This is a list of everything we have on folking.com in date and month order. So if you like trawling the depths of the site for amazing content that you may have missed then this is the place to “net” an article, feature or review or two.
The archive is a work in progress as we still have gaps to fill from 2009 back to 2001. Most of the missing content are older album reviews which require reformatting with each article having to be submitted back on to the site with album covers and links to where they can be obtained from (where available).
All recent review and features posts below (where available) can be ordered below through our UK or US Storefront
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Physical link for the UK Store is: https://folking.com/folking-store/
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GNOSS – The Light Of The Moon (Blackfly Records BFLY04CD)
The Light Of The Moon is the second album by Gnoss, a quartet founded by two Orcadians, Aidan Moodie and Graham Rorie and expanded by ...
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Copperplate podcast 259 presented by Alan O’Leary
folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, yes you guessed it, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his ...
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CHRISTINA ALDEN & ALEX PATTERSON – Hunter (own label)
Christina Alden and Alex Patterson are two-thirds of…well you can work that out. Recently, they have been making a name for themselves as a duo ...
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ALEX ROBERTS – Live At The Vic Inn (own label)
Alex Roberts’ Live At The Vic Inn spins gossamer folk webs that are saturated with his whiskey-stained voice. Not only that, but this live album ...
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Towersey introduces “pint-sized” festival
Back in March 2020 when the world got flipped on its axis, Towersey Festival was one of the very first events to cancel their live ...
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Sarah McQuaid Honours Two Legendary Producers With New St Buryan Sessions Singles and Videos
For the fifth and sixth singles of her new album and video series The St Buryan Sessions, Cornwall-based singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid honours two musical giants, ...
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NANCY KERR – Tunnellers (Little Dish Records LIDIEP6)
Commissioned by the British Tunnelling Society for their 50th anniversary year Tunnellers comprises four self-penned songs and one instrumental. Nancy Kerr is joined by James ...
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The Magpies – new single, festival and tour
It has only been a short space of time since The Magpies burst onto the UK folk scene, but they have already made a huge ...
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Den Miller announces his new album
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Den Miller is pleased to announce that, after a long delay due to Covid-19, he will be releasing his new album Join ...
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BANTER – 3 (Mrs Casey Records MCRCD1202)
3 is, logically enough, Banter’s third album but the first one to come folking’s way. So, to bring us all up to speed: Banter are ...
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GREG HANCOCK – Architecture & Archaeology (own label)
A distinctive guitarist and songwriter of wistful depth and sophisticated melancholic design who draws on the experience of the past to build strong foundations for ...
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Edinburgh Tradfest begins on April 30th
Edinburgh Tradfest opens this week with an online concert from Shetland Springs: a celebration of the Shetland fiddle tradition. Recorded at Traverse 3 and presented ...
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CIARA McELHOLM – Amergin Fire (Copperplate COPP035)
It seems to me that musicians and composers are doing more and more interesting things at the moment. A year ago, the trend was to ...
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Declan O’Rourke announces November tour dates
Following the release of his brand new, Paul Weller-produced album Arrivals to widespread acclaim, award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke has announced a UK tour for November 2021 ...
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SCOTT SEAN WHITE – Call It Even (own label)
Based in the delightfully named Poetry, Texas, after 30 years making music, Call It Even is White’s first full-length release and speaks to his ability ...
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SAM DRAISEY – Red vs Blue (own label)
I haven’t heard from Sam Draisey since I reviewed his impressive album, As I Live And Breathe back in 2017. He’s not been idle, though, ...
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Darren Beech – follow his funeral on line
Hi all.. For those of you who would wish to participate in the web-streaming of our beloved Darren's funeral on Wednesday 21st at midday - ...
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GERI VAN ESSEN – Cleaned The Windows (Tiny Room Records TR048)
Unlike her 2018 debut, the London-based Dutch singer-songwriter’s second album, Cleaned The Windows, is all original material, and also two tracks longer, van Essen accompanying ...
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Andy White announces new rare and unheard collection
Andy's second collection of hard-to-find and unreleased songs, Rarer, will be available exclusively from our website <http://www.andywhite.com/shop/5-albums> and Andy's Bandcamp <https://andywhiteireland.bandcamp.com/>. Pre-order is open now ...
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AMY SPEACE with THE ORPHAN BRIGADE – There Used To Be Horses Here (Proper PRPCD159)
Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t get a sight of an Amy Speace album so There Used To Be Horses Here is the first one I’ve ...
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Copperplate Podcast 258 presented by Alan O’Leary
folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, yes you guessed it, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his ...
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New Scottish band Staran announce debut album
Some of the most sought-after artists on the Scottish folk scene have come together to create a formidable collective. Named Staran, the group will release ...
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BRIAN FINNEGAN – Hunger Of The Skin (own label)
I am somewhat at a loss as to how to summarise Hunger Of The Skin which is a difficult position for a reviewer to be ...
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Graham Rorie, award-winning Orcadian fiddler, announces debut album
Award-winning Orcadian fiddle and mandolin player Graham Rorie has announced his debut solo album The Orcadians of Hudson Bay, which is set for release on ...
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BRENDAN ADAMS – Buttons (own label)
Brendan Adams’ Buttons confronts the age-old “I pulled into Nazareth” (sort of) sacred confession of The Band’s ‘The Weight’, which Robbie Robertson once said, “Is ...
