Past events
Here you'll find information and pictures from events that have taken place at St Andrew's - click on the links to see more!
The anticipation is recognisable by the unprompted silence of the audience before Julie Fowlis takes the stage. Her opening songs are greeted by probably the loudest applause for a concert opening at any folk gig at St Andrew’s, such is the power of her strikingly pure voice. The audience is intoxicated immediately.
John Spiers (melodian player extraordinaire) and Jon Boden (fiddle and guitar) are vastly experienced musicians. While rooted in folk music, their personal stories include work in the classical genre, the setting of music to Shakespeare and a thorough understanding of historical context and the stories behind the songs. John Spiers brought six melodians (squeeze boxes) while Jon Boden brought his stomp box (a small box which is tapped or stamped and produces a sound similar to a bass drum).
The joint parish Away Day has become an annual fixture in the calendars of St Andrew’s and St Mary’s and was eagerly anticipated by over 80 people this year and we spent a wholehearted day together at St Joseph’s in the Park School, Hertingfordbury.
Welcome back to St Andrew's, Martin Stewart Simpson. You remain a supreme English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. Your music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. You build a purposeful, often upbeat voice on a spare picking style. Thank you for a great gig. Don’t leave it five years before you return.
When we heard Rachel Chaplin launch her first album of spiritual songs on the altar stage at St Andrew’s, it was an evening of such hauntingly lyrical brilliance that it left many of us in the audience mesmerised. Read a personal reflection by Forbes Mutch on Rachel's ‘Music from an Inner Space’, performed at St Andrew’s Church in March 2024.
To say that Eliza Carthy is a ‘talented musician’ is an understatement. She has been performing since she was 13 and has conquered the world of folk music, with a long list of awards and prestigious collaborations with other folk celebrities.
A fabulous two-hour set of original and cover songs on a variety of instruments, including a banjo made from an old saucepan, a musical saw and their famous ‘glass organ’, a tray of wine glasses filled with different levels of water, played by rubbing the rim of the glasses to produce an ethereal sound.
A brilliant, virtuoso concert from Kris Drever, the winner of several BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. He was thrilled to play St Andrew’s; St Andrew’s was thrilled to have him.
We welcomed an estimated 800 model railway enthusiasts and interested observers of all ages - great interest for the adults and delight for the children as they were mesmerised by all the trains.
Fairport Convention returned to play the altar stage at St Andrew’s having been impressed by the acoustics in the church and the warm hospitality on their visit in 2022.
John Newton’s journey from slave trader to evangelical Christian and slave abolitionist is remarkable and was brought to life vividly by the Living Breath theatre company in a play called Forever Mine, presented on the St Andrew’s altar stage at the end of October 2023.
At midday on 7 October, Harvest weekend was ushered in with a peel of the church bells. A visiting company of ringers swung into action and relayed a beautiful sound across the town. By 1.00pm, the doors were open for visitors to enjoy hospitality inside the church.
Part of this year's Hertfordshire Festival of Music, we were delighted to host classical guitarist Jack Hancher in the beautiful surroundings of St Andrew's Church. Described by Gendai Guitar Magazine as a “poet and a painter, colouring sounds out of the guitar as if his imagination and the guitar were one”, Jack Hancher is a rising star of the classical guitar.
Northern Irish folksinger Cara Dillon has the voice of an angel; it pierces the perfect acoustics of St Andrew’s like pure crystal, and she sings with such fluency and authority that she holds the audience spellbound.
An introduction to dementia followed by a Q&A provided an overview of what dementia is (and isn’t), what we know about the experience of getting a dementia diagnosis and what, post diagnosis, can be helpful for the person with dementia and those who support them.
"With the Gigspanner Big Band, Peter Knight has assembled a group of musicians intent on making some of the most important and exhilarating art ever to sit under the banner of folk music." Folk Radio UK
McTell is the latest in the growing line of premier folk performers to grace the altar stage at St Andrew’s. He comes with a professional career spanning 50 years; a catalogue of over 200 original songs and collaborations with some of the most famous folk musicians around.
We welcomed over 350 people into the church for Harvest Fest, with World Food and Hertfordshire beers, a splendid Harvest Raffle and wonderful musicians who kept visitors entertained. We donated 25% of proceeds raised to Christian Aid.
The event also featured Hertford Scarecrows in the Churchyard!
