The folking.com music archive for album reviews and news

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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).

RAB NOAKES – Welcome To Anniversaryville (Neon Records NEONCD021)

I was delighted to receive a review copy of the new Rab Noakes CD Welcome To Anniversaryville – scheduled for release on the 13th July ...
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FOLKY MACFOLK FACE – When Night Falls (own label)

Can we just accept that this is the worst band name since Sconce The Ogives and move on? When Night Falls is the debut album ...
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Bath Folk Festival and Traditional Music Summer School

Now in its ninth year, Bath Folk Festival runs from 11th - 19th August 2018 and presents great opportunities for players and listeners alike. The ...
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DOWALLY – Somewhere (own label, DW002)

Are we there yet? Today’s destination is highland hamlet Dowally – or rather, the immensely talented Scottish trio of that name, who decided to call ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Destination (Fellside Recordings FECD282)

The Fellside Recording label has been a major force in independent folk music recording for 42 years and has over 600 albums to its credit, ...
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Jackie Oates: new album and tour dates

We are proud to announce the release of the seventh studio album, The Joy Of Living, by Jackie Oates. It’s a record that covers an ...
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Rab Noakes announces new album

Welcome to Anniversaryville released on Friday 13th July 2018 In February of 2017 Rab Noakes performed a well-attended, highly-acclaimed concert, with his ‘70/50 in 2017’ ...
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THE KIMBERLEYS – The Kimberleys (Popla OB7)

It can be difficult to take a well-known traditional song and attempt to do something new with it. Those of us with long memories will ...
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ALDEN PATTERSON AND DASHWOOD – By The Night (own label)

Arriving in a hand printed card sleeve, By The Night is the second album from the Norwich-based trio of Christina Alden, Alex Patterson and Noel ...
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Fellside Recordings announce their final history triple-CD set

After 42 years of the business and with the release of over 600 albums managing directors Paul and Linda Adams are now wanting to take ...
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TONY ROSE – Medicine Tunes (Cannery Row Records. CRR 1824/ CRR 1825)

Recorded in just one session in the spring of 2017, Medicine Tunes is the debut solo album by Tony Rose. Moving away from his more ...
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JAMIE MACDONALD & CHRISTIAN GAMAUF – The Pipe Slang (own label JMCG01)

Jamie and Christian met on the Isle Of Uist and, having participated in a cultural exchange in Asturias and paid their dues at small gigs, ...
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LUCY WARD – Pretty Warnings (Betty Beetroot BETTY03)

Having been finally converted to Ward with her last album, I Dreamt I Was A Bird, I was unsure whether that was a one-off or ...
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Adrian McNally talks to Dave Freak about The Unthanks and Molly Drake

The songs of Molly Drake have been slowly seeping into public consciousness for the best part of a decade. There was a fleeting glimpse of ...
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SERIOUS CHILD – Empty Nest (TCR Music TCRM75099)

The core of Serious Child – or as the CD sleeve has it, SERIOUS CHiLD – consists of Alan Young on guitar and vocals, Carla ...
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Son Of William – EP launch event

Though their name would suggest otherwise, the link between Hayley and Ben Williams is nothing but musical. Son Of William is a collaboration between Hayley ...
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PARKER MILLSAP – Other Arrangements (OkraHoma OKRA004CD)

Three albums in, two of which have topped the US Americana charts, the Oklahoma singer-songwriter is expanding his musical horizons and looking to broaden his ...
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THE MOONBEAMS – This Land (Moonbeam Records MBR003)

The Moonbeams band forms the core of The Moonbeam Collective, a multi-platform arts community based in the Yorkshire Dales. This Land, the band’s third album, ...
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Serious Child announce debut album

Empty Nest is the affecting and impressive debut album from Serious Child, a talented trio fronted by singer/songwriter and guitarist Alan Young with Carla March ...
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HECTOR GILCHRIST – Gleanings (WildGoose WGS426CD)

Hector Gilchrist, as you will quickly discover, comes from Ayrshire but is much travelled. To misuse a common phrase, however: you can take the man ...
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CARDBOARD FOX – Topspin (own label, CARRIVICKSCD09)