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BEAU – The Methadone Of Time (Cherry Red BEAUTMOT1)
Written entirely during the first lockdown, and naturally informed by everything connected with that as well as other notable incidents from the personal and political ...
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Sam Draisey announces new double CD – Red Vs Blue
Folk-Punk Singer/Songwriter Sam Draisey is back with a new album. With eighteen new songs across two disks (one red, one blue), Sam combines previously unheard ...
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RAY COOPER – Land Of Heroes (Westpark Music CD87404)
Recorded in Sweden in summer 2020, ‘Land Of Heroes’ is the fourth solo album from impossibly talented multi-instrumentalist Ray Cooper. Aside from supporting vocals supplied ...
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SINGLES BAR 64 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles
Formerly Evan Petruzzi and now just EVVAN, the New York-based singer-songwriter self-releases her Home EP, a five track collection of self-discovery and self-acceptance that kicks ...
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MG BOULTER – Clifftown (Hudson HUD020CD)
Crafted around a fictional faded seaside town (loosely based on Southend-on-Sea), Boulter’s latest, Clifftown, unfolds a series of 50s tinged melancholic narratives to a gentle ...
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HONEY AND THE BEAR – Journey Through The Roke (own label)
Lucy and Jon Hart have stayed mostly true to their native Suffolk coast while recording their second album, Journey Through The Roke, basing several of ...
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Katherine Priddy announces debut album
The release of The Eternal Rocks Beneath (Navigator Records) marks the arrival of a singular new talent on the contemporary roots music scene: Katherine Priddy ...
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Edinburgh Tradfest returns on-line this month
Stellar line-up of artists from Scotland and around the world Digital content – live streamed and online DATES: Friday 30 April - Monday 10 May ...
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Top selling folk albums for March 2021
Today, the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the March ...
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PETER KNIGHT’S GIGSPANNER – From Poets To Wives (Talking Elephant TECD454)
Twelve years ago Peter Knight’s Gigspanner introduced themselves to the world with Lipreading The Poet. Its launch was relatively low key but just look how ...
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PEGGY SEEGER – First Farewell (Red Grape Music)
Half-sister to Pete Seeger, married to Ewan MacColl from 1977 until his death in 1989 (though she actually married Alex Campbell in 1959 in a ...
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BOB LESLIE – In Praise Of Crows (Big Red Records Big Red 5)
Bob Leslie is a Scottish (half-Orcadian, actually) singer/songwriter with a humorous bent and a growing reputation. In Praise Of Crows is his third album. Bob ...
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C.O.B – Spirit Of Love (Bread And Wine Records BRINECD5)
C.O.B’s 1970 acid folk and sublimely spiritual Spirit Of Love has been re-released with a CD and vinyl pressing! Now, for the uninitiated, C.O.B was ...
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JASON RINGENBERG – Rhinestoned (Courageous Chicken Entertainment CCECD018)
Forty years on from launching Jason and the Scorchers, the Illinois-born Southern-twanged cowpunk singer is as fired up as ever on Rhinestoned, his 21st release ...
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GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS – All The Good Times (Acony Records)
One of the less harrowing aspects of lockdown is that informal live music is more accessible online than it used to be: at any rate ...
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Shrewsbury Folk Festival receives more than £45,000 from second round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund
Shrewsbury Folk Festival has received a grant of £45,256 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help organisers plan and deliver its four-day ...
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Skerryvore Onboard Fingal – 24 April 2021
Multi-award-winning band Skerryvore have announced a special livestream show to be broadcast from Edinburgh’s exclusive floating hotel, Fingal on Saturday 24 April 2021 – and ...
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CHRIS FLEGG – Twenty’s Plenty (FLEGGCD011)
Chris Flegg is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from St Albans but I won’t hold that against him. Twenty’s Plenty is a collection of twenty ...
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BOO HEWERDINE – Selected Works (Reveal Records)
Boo Hewerdine’s Selected Works is a best of collection that acoustically lights votive candles to his devoted fans. But to the uninitiated, this is a ...
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Beans On Toast announces winter tour dates
Foolhardy folk musician and longstanding festival favourite - Beans On Toast - will be doing a tour of some of his favourite independent venues this ...
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Manchester Folk Festival Announces Programme for October 2021
Line-up includes The Futureheads, The Breath, Kathryn Tickell and Spiers & Boden’s comeback Manchester Folk Festival has announced its full programme across multiple venues from ...
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Fèis Rois awards £40,000 to Scottish musicians
£40,000 has been awarded to 12 musicians across Scotland to support them to deliver youth music projects, including singing workshops for refugees and new Scots ...
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PAUL HUTCHINSON – Petrichor (own label)
Paradoxically, Paul Hutchinson’s new album, Petrichor, is a much-travelled and international project involving musicians from Sweden, Belgium, the USA and Australia as well as a ...
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IAIN MATTHEWS with ANDY ROBERTS – Live At The Bonnington Theatre (Angel Air SJPCD642)
Iain Matthews and Andy Roberts hadn’t seen each other for several years when, so the story goes, they bumped into each other in a Brighton ...
