“The club formed at a perfect time, as political fissures tore holes through society in 2021. Brexit, culture wars, Covid vaccines – stones supersede these tensions. They are so old they are ultimately unknowable. They leave space for multiple interpretations – and going on a stone hunt adds another dimension to getting out into the countryside. Sure enough, as we turn to leave it’s as if someone has lifted a lid on the sky, and the sun breaks through the clouds..”
“Stone Club is an eclectic community
united by a love of neolithic stones. Formed
in 2021 in Penryn by the musician Matthew
Shaw and his academic partner, Lally
MacBeth, it's become an unlikely smash
with ravers and hipsters as well as
counter culturalists.”
— Style, The Sunday Times
“Stone Club, which offers gatherings and events for standing stone enthusiasts.. The solstice celebrations don't have a written schedule or online agenda for when festivities or the drummers start – the drum beat just begins. It's a place where no technology seems needed at all; the rhythm of the Sun and the drum drives everyone in place.”
“When Julian Cope published the currently much sought-after The Modern Antiquarian, he solidified an unwritten but enduring association between prehistory and music. A decade or so later Stone Club has seized the baton, renewing the celebration of enigmatic relationship between ancient stone monuments, folklore and music.”
— Shindig!
“Lally MacBeth and Matthew Shaw started Stone Club as a creative celebration of ancient landscapes and language. Through shows supporting Mercury nominee Gwenno, and at festivals across the country, they explain how they’re creating an inclusive and hopeful space to discuss the past, present and future.”
“Stone Club, founded by artists Lally MacBeth and Matthew Shaw in 2021, organises walks and gatherings for people fascinated by prehistoric pagan Britain.”
“Cornwall's stone circles can be described in many ways - magical, historic, mysterious, scientific, atmospheric - though one word you may not expect to use to explain Kernow's megalithic history is "cool".
However, that's exactly what artists Lally MacBeth and Matthew Shaw have made the Duchy's ancient circles, standing stones, quoits, dolmens, fogou and carns since forming Stone Club exactly a year ago.”
“Artists Lally Macbeth and Matthew Shaw run Stone Club: a place "for stone enthusiasts to congregate, to muse, and most importantly to stomp to stones". Founded in 2021, they put on events, sell merchandise, organise outings, and encourage a general enthusiasm for all things prehistoric..”
“Friends Lally MacBeth and Matthew Shaw conjured the concept of Stone Club – “a club for people who like stones” – while walking on the Penwith Moors in Cornwall last year. Members are furnished with badges and newsletters with information about curated events that include film screenings and festival-like gatherings, as well collective walks in and around ancient sites.”
“Jarvis popped up as a photobomber (apparently every Stonehenge photo needs one). Ancient horns were blown, Morris dancers danced, and Stone Clubbers became standing Stones and classical druids, Lunatraktors played live, sun salutations were offered and hope was in the air.”
“I’m made aware by a stranger at the bar that Stone Club is happening soon in the downstairs venue. Stone Club is a niche collective of stone enthusiasts who pride themselves on recreating prehistory. It’s essentially a glorified spoken word evening set amongst a backdrop of curious psychedelic projections of nature, ambient electronica, and field recordings, but the sentiment of encouraging individuals to think about places in new ways, and connecting to nature and a simpler way of life through community and conversation.”
“The Stone Club (of which I’m a member), run by sound/visual/performance artists Lally Macbeth and Matthew Shaw, recently curated an extraordinary folk solstice performance event at the British Museum. The ‘sound system in a field’ illegal rave party culture of the 90s has grown up – and (maybe) become folk. Thousands of us want to party and connect to each other in nature, just as we humans have for millennia.”
“Stone Club began in November 2021, and is a collaboration between Matthew Shaw and Lally MacBeth. It is a collaborative, exploratory and inclusive club that aims to get people out into the landscape”
“The second rule of Stone Club is Stone Club is for everyone, we started this as something free to access and affordable to join. It’s about community and sharing a passion for the ancient stones, places and stories”