Featuring the shared lead vocals of sisters Charlotte and Laura Carrivick (who also perform as a duo), with backing provided by Joe Tozer and John ...
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HÒ-RÒ – Hex (own label)

Since their eponymous debut album two years ago, Hò-Rò have expanded to a six-piece with Paul Martin and DC Macmillan joining Calum MacPhail, Lucy Doogan, ...
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Copperplate Podcast 224 – 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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SKERRYVORE – Evo (Tyree09CD)

Skerryvore release Evo, their sixth studio album, on June 11th. You get an album to review and it’s a bit like sitting in the marquee ...
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SINGLES BAR 30 – a round-up of recent EPs and singles

Following on from 2016’s Trick Star, accompanied by Steve Mayone on mandolin and nylon string guitar, pedal steel player Chris Tarrow, Jason Mercer on upright ...
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Ben Sures releases landmark concert album

In 2016 Ben Sures received a grant from The Canada Council, Canada’s most significant granting body to Arts and Culture. The grant was to have ...
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FAIRPORT CONVENTION – What We Did On Our Saturday (Matty Grooves MG2CD055)

If you’ve ever been to a Cropredy Festival you’ll know exactly what they do on Saturday. They gather together a bunch of former band-mates and ...
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VINNY PECULIAR – Return Of The Native (Shadrack & Duxbury SADCD013)

An album celebrating his return to his roots after years living in Manchester, with its heady dose of nostalgia and memories, borrowing the title from ...
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MISCHIEF AFOOT – Mischief Afoot (WildGoose WGS424CD)

Mischief Afoot are a trio of English musicians based in the Cotswolds and I think it’s fair to say that John Davis, Becky Dellow and ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – 1989 Newport Folk Festival (Air Cuts AC3CD8060)

Hats off to the Air Cuts label for this box-set of the Ben & Jerry’s 1989 Newport Folk Festival – a near 30 year old ...
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The Ballads Of Child Migration on tour

With award-winning folk artists: John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, Boo Hewerdine, O’Hooley & Tidow, Chris While, Julie Matthews, John Doyle, Jez Lowe, Andy Seward and Andy ...
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JENNIFER WARNES – Another Time, Another Place (BMG 538358052)

I first encountered Warnes back in 1977 with the release of her eponymously titled Arista debut fourth album, prompting me to immediately seek out its ...
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JAKE WALTON – Silver Muse (CM0001)

Folk music, as opposed to singer-songwriting or the many facets of acoustic music, has a sense of place and history. It is defined by social ...
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MISHAPED PEARLS – Shivelight (own label MISSHAP04)

Four years on from Thamesis, the London septet return with an album that take its title from Gerard Manley-Hopkins’ invented word for the lances of ...
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MATTHEW BYRNE – Horizon Lines (own label MB060417)

Hailing from Newfoundland, the deep-voiced Byrne stands in the classic tradition of Canadian folk singers such as Stan Rogers, Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Tyson, his ...
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RURA – In Praise Of Home (Rura Music RURACD003)

Almost the first sound you hear is the voice of Steven Blake’s grandfather, James Russell, reflecting on his home in Montrose. Or rather the feeling ...
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BOB DYLAN – Live NYC 1963 (Rox Vox. RVCD2130)

In early 1963, Bob Dylan was at the threshold of a career that would skyrocket him to previously unimaginable heights, in part, aided by his ...
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DANIEL & EMMA REID – Life Continuum (own label EMR04)

Saxophone and fiddle isn’t a combination you hear very often, no more than flute and Hardanger fiddle but here they are, together with accordion, piano ...
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MISNER & SMITH – headwaters (own label)

The actor-turned-muso duo of Sam Misner and Megan Smith return with their fifth album, headwaters, due for release on June 25th, although it has been ...
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JON BUDWORTH – We All Share The Same Sky (Flying Folkie FF001CD)

Jon Budworth is a man of contradictions: a son of Lancashire who now lives in Yorkshire; a former rock’n’roller who discovered the joys of the ...
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BARRY NISBET – A Bright Ray Of Sunshine (Own Label, RRIG001)