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HEADSTICKS – C.O.W. (Chapter 22 C22/21/0005)
Headsticks’ previous studio album, Kept In The Dark, came not so much as a breath of fresh air as a veritable hurricane. C.O.W. - the ...
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3HATTRIO – Lost Sessions (Okehdokee Records)
Imagine finishing the recordings for your sixth album, but then your hard drive gets crushed by a falling piano. That’s what happened to American Desert ...
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Declan O’Rourke to live-stream concert
In celebration of the release of his brand new, Paul Weller-produced album Arrivals, award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke has teamed up with Irish Arts Center New ...
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JERRY AKEHURST – An Old Man’s Folly (own label JAS2021)
Based in Iona, where the album was recorded, raised on influences as diverse as Buddy Holly, Bert Jansch and JJ Cale, Akehurst’s musical history entails ...
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Mànran: online Easter weekend concert
Scots trad-rock band Mànran will celebrate what should have been a weekend taking in the beautiful surroundings of Lochaber with the very first Mànran: 10 ...
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ANNA TAM – Anchoress (Tam Records TAM002)
Anna Tam is a Mediæval Bæbe – classically trained and with a clear voice that so many singers would give their eye teeth for. Add ...
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HARBOTTLE & JONAS – The Beacon (Brook View Records BVR002)
David and Freya have been busy during lockdown streaming a series of live Facebook performances from home, often of inspired cover versions, variously as a ...
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Ninebarrow to appear on Countryfile on Sunday
Hot on the heels of the release of their fourth album A Pocket Full of Acorns, Dorset duo Ninebarrow (Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere) are ...
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FAELAND – When I Close My Eyes (Faeland GSR.CD.002)
Faeland’s When I Close My Eyes is melodic folk album that bobs melodically on the surface of a lake yet still manages to probe the ...
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ANTOINE & OWENA talk to Folking
Antoine Architeuthis and Owena Archer met at a gig in Salisbury in 2017. Antoine: “Owena was playing with in a mutual friend’s band and I ...
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WREN – Pink Stone: Songs From Moose Lodge (Swimming Rabbits WREN 2101)
Wren being the recording alias of Laura Adrienne Brady, Pink Stone is the third of her place-based albums, the setting here being Washington‘s Methow Valley, ...
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ANNABELLE CHVOSTEK – String of Pearls (own label)
Annabelle Chvostek’s String Of Pearls is indeed, a place where, as U2’s Bono once sang, “Then all the colours will bleed into one”. Although Toronto ...
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SINGLES BAR 63 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles
Like so many others, DARIA KULESH has been hit hard financially by lockdown: she has responded positively, though, with the release of her Emergency Covers ...
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KALEIDOSCOPE – Sky Children: The Best Of Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour (Beyond Before BB114)
Let me tell you a story. A couple of years after leaving sixth form, I went back to visit my old English teacher. He showed ...
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JOHN BLEK – Digressions #2 Grounded (We Are Rats WARR014)
Digressions #2 Grounded is well described. 2020 was certainly a digression from “normal” life and grounded is what most of us were. Artists reacted differently ...
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HOTH BROTHERS BAND – Tell Me How You Feel (own label)
Tell Me How You Feel has seventeen songs, one hour and six minutes long. Hoth Brothers Band (HOTH = High On The Hog) have not ...
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Boo Hewerdine to release Selected Works
A new 20 song compilation album sequenced by Tom Rose from English songwriter Boo Hewerdine's extraordinary catalogue released (in his 60th year) on March 26th ...
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Towersey Festival 2021 – news from the director
Back in March 2020 when the world got flipped on its axis, Towersey Festival was one of the very first events to cancel their live ...
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VISION THING – Morning’s Coming (own label VT007CD)
Begun in 2019 and completed in lockdown, produced by Merry Hell’s John Kettle, Morning’s Coming, the second album by the North West quartet stakes an ...
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TRAILHEAD – Into The Mountains (Requa Records REQUA 202103)
Trailhead is the recording name for German Americana singer-songwriter Tobias Panwitz, apparently acquired during his time as part of the trail maintenance crew in Northern ...
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The Soundhouse Organisation’s Spotlight Series continues on Monday 15 March with Trio Magico
Comprising pianist Paul Harrison, bassist Mario Caribé and drummer / percussionist Stuart Brown, Trio Magico have been brought together by their passion for playing Brazilian ...
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NED ROBERTS – From The Reels: 2012-2020 (Self-released download)
From The Reels is a collection of hitherto unreleased outtakes from Ned Roberts’ previous three albums and sessions with LA-based producer Luther Russell, released as ...
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NOTHING CONCRETE – The Haberdasher’s Voyage (Round Flat Records)
There are some albums that, on first hearing, make you exclaim “oh, my” or words to that effect. The Haberdasher’s Voyage is one such – ...
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MILTON HIDE – Temperature’s Rising (own label)
The debut album by Wilmington, East Sussex acoustic duo Jim and Josie Tipler, joined (remotely) by an assortment of guests on the likes of fiddle, ...
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LEWIS BARFOOT – Glenaphuca (own label)
Lewis Barfoot’s Glenaphuca is gorgeous album that condenses modern maturity into a melodic simplicity that, somehow, ignites (with crystalline vocals) the vivid colours of her ...
