THE Bournemouth Folk Club returns to the Shelley Theatre this week following a succession of sell-out shows earlier this year and a one-day folk festival in April.

Organiser Paul Burke says he has cherry-picked the very finest blend of established acts and up and coming talent from today’s folk scene.

Kicking things off on Saturday are The Churchfitters, a folk band like no other.

The four virtuoso musicians from England and France strut their stuff on a stage that bristles with instruments that include a double bass made out of a saucepan and heart-wrenching vocals accompanied by a musical saw.

Featuring a foot-stomping fast fiddle mixed with infectious funk-rock rhythms and traditional tunes that create a reinvigorated and mesmerising folk sound. Londoner Rosie Short is equally at home singing husky blue or plaintive femme folk.

A talented songwriter, she’s also a ‘one woman orchestra’, deftly swapping between flute, saxophone, banjo, tin whistle, dulcimer, ukulele and any number of things you can shake, rattle, or whack with a stick.

Rosie’s brother Chris Short is a feverishly fast fiddler and Boris Lebret from Lannion in France hates to play a regular instrument when he can cobble together a better one out of scrap metal. Like when he discovered four strings weren’t enough for his driving bass rhythms, so he simply reached for the Black & Decker and bolted on another six.

Finally, Margaux Scherer grew up in the Juras region of France where she first saw The Churchfitters play aged just nine. Little did she know that 16 years later she would be bundled into the back of their van, never to be released. She has only herself to blame as her exquisite drumming is second to none and too good to resist.

Other acts lined up include Heidi Talbot Trio on October 28, Gigspanner, November 18, Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman on December 2. See bournemouthfolkclub.co.uk or shelleytheatre.co.uk