Shetland singer-songwriter (and sailor) Barry Nisbet’s little box of delights, A Bright Ray Of Sunshine finally reaches the top of the unruly stack by the ...
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Brackenbury And Neilson announce debut album

The long-awaited first full-length album by Faith Brackenbury and John Neilson brings together nine of their own compositions, plus one short piece by the Swedish ...
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Scottish trio Dowally announces second album and tour dates

Described as "something very special” “truly great music-making” and “great stuff” by BBC Radio Scotland, Scottish folk trio Dowally release their hotly-anticipated second album, Somewhere ...
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TRACY GRAMMER – Low Tide (own label TGM180119)

Although Grammer released six albums with the late Dave Carter and a previous solo outing in 2006, this is the first on which she’s both ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Resound (Shrewsbury Folk Festival)

Curated by Hannah James and released by Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Resound is a multi-tasking album. Firstly, it’s a tribute to Alan Surtees, founder and organiser ...
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SHARON LAZIBYRD – Half Shame And Half Glory (Trampoline TRL002)

Sharon Lazibyrd first came to my attention in 2013, disappeared for a while and returned with her single, ‘Opium Of The Masses’. It felt at ...
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JACK CARTY AND GUS GARDINER – Hospital Hill (It’s Dinner Recordings/ MGM GLWCD07)

Australian musicians Jack Carty and Gus Gardiner collaborate to co-write Hospital Hill, which will be released on June 1st. While by and large, I would ...
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DÓNAL CLANCY – On The Lonesome Plain (Proper/Copperplate DCLPCD16)

Dónal Clancy is the son of Liam Clancy, and comes highly recommended by the likes of Archie Fisher and Martin Simpson. His forthcoming album On ...
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Joe Broughton talks about The Conservatoire Folk Ensemble

"Things often get out of hand when working with the Folk Ensemble," reckons founder and leader Joe Broughton. "You just mention an idea and before ...
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Lucy Ward announces new album and tour dates

Pretty Warnings is the captivating fourth studio album from Lucy Ward. Rich with tradition and exquisitely penned original songs, this album weaves its way effortlessly ...
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WINTER WILSON – Far Off On The Horizon (The Launch Event)

If you go to a Winter Wilson gig you can expect great songs well-played, but also humour in their introductions. I saw them play at ...
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PHIL MADEIRA – Providence (Mercyland Records. ML006)

Providence is the brand new release from one of Nashville’s most seasoned veterans, Phil Madeira. It’s jazzy, it’s bluesy and as you’d expect from a ...
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PHANTOM VOICES – Peace By Peace (Wyre Records WR006)

Phantom Voices are a six-piece band from Lancashire, Peace By Peace being their second album. With five vocalists and eleven instruments to choose from their ...
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Parker Millsap releases third album next month

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Parker Millsap will release his third full band album, Other Arrangements on June 15th via Thirty Tigers. The anticipated new release showcases the ...
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JILL JACKSON – Are We There Yet (own label JJR001CD)

Are We There Yet was released a few days ago on May 18th. The album was produced by Boo Hewerdine and has that classy feel ...
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PROSECCO SOCIALIST – Songs From Behind Bars (Gypsy Chicken Box Records)

Prosecco Socialist emerged late last year with a brilliant single, ‘This Dog’s Just For Christmas (Not For Life)’. It’s the second track here and not ...
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Cowboy Junkies release new album and announce winter tour dates

Cowboy Junkies will release All That Reckoning, the band’s first new recording since The Wilderness (2012) on July 13, 2018 via Proper Records. Whether commenting ...
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DÀIMH – The Rough Bounds (Goat Island Music, GIMCD005)

Twenty years to the day since their first gig, Dàimh release their seventh album, The Rough Bounds. While the title might aptly describe the burly ...
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Hò-rò announce new album and tour dates

Hex is the much-anticipated new album from Scottish outfit Hò-rò.  Winners in the ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ category at 2017’s MG Alba Scots Trad Music ...
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BRYONY GRIFFITH – Hover (Selwyn Music SYNMCD0009)