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FIELD WORKS – Cedars (Temporary Residence)
Well, this is something different. For the ninth outing in the series, producer Stuart Hyatt has put together a special dual-language release that combines cosmic ...
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Iain Matthews and Andy Roberts live in 1991
Live At The Bonington Theatre - Nottingham 1991 from Iain Matthews with Andy Roberts is issued on CD through Angel Air [Cat No SJPCD642] on ...
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Kate Rusby to stream Hand Me Down
Kate Rusby Worldwide Streamed Album Concert 10 April 2021, 7.30pm BST The first full play of acclaimed album Hand Me Down Kate Rusby brings to ...
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NINEBARROW – A Pocket Full of Acorns (Winding Track)
Named for Nine Barrow Down in Dorset’s Purbeck hills, joined by Lee MacKenzie on cello, Nizlopi’s double bassist John Parker and both producer Mark Tucker ...
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Copperplate Podcast 257 presented by Alan O’Leary
folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, yes you guessed it, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his ...
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GORDON DOWNIE – Away Is Mine (Arts & Crafts Productions)
Gord Downie’s Away Is Mine is an album of “rough magic” that “reads the thoughts of birds” while it sings a glorious acoustic harmony to ...
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MICHAEL JOHNATHON – The Painter (PoetMan Records PMR70030)
An artist whose teenage comic strip was published in 17 newspapers, holed up in his Kentucky log cabin, Johnathon’s completed 49 oil paintings since the ...
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JOHN RENBOURN GROUP – A Maid In Bremen (MIG MIG02392 CD)
You have to wonder what more historic delights are still hidden away in the vaults of German radio and TV. The punningly titled A Maid ...
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ELENA PIRAS – Where The Wind Blows (own label EP0002 CD)
There are some albums that can be reasonably described as “eclectic” and When The Wind Blows is one such. Any of the threads spun together ...
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EAMON O’LEARY – The Silver Sun (Reveal 108CDX)
Recorded in just one afternoon, The Silver Sun is the New York-based Dubliner’s third album on which he’s joined by Benjamin Lazar Davis on keys, ...
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Free online training for all Gaelic and traditional arts tutors
Gaelic arts organisation, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, is running a free tutor training day next month with sessions focusing on health & wellbeing, how Covid-19 might ...
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SON OF THE VELVET RAT – Solitary Company
Let’s start factually. Son Of The Velvet Rat release Solitary Company on March 19th. George Altziebler - songwriter, vocalist, player of guitar, harmonica, melodica - ...
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Ray Cooper announces new album
Ray Cooper started to play in bands when he was 16. After Art College in Brighton, he joined punk band Amazorblades, moved to London and ...
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COHEN BRAITHWAITE-KILCOYNE – Rakes & Misfits (Grimdon Records GRICD003)
It’s almost four years since Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne released his debut solo album, Outway Songster. Not that he’s been idle: Granny’s Attic has kept him busy ...
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The Unthanks announce their Winter Onliner
This weekend The Unthanks present 22 hours of content! Exclusive new performances, podcasts, Q&As, cook-alongs and quizzes, will sit alongside over 2 hours created by ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Between Islands (An Lanntair LANCD006)
A bringing together of three projects (song writing, fiddle and folk) involving thirteen artists from Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides and originated by the An ...
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OKA VANGA – Oka Vanga (Crazy Bird Records)
Oka Vanga’s third (and self-titled) album is a “wild, rich & unique” joyous hybrid of Americana and wind-blown memories of British folk music. Angela Meyer ...
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LAWRENCE ILLSLEY – Trees (Tiny Tree Records TTRLICD001)
A Cornish poet now based in the Welsh valleys, Illsley makes his singer-songwriter debut with a thematic companion piece to last year’s award-winning collection of ...
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LOVERIDGE – As The Crow Flies (Loveridge Records)
Sea shanties dropped out of my own repertoire quite a few years ago, so I'm probably the only folkie in Cornwall who hasn't heard Fisherman's ...
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BEULAH’S BONEYARD – Songs For A Watchful World (own label)
Songs For A Watchful World is a collaboration between Oxford-based lyricist Martin Beck and Jon Avison, frontman of The Moonbeams, joined by, among others, the ...
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Rare Howlin’ Wolf tracks to be released
Unquestionably one of the most influential singer / songwriter / performers of the post-war Chicago Blues explosion, Howlin’ Wolf – AKA Chester Burnett – bestrode ...
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BREWERS DAUGHTER – Jara (own label)
About five years ago I was bowled over by Make Believe, the debut album by Brewers Daughter. It was a fairly homespun affair – the ...
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STRAWBS – Settlement (Esoteric EANTCD1087)
Fifty-seven years since their formation (and fifty-four since they shortened their name to Strawbs), the core of today’s line up dates back to 1973 when ...
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JANET SIMPSON – Safe Distance (Cornelius Chapel Records CCR49CD)
Janet Simpson’s Safe Distance is an album for those of us who love country music but didn’t bother to watch the CMA show yet have ...
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IAN DAVID GREEN – Songs Of The Sea (own label)
A reedy-voiced singer-songwriter from Liverpool, armed with an acoustic guitar and harmonica and variously accompanied by accordion, brass, keys, drums, mandolin and strings from members ...