The latest folk artist to grace the altar stage at St Andrew’s, Jon Boden stands six feet tall and commands our attention immediately.
Our one-day event at St Andrew's saw hundreds of people enjoy all things railways! With Railwayana, local children’s author and artist Pauline Hazelwood, a model railway trade stand, and themed activities for children, too. There was also a fantastic Great Model Train Raffle!
We love a seasonal display in our churchyard at St Andrew's!
So, what better way to mark Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee than creating a very special experience for all to enjoy.
The stained glass is glowing in the evening sun. The audience is murmuring expectantly in the pews. The makeshift bar by the font is serving beer with the wine. This is a church but a different communion is about to be served. Please welcome to the altar, Fairport Convention.
The weather was fine, the temperature (for December) was warm, the churchyard was prepared for visitors - and they arrived! Around 170 people attended our Beer and Carols in the Churchyard - it was wonderful to see so many enjoying the singing and the fellowship.
Do you think of The Twelve Days of Christmas as traditional ladies in long dresses and men in top hats? See what St Andrew's made of it all!
To accompany the Our Lockdown in 30 Objects Exhibition at St Andrew's, and to reflect our Harvest theme of Thankfulness, the churchyard at St Andrew's came alive with examples of how we experienced Lockdown.
The collection of 30 objects and stories gave an insight into how life has been throughout this time for a cross-section of our community, and we hoped that visitors also found echoes of their own personal experiences in it.
The animals went in two by two! Throughout August, we watched as the story of Noah unfolded in our Churchyard...
Once again, church was brought outside into the churchyard - this time as we told the Easter Story. The crowds laid palms in front of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey; the Easter story unfolded with the Last Supper and Good Friday Cross; and the joy of Easter Sunday was celebrated with colourful signs of new life!
For two weeks in February, Missing You trees appeared in the churchyard at St Andrew's. You were invited to write on a red heart who or what you were missing then hang it on the tree.
There was an amazing response from the community as many visitors added their Missing You hearts to the trees.
Our life-size Nativity developed in the churchyard at St Andrew's during Advent.
Some special visitors took up residence at St Andrew's Church during Hertford's Scarecrow Fest...
The weekend before Christmas and St Andrew's was full of people of all ages enjoying carol singing, cask ale, mulled wine, Christmas craft, winter wonderland model railway, nativity photo booth and lots more.
A Christmas Concert like no other! St Andrew's is gaining a growing reputation as a great venue for folk concerts and it was no surprise to hear lead Melrose singer Jess Arrowsmith introduce the band's two-hour set with, "Wow, playing in a church! This is a first for us. What a fantastic place to play and sing a few Christmas songs and carols."
Playing as an acoustic singer songwriter for over 40 years, Steve Knightley has built a reputation as one of England’s most accomplished folk performers. It caused quite a stir in Hertford folk circles and the local area when it was announced that he would be playing at St Andrew's as part of his 2019 solo tour.
The De Merc Chamber Choir, directed by Alison Smart Fisher, performed a special Requiem for charity Third Hope Africa at St Andrew's Church in April 2019. All profits from the retiring collection went towards working for the long-term rehabilitation of ex-child soldiers in Northern Uganda.
The church was full of families who came to the party and enjoyed the pumpkin carving, lantern making, face paints, photo booth, crafts, challenges, quiz, food and more.
Local theatre company Pins & Feathers brought their play The March to St Andrew’s in September 2018.
Written by Kate Miller to celebrate the centenary of women gaining the vote in Parliamentary elections, The March was based on the real-life stories of Hertfordshire women who fought for change and featured the extraordinary Great Pilgrimage of July 1913, in which thousands of Suffragists from all over the country marched to London to demonstrate peaceful mass support for the vote.
We welcomed more than 500 adults, plus many young children, to our 2018 Beer Festival. It was a marvellous success that far exceeded our expectations. Beers began to sell out from 5.30pm, all the pasties and sausage rolls were gone by 6.00pm and people kept coming through the gate until nearly 8.00pm.
One of the most skilled folk guitarists currently playing on the British and American folk scene performed live at St Andrew's in April 2018. It was a real coup that Martin chose to play a gig with us; he said the acoustics in the nave were ‘unbelievably clear and beautiful’.
Staged Easter 2015 at St Andrew's, First Light was a bold reimagining of the story of Jesus' last days.