It’s funny how things go but there seems to something of a resurgence in English fiddle music at the moment. Hover is Bryony’s second solo ...
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BLAIR DUNLOP – Notes From An Island (Gilded Wings GWR005)

No artist is going to say their latest album isn’t as good as their previous ones, but when Dunlop says he thinks Notes From An ...
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Rura announce new album and tour dates

In Praise of Home is the new album from four-piece powerhouse Rura. The Scottish outfit, described as one of the most exciting bands on the ...
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Rowan Piggott talks about the Songhive project

Songhive is a folksong project concerned with raising awareness of the current plight of the bees, but now it’s time to raise some money as ...
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CHRIS TAVENER – Is He Joking? (own label)

Recorded live over two sold-out nights in Manchester’s Three Minute Theatre, Is He Joking?, the debut album by satirical singer-songwriter, Chris Tavener is available now ...
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Ó CONAILL FAMILY AND FRIENDS – Let’s Have Another Gan Ainm (Digital release)

I'm not sure I should be writing this review: while I've played guitar in many ceilidh bands over the years, I don't claim any in-depth ...
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GRETCHEN PETERS – Dancing With The Beast (Scarlet Letter/Proper PRPCD148P)

Having enjoyed her biggest success to date with the Ben Glover co-penned southern gothic ‘Blackbirds’, it is, perhaps, not too surprising to find echoes in ...
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SINGLES BAR 29 – a round-up of recent EPs and singles

VIRGINIA KETTLE is one of Merry Hell’s front line as songwriter and singer and formerly a successful soloist around the clubs. This eponymous EP with ...
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Evan Carson releases the first installment of a long story

‘Shards’ is part of an ongoing story inspired by George Ocipinski and members of the various Polish Resistance Units across Europe during 1939 - 1945 ...
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Richard Thompson announces autumn/winter tour

World renowned guitarist and singer-songwriter Richard Thompson has announced an extensive UK tour for October and November 2018. During a busy 2017, Thompson released two ...
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CATH & PHIL TYLER – The Ox And The Ax (Ferric Mordant Records Fe10)

Cath and Phil are based in the north-east – Phil is from Newcastle upon Tyne – but you wouldn’t know it from their music. Their ...
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THE JELLYMAN’S DAUGHTER – Dead Reckoning (own label)

A gentle beginning with cello, voice and mandolin and then the strings flow into the musicscape. ‘Quiet Movie’ is a fine opener to the new ...
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HATFUL OF RAIN – Songs Of The Lost and Found (Long Way Home Music 004)

Hatful Of Rain were formed in 2011, have been played by Mike Harding and have performed live on the Bob Harris show. Their music crosses ...
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Cara Dillon & Sam Lakeman headline ‘Folk Day’ at Stogumber Festival

7th - 9th September 2018 Stogumber Festival has announced that 4 excellent gigs will feature on ‘Folk Day’, Saturday 8th September, which is a major ...
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Conservatoire Folk Ensemble – Sleepy Maggie becomes mini-album

It’s been a heady 12 months for The Conservatoire Folk Ensemble. Their acclaimed studio album, Painted, racked up a string of jaw-dropping reviews, and the ...
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WILL FINN & ROSIE CALVERT – Beneath This Place (Haystack HAYCD012)

It’s not often that you hear British traditional music played on steel pans but that’s what you’ll find here. Will and Rosie are half of ...
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JOE SOLO – Not On Our Watch (own label)

Having issued the equivalent of nearly one recording per year since 2004, Not on Our Watch is the most recent release by the prolific folk-punk ...
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THE POOZIES – Punch (Schmooz SCHMOOZCD003)

I was amused by the quote from Eilidh Shaw (fiddle, vocals) who says that the Poozies are probably fortunate that the charge of witchcraft has ...
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JOE WILKES – Japanese Elvis (Frontline FLR009)

Born in Coventry and now based out of East London, Wilkes first caught my ear back in 2006 with his debut album Spotlight. This was ...
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Skipinnish re-release Wishing Well in tribute to Eilidh MacLeod