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TV SMITH – Lockdown Holiday (Easy Action EARS149)
TV Smith, or Tim as nobody calls him, was one of the first wave of punks forming The Adverts in 1976 – remember ‘Gary Gilmore’s ...
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BOO SUTCLIFFE – Blink (own label)
Boo Sutcliffe is a Yorkshire singer-songwriter and Blink is his debut album – a remarkably sophisticated one, at that. Boo does nearly everything: writing, singing, ...
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EDWARD II – Dancing Tunes (E2JAM 1905)
Welcome to the party! Full on into the swaying of Jamaican dance music! Jamaican music is rooted in the West Indian Mento and Calypso, and ...
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CATHERINE BRITT – Home Truths (Beverley Hillbilly Records Bevhillrec001)
Unless you knew, you‘d readily believe Britt was born and bred in the Tennessee foothills, but, while she spent six years in Nashville, she does, ...
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Folk Alliance International announces details of a mammoth online event
To our knowledge, Folk Unlocked (presented by Folk Alliance International aka FAI) is the largest ever virtual music festival ever, with over 1,000 acts playing all ...
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DAVIE FUREY – Haunted Streets (own label)
Davie Furey is originally from Navan and now lives in County Laois but there isn’t a lot about his background to be found. On his ...
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SINGLES BAR 62 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles
Based in the Western isles of Scotland, FELIX SAUNDERS has a throaty, world-weary vocal rasp and earthy accent (think a centuries-old Proclaimers), heard to persuasive ...
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JON WILKS – Up The Cut (Grizzly Folk)
Once again, following Midlife, the redoubtable Birmingham folkie has delved into the archives to emerge with Up The Cut, another selection of largely unknown and ...
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JORDMÅN – Jazz På Nysvenska (Dos)
Peter Bryngelsson’s (more about whom later!) new project Jordmån is an adventurous folk concept piece that fuses traditional tunes, original compositions, and instruments all under ...
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Copperplate Podcast 257 presented by Alan O’Leary
folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, yes you guessed it, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his ...
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BROON – Cosmic Ceilidh (SBECD20)
Cosmic Ceilidh is the debut album from multi-instrumentalist Steve Brown of Arisaig in the Scottish Highlands. A busy professional live musician since the 1993, the ...
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RICK SHEA – Love & Desperation (Tres Pecadores TPCD12)
A multi-instrumentalist Southern California singer-songwriter who’s played sideman for Katy Moffat, Wanda Jackson and Dave Alvin, with a penchant for Hank Williams influences and old ...
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Helen Gentile & Lewis Wood release debut duo album
Helen Gentile & Lewis Wood are an exciting duo who perform original and dynamic arrangements of European folk dance tunes on clarinet and violin. In ...
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Copperplate Podcast 255 presented by Alan O’Leary
Here is Alan O'Leary's first podcast of 2021. 1. Danu: The Garsun Who Beat His Father/Sean Maguire’s/Jimmy Kelly’s. All Things Considered 2. Le Cheile: ...
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DOWALLY – early bird // night owl (own label)
early bird // night owl is the third album from Dowally and it is made up of original contemporary folk interspersed with some traditional folk ...
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Gillian Welch & David Rawlings announce release of acoustic covers album
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings confirm that their Grammy nominated All The Good Times, a new collection of ten acoustic covers recorded at home on a reel-to-reel, ...
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Copperplate Podcast 254
We've got a bit behind with Alan O'Leary's Copperplate podcasts recently what with Darren being hors de combat and me not knowing the proper way ...
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PATTERSON DIPPER – Unearthing (own label PD001)
John Dipper’s virtuosity on violin is well known as is his skill as a maker of concertinas. Of late he has turned his attention to ...
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TRADArrr – Strange News (Hedge of Sound Records HOS26 2020)
Strange News, TRADArrr’s third album, once again finds the septet’s assembled members taking traditional folk songs by the scruff of the neck and giving them ...
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DAVID A HARLEY – Tears Of Morning (Wheal Alice Music)
David A Harley’s Tears Of Morning is a wonderful WABAC Machine that, in true Rocky and Bullwinkle Mr. Peabody (and Sherman!) fame, travels back in ...
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The Railway Inn, Winchester off the danger list
Music Venue Trust (MVT), which represents hundreds of UK grassroots music venues (GMVs), has announced that 13 out of the 30 GMVs on their Save ...
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The Top 40 folk albums chart for January
Today, the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the January ...
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LUKE CONCANNON – Ecstatic Bird In The Burning (The Movement TMCD001)
With Leamington’s Nizlopi now on an indefinite hiatus, frontman Concannon, who’s relocated to Vermont, returns to his solo career with Ecstatic Bird In The Burning, ...
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KEEPING IT LIVE IN LOCKDOWN – Winter Wilson Live From The Lounge
I was thinking of writing this review in seven weeks’ time – which is both unusually precise and about five weeks ahead of any planning ...
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The Brewers Daughter announces her long-awaited second album
Rhiannon Crutchley is an independent, alternative, acoustic musician who performs under the stage name Brewers Daughter. She was born and bred in Northampton and resides ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Roy Bailey Remembered (Towersey Festival TF202001)
Roy Bailey was always a favourite of Towersey Festival. He was the festival’s patron and, in fact, his last album was a live set recorded ...
