Free concert: English folk duo to perform at the Museo de Nerja

Renowned folk singers John and Lynne Ward will be bringing a little bit of the east coast of England to Nerja on the eastern Costa del Sol on Thursday 5 February when they give a concert at the town’s museum on Plaza de España.

John and Lynne live in Lowestoft on the Suffolk coast and have been regular visitors to Nerja since January 2023 when they embarked on a road trip through Spain in their camper van and ended up staying in the Axarquía town for longer than planned.

This was after discovering the town’s vibrant international music scene and John explained to SUR in English that they “pulled into the carpark and a fellow camper got out of the neighbouring van with a bhodrán [a traditional Irish drum].” John also plays the bhodrán, so they got talking and their new-found friend took them to a gig. “Then we went to another session with him where we met lots of people. We ended up staying for four nights instead of the one we’d planned.”

The couple returned to Nerja in 2024 and since then have been back several times. “We have settled in as part of the big music scene that’s going on here,” John says, adding that each time they come they “do a bit more music”. They’re regulars at the town’s music bars and now they are giving their first real concert.

Back in Lowestoft, John and Lynne are two members of the John Ward Trio. John writes the music, sings, plays guitar, the bhodrán and the harmonica while Lynne also adds vocals, plays the accordion and the guitar and the third member plays the mandolin and sings. In fact Lynne explains that back in the UK, the trio’s “trademark sound is the three-part harmonies”.

They perform all over the UK at folk clubs, festivals and arts centres and have released a number of albums. With a busy schedule in the music scene in the UK, they admit that they love coming to Nerja for “a more peaceful restful existence”, even if it does sound a bit like a busman’s holiday. “It gives us time, headspace and John inspiration to write,” explains Lynne, adding that John has written songs inspired by their travels through Spain, which the duo perform at their gigs here.

For the concert, as well as the music John and Lynne will be projecting images related to each song, so for a song about San Pedro in Almeria’s Cabo de Gata there will be photos to accompany it. Likewise, they use images from home, which they say will help the audience to learn a bit more about a relatively unknown part of the UK. “We are aware that the audience will have people whose first language is not English so if people can’t grasp all the lyrics in every song there will be visuals there too,” says Lynne, while John quips, “It gives something for people to look at other than us.”

As we're all from Suffolk, we touch on the parallels between home and the Axarquía: they are traditionally agricultural areas that also have strong connections to the sea and the fishing industry. While there fewer mountains in Suffolk (it is famously flat, other than a few cliffs and the occasional small hill) and the weather is somewhat colder (although in the midst of Storm Kristin they joke that it feels a bit like a day on the North Sea coast), we agree that locals will find some similarities in the photos that will accompany the music.

Just like sayings particular to Malaga, there are plenty of expressions connected to Suffolk and a few of these are referenced in John’s lyrics. For example he sings about the ‘Dockside Dandies of Lowestoft’ who were “Flamboyant fishermen dressed distinctively in specially tailored, vibrant suits…as they returned home after weeks at sea, hundreds of men would spend their hard-earned cash on the suits, which came in every colour, pattern and design”, according to an article in the Lowestoft Journal. I wonder what Nerja’s own favourite fisherman Chanquete (from the 1980s television series, Verano Azul) would have made of them. There are also references to ‘hauling the shimmer’ – bringing in the fish – which is a similar term to ‘el copo’ here in Malaga.

When not making music in Nerja, John and Lynne say that they love exploring the local area and enjoy visiting the Nerja Cave. They spend time with friends in the local tapas bars and soaking up the Mediterranean culture. They are both learning Spanish and like to put it into practice when they are here and say that they feel “part of the international community” in Nerja.

Admission is free to the concert and there will be a voluntary donation box to help cover costs. There will be CDs and John’s three books (including a songbook of his most popular songs) available to buy. Click here for more information about John and Lynne.

The concert begins at 7pm, which just leaves me to say, don’t be ‘on the drag’ – a Suffolk saying, which means to be late for something. It is a nautical term used by Suffolk fishermen, who would sometimes get caught on a drag tide – a strong undercurrent that would slow their progress. When they eventually made it into the port, would say, “sorry we’re late, we were on the drag.”