Released, on download, at midnight on Saturday, 19th May To help with fundraising for a permanent memorial to Eilidh MacLeod from Barra who was killed ...
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William Andrew’s fiddle to play again at Wren Dartmoor Fiddle Day

The violin used by a 19th century musician who became known as The Dartmoor Fiddler is playing his tunes again – and it’s all set ...
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ROBBIE SHERRATT – Provenance (own label)

Robbie Sherratt comes from north Staffordshire, as his repertoire readily testifies. In fact, the music of his home region is part of the rationale of ...
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Olivia Chaney announces new album

London-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney follows up her 2015 Nonesuch debut, The Longest River, with Shelter on June 15th 2018. The album was ...
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Alistair McCulloch Trio announce new album and tour dates

The Alistair McCulloch Trio annual summer Scottish tour has become a firm fixture on the folk music calendar. Featuring champion fiddler McCulloch, alongside past Scottish ...
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FRANK TURNER – Be More Kind (XtraMile Recordings/Polydor 6738173)

The globe-circling gigging machine and humanist that is Frank Turner might surprise some with his seventh solo studio album, Be More Kind. Fearlessly true to ...
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Wanton Seed Singing Weekend

Find harmony in Sheffield this summer Do you want to sing your heart out in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside? Do you yearn to delve into ...
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JOSHUA BURNELL – Songs From The Seasons (Misted Valley Records MVR18a)

In late December 2015, quite possibly infused by a degree of festive spirits, the York folk musician (his voice not unlike Gerry Colvin) set himself ...
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RAY COOPER – Between The Golden Age & The Promised Land (Westpark 87368)

They say you only get one chance – this time I’m very grateful that I’ve had two. A couple of months ago a friend put ...
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Caro Emerald announces autumn tour dates

Following 5 star reviews and sold out shows across the board, the gorgeous and stylish Caro Emerald is back with a brand new live UK ...
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MERRY HELL ACOUSTIC – live at The Old Courts, Wigan – 29th April 2018

The previous evening, the electric Merry Hell had rocked the packed courtroom supported by The Trials Of Cato and Derek Martin. I’d like to tell ...
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STEPHEN HARRISON – It Starts With The Soul (Word Poem Records, WP018)

Stephen Harrison is a something of a music industry veteran. From his early days as a teen, playing in Edinburgh’s post-punk scene and the electronic ...
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SCOTT MATTHEWS – The Great Untold (Shedio Records)

For a man so frequently brushed with greatness, singer-songwriter Scott Matthews does not quite yet seem to be a household name. Perhaps his sixth album, ...
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WILL POUND – Through The Seasons (Lulubug LULUBUG004)

The cover tells you most of what you need to know about this album. Will Pound, here devoting more of his energies to melodeon than ...
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Will Varley announces autumn tour dates

Will Varley is very pleased to announce he will be touring the UK again this autumn, with the majority of the shows taking place in ...
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LUKE JACKSON – Solo Duo Trio (First Take Records FTCD003)

Wow! Luke Jackson stepped on stage at Bramley’s Cocktail Bar in Canterbury and roared his way through a new blues-based song, ‘Fun Of It’ – ...
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Calan announce 10th anniversary album and tour dates

It’s 10 years since the masters of Welsh folk Calan released their debut album – Bling. It’s fair to say that during those 10 years ...
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MOONRAKERS – Tides (own label)

First of all, I’d like to make it clear that we’re not reviewing Tides because one of the key members of Moonrakers is also a ...
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MILTON HIDE – Little Fish (Howdy Records HOWDY 3)

Eastbourne husband and wife duo Jim Tipler and Josie Tipler began their musical lives busking in the town centre, he on piano accordion, she on ...
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THE CINELLI BROTHERS – Babe Please Set Your Alarm (own label)

Marco Cinelli (guitarist, singer, composer) and his brother Alessandro Cinelli (drummer, singer) were born in Italy and have played in several European countries but are now ...
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Christy Moore live album to be issued on vinyl