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Caro Emerald livestreams tomorrow
Tomorrow, January 30th 2021 at 8PM CET, Caro Emerald will perform a livestream concert, available for free via her YouTube and official website. Caro will ...
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Steve Brown, aka Broon, announces his debut solo album
Cosmic Ceilidh is the debut album written and (mostly) performed by multi-instrumentalist Steve Brown of Arisaig in the Scottish Highlands under his nom de plume, ...
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THE MECHANICALS BAND – The Righteous Jazz (Rushmoor Records)
Having tackled Shakespeare and assorted poets on their last two releases, the Leamington Spa quintet comprising Wes Finch on guitars and vocals, drummer Ben Haines, ...
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KAREN MATHESON – Still Time (Compass Records)
Capercaillie vocalist Karen Matheson’s new album, Still Time, is a wondrous album that blends folk, slight jazz, and everything else “that’s sweetly play’d in tune” ...
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Patterson Dipper announce new album
Put together one of the English folk scene’s most lyrical singers, let them mature together for a decade or two, and their stunning new album ...
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LUCERO – When You Found Me (Liberty & Lament)
Twelve albums in and several line-up changes along the way, but still fronted by Ben Nichols, the Memphis-based quintet (with added sax) build on the ...
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IAIN MATTHEWS & THE SALMON SMOKERS – Fake Tan (Talking Elephant TECD465)
As his contribution to making us all feel better in these difficult times Iain Matthews has turned his attention to some old favourite songs plus ...
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SINGLES BAR 61 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles
LUKE JACKSON issues a seven-track digital EP, Of The Time, this month. The opening track, ‘I Am Not OK With This’, looks our present situation ...
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JIMMY LEE MORRIS – Truth Is The Talisman (AutomixRecords)
Both a retrospective of previously unrecorded songs and new material, this double album from the Devon-based singer-songwriter, formerly half of The Hat Band, totals a ...
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ISOBEL CAMPBELL – Milkwhite Sheets (Cooking Vinyl)
One question: Where have you gone Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel? More about them later, but Isobel Campbell’s Milkwhite Sheets has been re-issued by Cooking ...
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SEAN TAYLOR – Lockdown (own label STCD115)
Recorded, as the title suggests, during lockdown in London with overdubs by Mark Hallman done remotely in Austin, this is, for seven of the ten ...
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JIM GHEDI- In the Furrows Of Common Place (Basin Rock)
A starker sound and more personal focus characterise In the Furrows Of Common Place, the riveting third album from the Sheffield-born folk musician, one that ...
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JON BICKLEY AND THE INVISIBLE FOLK CLUB BAND – Under The Same Sky (Invisible Folk CD001)
Most of the music on Under The Same Sky has been written for a film project for The Higgins Museum. Jon Bickley is known as ...
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PETE McCLELLAND – The Way Back To You (Hobgoblin Records HOBCD1019)
Up to now, I was more aware of Pete McClelland as co-founder of Hobgoblin Music – a company that has provided me with several very ...
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Dowally announce new album
Contemporary Edinburgh folk duo Dowally will release their exciting, eclectic new album early bird // night owl on Friday, 19 February 2021. Dowally is Dan ...
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FRANKIE ARMSTRONG AND FRIENDS – Cats Of Coven Lawn (own label)
It may be just a coincidence that Frankie Armstrong celebrates her 80th birthday with this new album but I don’t believe in coincidences. The friends ...
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Davie Furey announces new album – Haunted Streets
Release Date: 19th February 2021 Pre Order: 1st February 2021 Lead Single: ‘Who Am I’ Davie Furey’s new album, Haunted Streets, features some of Ireland’s ...
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Kerri Watt releases debut album
Today, Glaswegian singer-songwriter Kerri Watt releases her long awaited debut studio album Neptune’s Daughter. The album is available on CD, cassette (available exclusively from Kerri’s ...
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Michael Chapman – Ancient & Modern – Streamed Concert
To mark his 80th birthday on the 24th of January, veteran troubadour Michael Chapman, has announced this special concert, recorded during the November lockdown in ...
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GIULIA MILLANTA – Tomorrow Is A Bird (Ugly Cat Music)
Giulia Millanta’s new album, Tomorrow Is A Bird, blows with a deep fresh breeze of a folk-rock record that just happens to have really nice ...
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SCOTT McKAY – Stupid Cupid (own label)
Backed by his regular rhythm section of Josh and Sam Langille, alongside guitarist Grant Siemens and Burke Carroll on pedal steel, the Charlottetown singer’s third ...
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JIM CAUSLEY – Devonshire Roses (Hrõc Music HROC05)
Jim Causley returns to his roots for his Lockdown-2 album. Devonshire Roses follows Dumnonia – recorded ten years ago – by collecting together twenty songs ...
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Celtic Connections – everything you need to know
The Celtic Connections online festival will begin one week today. Across 19 days, the festival will present over 30 online performances between Friday 15th January ...
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December’s top 40 folk albums revealed by Official Charts Company
Today, the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the December ...
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Sean Taylor releases hard-hitting new album
2020 is a year that we will all never forget. Fear and isolation has painted the background for Lockdown, the new album from Sean Taylor, ...
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THE QUESTIONNAIRES – Atlantic Ridge (Boom Chang Records BCCD018)
The Questionnaires are a ten-piece duo from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. What I mean to say is that at their core is the songwriting duo of Jane Wade ...
