’ve been performing with The Weavers for the last 30 years, and I still love getting on the stage and playing their staple-songs as much as I did at my very first Houghton Weavers concert all those years ago.

“Over the last three decades, I’ve been privileged to record, arrange and produce 23 of the Houghton Weavers albums.

"It’s a creative pleasure working with Jim both on stage and in the studio.

"We are also joined on stage by some world-class musicians this year and I’m so looking forward to making music with them all.

“We’ve really kicked off this year’s tour with a bang, we are feeling a great vibe and energy on stage and are having a fabulous time meeting up with all our fans and friends, and of course making some new ones as we celebrate 50 years of the iconic Houghton Weaver’s music.”

Jim added: “In my teens and early twenties I performed with my brother Tony as ‘The Berry Brothers, doing folk and show songs.

"I was later in a group called ‘Auld Triangle’, based at Westhoughton Folk Club, with Norman Prince (founder member of The Houghton Weavers), before the Weavers started.

“I have played with the Weavers many times before joining the group full time over a decade ago.

"As well as singing and playing guitar and harmonica, I write songs and poetry and have released three books of poems and lyrics.

“I have spent many years busking in France but now I love being one of the Houghton Weavers and entertaining with Steve and the lads, singing songs, telling tales, poems and the odd corny joke!

"I’m lucky to be stood where our Tony stood.”

Audiences will be entertained in a show of charming fun, humorous jokes and anecdotes with plenty of music, including old favourites such as Blackpool Belle, Sit Thi Deawn, Matchstalk Men and Dirty Old Town as well as new songs penned by the boys, beautiful ballads and original poems with audience requests thrown in too.

Their wide and varied repertoire, alongside their unique and well-known style ensures that no two evenings in the company of The Houghton Weavers are ever the same.

Throughout their career, The Houghton Weavers have been entertaining folk up and down the country, and continue to do so with a packed schedule of theatres and other venues.

With a large and active fan club, and growing social media following, The Houghton Weavers enjoy entertaining those young and old in a show designed for all the family to enjoy.

Friday's show will see the trio hit the stage at 8pm.

For ticket information and their full list of venues, make sure to check out The Houghton Weavers website.

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