Christy Moore’s latest album, On The Road, was released on CD & digital last November. Now, a special vinyl version is released featuring 24 songs ...
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Frank Turner – 2018/2019 tour dates

Frank Turner has announced details for the Be More Kind 2019 UK Tour - a string of arena dates running through early 2019, which will ...
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ANNA & ELIZABETH – The Invisible Comes To Us (Smithsonian Folkways SFW40229)

When you see the terms avant-garde and experimentation, you may tend to fear the worst. Good news then that, for their new label debut, Anna ...
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SMITH AND BREWER – Mumford Theatre, Cambridge (21st April 2018)

It’s surprisingly hard to recall, on this bright sunny Spring day, that a little over a month ago, snow and gales stopped play. Back then, ...
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Mock Tudor to be re-released as double LP and book

Bong Load Records announces a re-visit to one of its classic pressings, Richard Thompson - Mock Tudor. A decked out hard cover coffee table art ...
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MA POLAINE’S GREAT DECLINE – The Outsider (OMH Records MPGD05)

I don’t usually get to review this kind of record, mostly because I’m not sure what kind of record this is. Ma Polaine’s Great Decline ...
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GLYMJACK – Light The Evening Fire (Storm Lantern GLYMJACKCD001)

To describe Glymjack simply as contemporary English folk would be rather inadequate. It is acoustic roots, lyric-driven with a nod to soft rock, peppered with ...
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DARLINGSIDE – Extralife (More Doug Records MDR003)

Someone who knows rather a lot about these things has been saying for two years that I should go and see Darlingside. I haven’t seen ...
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BEAU – Rattle The Asylum Bars (Cherry Red BEAURTAB1)

Released almost forty-nine years to the day since his first-ever John Peel recording sessions, approaching 72, his latest release and his tenth studio album, Rattle ...
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AURI – Auri (Nuclear Blast 27361 42120)

I really didn’t know what to expect from this album. I know Troy Donockley, of course – at least his work with everyone from Maddy ...
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BROWNBEAR – What is Home? (Assai Recordings)

Almost since the very start, the musical collective led by Matt Hickman, known as ‘brownbear’, have caused something of a stir, not just on the ...
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ROSS & ALI – Symbiosis II (Symbiosis Records, SYMCD001)

It was only in December that Ross Ainslie’s fantastic solo album, Sanctuary, was released, and he is back again already, this time with Ali Hutton ...
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Matthew Crampton and Jeff Warner tour new Human Cargo show

Acclaimed storyteller Matthew Crampton unites with American folk music legend Jeff Warner in a new show based on Crampton’s book Human Cargo: Songs & Stories ...
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DARLING WEST – While I Was Asleep (JANSEN 097CD)

Darling West released their third album, While I Was Asleep, in February. The band are from Norway and have been played on that country’s mainstream ...
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OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW – Volunteer (Columbia Nashville)

From the opening notes of their latest album, Volunteer, the first to feature electric guitar in 14 years, you know the Grammy award-winning outfit have ...
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ROBERT LANE – Only A Flight Away (own label RGL 03)

Following his excellent EP/mini-album, Ends And Starts, Robert Lane has been touring and writing and is back with a full length album with a startling ...
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PATRICK SWEANY – Ancient Noise (Nine Mile Records NMR0091)

Patrick Sweany has seven critically acclaimed albums to his credit. His latest album Ancient Noise will be released in the UK on July 6th. Sweany ...
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FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS – Sole Mates (The Orchard)

Fisherman – Sole. See what they did there. After avoiding groan-inducing puns for five albums, I suppose the Cornish collective can be excused for finally ...
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ROGER PUGH – A Colourful Journey (Oblong Records, OBLCD079)

It’s a rarity to come across an artist who describes himself as “jester, minstrel, singer, songwriter, entertainer”. Step forward Leicestershire’s Roger Pugh, serving up a ...
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GARETH OWEN – Rolling By (own label)

When I first moved to South Shropshire a few years ago, I found myself living just a couple of doors away from writer and broadcaster ...
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HANNAH SANDERS & BEN SAVAGE – Awake (Sungrazing Records SGR003)