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RICHARD HASWELL – With The Changing Light (Rhubarb Music)
Richard Haswell’s With The Changing Light is a great rock record (with electronica and jazzy subtitles) that holds a winning poker hand of classic sounds, ...
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Fairport Convention compile their Alan Simon recordings
Fairport Convention Collect Together the Recordings on Alan Simon’s Rock Operas, Including Excalibur: The Celtic Rock Opera, on the album Fame and Glory – Out Now! ...
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TERRY CLARKE – Walk Like A King (Terrapin Records TRP 1920)
Many years ago Andy Roberts released an album called Urban Cowboy and although the two albums are very dissimilar it sprang to mind the first ...
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ELLES BAILEY – Ain’t Nothing But (Outlaw Music)
Speaking as a fellow artist, I have so much admiration for those who have managed to produce new music during this pandemic. A year in ...
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SINGLES BAR 60 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles
Following closely on the version by Larkin Poe comes another cover of ‘Nights In White Satin’, this from RED SKY JULY, the trio comprising Ally ...
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DOLLY PARTON – A Holly Dolly Christmas (Butterfly Records190296823435)
Dolly saves Christmas. That’s what this album SHOULD be called. Instead it’s a cheeky re-work of the familiar Christmas song ‘Holly Jolly Christmas’, and indeed ...
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CONSTANTINE – In Memory Of A Summer Day (Guerssen Records)
Chicago’s Constantine’s new acid-psych folk album In Memory Of A Summer Day flows with both “cadence and cascade”. Yeah, they were apparently “ladies of the ...
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HANZ ARAKI & KATHRYN CLAIRE – The Emigrant’s Song/The Laborer’s Lament (The Celtic Conspiracy CELCON003)
And so we come to the end of my reviews of the four CDs that comprise a seasonal set by the American duo Hanz Araki ...
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Fèisean nan Gàidheal announce three charity download singles
A Gaelic arts organisation hopes to spread some festive cheer with the release of three new Gaelic songs, with proceeds of the songs going to ...
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Tim Edey releases charity single, ‘Fields Of Gold’
Jaw-dropping Anglo-Irish multi-instrumentalist Tim Edey, newly crowned Musician of the Year at the 2020 MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, has released the first single ...
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RON JAPPY – Vincular (Bow Fiddle Records BWFDR001)
We often receive emails asking if we’d like to review such-and-such a CD and it seems churlish to refuse, even though it’s impossible to promise ...
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DARIA KULESH & TRISTAN SEUME – online concert
2020 hasn't brought many positives for lovers of live music, still less for the many fine musicians who are no longer able to rely on ...
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Ninebarrow address their carbon footprint
Award-winning Dorset duo Ninebarrow will celebrate the launch of their fourth studio album A Pocket Full of Acorns next spring by fulfilling a long-held wish ...
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MATTIAS LIES – Highs & Lows (Valley Music/Dalapop)
Swedish folky Mattias Lies’ album Highs & Lows shines a tintype dark lacquered light to Neil Young’s song ‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’ with ...
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TOBIAS BEN JACOB – Refuge (own label)
One half of Jacob and Drinkwater, produced by John Elliot Refuge is very much a solo affair and a departure from their sound as a ...
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JOHNNY COPPIN – Midwinter – Live In Concert (Red Sky Records RSKCD 123)
Due to this unprecedented year of few live gigs, well known and well-respected singer/songwriter Johnny Coppin has brought out this delightful live album of his ...
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FIREFALL – Comet (Sunset Blvd. Records)
Firefall’s Comet, their first record in twenty plus years, spins with the same pop-country sound that graced the radio so many years ago. And quite ...
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Kate Rusby to stream full length concert
This year, Kate Rusby is determined to bring the joy of her usual Christmas tour to the comfort of everyone’s homes with the special delivery ...
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Skerryvore will be virtually first-footing around the world on New Year’s Day
Multi award-winning band Skerryvore have announced that they are going first footing around the world this 1st January as they take to people’s living rooms internationally ...
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HANZ ARAKI & KATHRYN CLAIRE – As I Roved Out: Songs Of Spring (The Celtic Conspiracy CELCON002)
While my reviewing of this series of four CDs has been unavoidably eccentric so far, starting with the last in the series and moving on ...
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MOSSY CHRISTIAN – Come Nobles And Heroes (One Row Records ORRCD002)
Sometimes only some old-fashioned traditional music will do and Come Nobles And Heroes serves that up in great style. It is the debut album by ...
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CATFISH KEITH – Blues At Midnight (Fish Tail Records FTRCD018)
Catfish Keith releases his new album Blues At Midnight on December 15th. If you’ve even a passing interest in the Blues, you’ve probably come across ...
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LONG TALL JEFFERSON – Cloud Folk (Red Brick Chapel Records)
Swiss-born Long Tall Jefferson (aka Simon Borer) says of his Cloud Folk record: it’s “an album for the now with elements of trap, cloud rap, ...
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HANZ ARAKI & KATHRYN CLAIRE – A Winter Solstice Celebration (The Celtic Conspiracy CELCON001)
Having recently reviewed (and very much enjoyed) the last in a series of CDs of largely traditional music from Hanz Araki and Kathryn Claire, I'm ...