Before The Sun, Hannah and Ben’s debut album as a duo, caused a few ripples in folk circles. I predict that Awake will cause a ...
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Scott Matthews – new album

Scott Matthews’ new record, The Great Untold, deserves to be a career defining one. The sixth studio album by the Ivor Novello Award-winning singer-songwriter (Best ...
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Glymjack’s debut album is on the way

Produced with Show of Hands’ Phil Beer, and featuring Steve Knightley and Miranda Sykes alongside Sam Kelly percussionist Evan Carson and fiddle virtuoso Gemma Gayner, ...
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PHIL COOPER – Thoughts & Observations (own label PHILCOOPER13)

Phil Cooper’s singer-songwriting style is firmly in the pop-folk arena: ringing guitar, tight bass and drums and clever use of backing vocals. He turned pro ...
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Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage announce their new album and tour dates

Two years ago, Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage stirred the folk and acoustic world with a stand-out debut album and there’s been little slumbering since ...
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Gretchen Peters announces new album and tour dates

Described by Uncut magazine as “One of Nashville’s greatest talents”, Gretchen Peters is releasing new album Dancing With The Beast next month. It’s the follow-up ...
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PHIL HARE – A Stranger I Came (March Hare Productions MHPCD002)

Don’t ask me how many albums Phil Hare has made but it’s a lot and A Stranger I Came is his latest. It’s simply recorded ...
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MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER – Sometimes Just The Sky (Lambent Light LLR002)

Revisiting is the new Best Of. In recent years, several artists have either gone to their back catalogue and reworked old songs in next contexts ...
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Gareth Owen releases debut album at 81

At 81 years of age, prize-winning poet, novelist, BBC broadcaster and playwright, Gareth Owen released an album of his own country songs last month. Gareth ...
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NINEBARROW – The Waters & The Wild (own label)

If music be the food of love, then prepare for indigestion … was the title of a 1967 album by a band I’m not prepared ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Johnny Cash Forever Words (Legacy Recordings)

Johnny Cash: Forever Words (or, according to the physical CD, Johnny Cash The Music Forever Words) is a collaborative album consisting of 16 songs based ...
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GREG RUSSELL & CIARAN ALGAR – Utopia And Wasteland (Rootbeat RBRCD40)

The ink is barely dry on Greg and Ciaran’s previous album and they are back with Utopia And Wasteland. The mix is pretty much as ...
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OPEN THE DOOR FOR THREE – The Joyful Hour (own label OPTD003)

The Joyful Hour is the third album by Irish-American trio Open The Door For Three. They are fiddler Liz Knowles, already known to us a ...
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BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2018 – Winners Revealed

The winners of the Radio 2 Folk Awards 2018 have been announced in a ceremony broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Ulster, ...
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FINBAR FUREY – Don’t Stop This Now (BMG)

Finbar Furey’s new album, Don’t Stop This Now, is a repackaging of Paddy Dear with new songs and the addition of a DVD recorded at ...
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The Folking Awards results 2018

Here they are, the results of the 2018 Folking awards. Thanks to all our writers who submitted nominations and to everyone who participated - almost ...
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Le Vent Du Nord bio

The award winning and highly acclaimed band Le Vent du Nord is a leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement.  The group’s vast repertoire ...
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The Trials Of Cato bio

Hailing from North Wales and Yorkshire, The Trials of Cato returned to the UK from Beirut, Lebanon in the winter of 2016. Since then their ...
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Ryan Young bio

Ryan Young is an emerging young fiddle player from Scotland - one of a 'new wave' of young players bringing fresh and inventive ideas to ...
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Merry Hell bio

Founded in their native North West of England, Merry Hell is an eight-piece folk-rock band with a history, a pedigree and a bright future. In ...
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Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman bio

Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman have long established themselves as one of the UK folk scene’s most rewardingly enduring partnerships. Duos come and duos go ...
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Richard Thompson bio

Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, Richard Thompson is also one of the world’s most critically ...
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FINDLAY NAPIER talks to Folking