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GRYPHON – Get Out Of My Father’s Car! (own label GRIFCD02)
There have been a couple of changes in the Gryphon line-up since their last outing. First there is a new bass-player in the shape of ...
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Phil Cunningham’s online Christmas Songbook
To bring on the Christmas cheer after what has been a tough year for everyone, the Phil Cunningham Christmas Songbook team have come together to ...
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DeBarra’s goes online
DeBarra’s Clonakilty announce new online series featuring over 20 eclectic acts including: Mary Coughlan, Niamh Regan, John Spillane, Craic Boi Mental, Elaine Malone & more… ...
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CHILLY GONZALES – A Very Chilly Christmas (GENTLE022CD)
A Very Chilly Christmas is just lovely! I want to put on a cocktail dress and sip on something seasonal while I let this gorgeous ...
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Celtic Connections announces its first list of artists
Celtic Connections has announced the first list of artists who will perform as part of their digital-first festival this January. Across 19 days, the festival ...
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KIRIKI CLUB – Kiriki Club (own label Kiriki 001)
Drawing on backgrounds as various as clowning, dance, theatre and live art, the Birmingham-based sextet, Kiriki Club (the name inspired by Les Kiriki, a film ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – A Gulf Coast Christmas (Gulf Coast GCRX9028)
I was delighted to review this album, A Gulf Coast Christmas for you. I love a Christmas album. I’m putting that out there right now ...
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Judy Collins set to headline Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival has made its first major line-up announcement for 2021 after managing to secure the majority of its performers from this year's festival that ...
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THE LOST NOTES – Lowlifes & High Times (own label)
Lowlifes & High Times, the much anticipated second album from Birmingham’s acoustic quintet, finds them dispensing with the debut’s playful socio-political numbers such as ‘Bankers ...
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Hewerdine and Napier announce songwriting courses
Songwriting vituosos Boo Hewerdine and Findlay Napier have announced the launch of a series of songwriting workshops aimed at creative people in Scotland whose livelihoods ...
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FOLK ON FOOT podcast wins another award – and announces a special episode with guitarist Richard Thompson!
The Folk on Foot podcast has won the Gold Award for Best Arts and Entertainment podcast at the LOVIE AWARDS – which celebrate the best ...
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KACY & CLAYTON AND MARLON WILLIAMS – Plastic Bouquet (New West Records)
Canadians Kacy & Clayton join forces with New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams for their wonderful new folk album Plastic Bouquet. They play sublime music that ...
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EDGELARKS – Henry Martin (Dragonfly Roots DRCD008)
It was only a matter of time before Phillip and Hannah called an album Henry Martin. If ever there was a title crying out for ...
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THE BILLS – ‘Til The Blues Have Gone (Wheeling RecordsWRCS 2O2OO1)
Norway-based American bluesmen, Bill Booth and Bill Troiani have played together in various permutations over the years, but ‘Til The Blues Have Gone marks their ...
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Ninebarrow stream live concert from Poole Lighthouse
Back in March, BBC award nominees Ninebarrow, widely recognised as one of the finest duos in UK folk music, were about to set out on ...
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BEANS ON TOAST – The Unforeseeable Future (Botmusic)
The second album released to celebrate Jay’s 40th birthday is a reversion to his familiar DIY style. The Unforeseeable Future provides a commentary on what ...
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BEANS ON TOAST – Knee Deep In Nostalgia (Botmusic)
The first of the two simultaneously released albums to mark his 40th birthday produced by Frank Turner and also featuring keyboardist Tensheds, Matt Hensley from ...
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Yvonne Lyon announces her new album
Yvonne Lyon's new album Growing Wild is a stunning collection of timeless songs, arguably her finest to date. Featuring twelve original tracks, including co-writes with ...
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MERRY HELL – EMERGENCY LULLABIES & INTERVIEW
Our very own singer songwriter Paul Johnson gets some 'Emergency Lullabies' when he talks to the band Merry Hell about the release of their fantastic ...
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Michael Chapman streams live concert
Veteran troubadour Michael Chapman, has announced a special concert, recorded during lockdown in York’s stunning Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, to be broadcast online next Sunday 29th ...
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B.J. COLE WITH DAVE EASTOE – Daydream Smile (Cow Pie COWFOURcd)
Invented in Hawaii by Joseph Kekuku around 1889 (although the first electric lap steel, invented by George Beaucham, preceded it in 1931), the steel guitar ...
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THIS IS THE KIT – Off Off On (Rough Trade Records)
This Is The Kit’ s Off Off On is a dense tapestry of banjo fueled folk music that is enveloped in gossamer jazz tones and ...
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THE NORDIC FIDDLERS BLOC – Bonfrost (own label NFB004CD)
Bonfrost is the third album of music spanning the North Sea from power fiddle trio, The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc. Anders Hall is from Sweden and ...
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STEPHEN CLARK – The Lady Aurora (LAR01)
The Lady Aurora is the first solo album by Stephen Clark. The album is predominantly acoustic guitar instrumentals. Hmmm, how to give, in words, a ...
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LARKIN POE – Kindred Spirits (Tricki-Woo Records)
Their second album of the year sees Rebecca and Megan Lovell turn to their record collection for an album of covers, recorded raw and live ...
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