Findlay Napier doesn’t look like his publicity photographs. That is to say, he does but that dour, unsmiling image you see above isn’t him. In ...
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RY COODER – The Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son, Ry Cooder’s first new solo release in six years, is set for release by Fantasy Records on May 11th, 2018. Listen to ...
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Frank Turner – BE MORE KIND

NEW FRANK TURNER ALBUM ‘BE MORE KIND’ RELEASED MAY 4th 2018 Frank Turner has announced details of his forthcoming seventh studio album. Be More Kind ...
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3HATTRIO – Lord Of The Desert (own label)

Close the windows, turn off background sound, put headphones on if you want, and just lose yourself in this album. Lord Of The Desert by ...
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SINGLES BAR 28 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Leviathan! by BLACKBEARD'S TEA PARTY is an energetic and accomplished recording by these York-based folk-rockers that did strike some nostalgic (power) chords, with electric guitar, ...
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MASON LIVELY – Stronger Ties (own label)

Born in smalltown Texas, Lively wrote his first song at fifteen and, co-produced by Lloyd Maines, cut his first EP a year later. Now, four ...
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ADY JOHNSON – London Songs (own label)

Ady Johnson released his second album London Songs on February 23rd. Johnson has a degree in classical guitar performance, gave up a career as an ...
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Folkeast announces its first guests for 2018

Growing in stature every year, East Anglia’s fast-rising FolkEast is back for the seventh time this August, proving why it is nothing like other music ...
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BEN HARPER AND CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE – No Mercy In This Land (Anti 7561-2)

An overdue follow-up to 2013’s Grammy Award-winning Get Up! sees Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite reunite, this time resulting in No Mercy In This Land ...
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THE RHEINGANS SISTERS – Bright Field (Rootbeat RBRCD39)

When I first heard the Rheingans Sisters I hoped that they might bring something new to the folk music of Derbyshire where they grew up ...
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Underneath The Stars presents its full line-up

South Yorkshire's stellar music & arts festival Underneath The Stars returns this summer with another exciting line-up of established and emerging talent across the folk, ...
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TREMBLING BELLS – Dungeness (Tin Angel)

Drummer and singer Alex Neilson declared that, for ‘Big Nothing’, the 62-second opening track on Dungeness, the band’s seventh album, he wanted the plangent chords “to ...
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PORT CITIES – Port Cities (Turtlemusik)

According to the press blurb, a port city is where cultures and histories collide and goods and ideas are imported. Well, this Nova Scotia trio ...
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Dàimh announce new album

Translated from the Gaelic Na Garbh Chrìochan, the Rough Bounds is the area of West Lochaber where Dàimh were formed 20 years ago. Still based ...
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HARP & A MONKEY – Live at Grayshott Folk Club

Although they have a new album on the way – pause for cheering – Harp & A Monkey had resolved not to play anything from ...
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LEVELLERS – We The Collective (On The Fiddle Recordings, OTFCD029P)

To celebrate their 30th anniversary, We The Collective finds the Levellers’ reaffirming their mission statement, renewing their vows. Recorded at Abbey Road, with renowned producer ...
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JOSIENNE CLARKE & BEN WALKER – Seedlings All (Rough Trade RTRADCD898)

It’s long been the case that you don’t come to Clarke and Walker for background music or cheeriness. Their music is sparse but intricate and ...
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BOLDWOOD – Glory Of The West (Hobgoblin HOBCD 1018)

Boldwood released their first album ten years ago. Glory Of The West is their second so there have been a few changes in between. The ...
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DON McLEAN – Botanical Gardens (BMG538329932)

Forty-seven years and 19 albums on, McLean’s name is still preceded in reviews by “American Pie singer” and for most people, he’s still probably associated ...
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Fairport’s Cropredy Convention announces Brian Wilson as headliner

Fairport's Cropredy Convention music festival have announced that Brian Wilson will perform the legendary Beach Boys album Pet Sounds at Cropredy on Thursday 9 August ...
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Holywell Music & Folk – more 2018 concerts

Passionate music love and promotor Geoff Smith is keeping Holywell’s music tradition alive and singing in the heart of Oxford with a regular new concert ...
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YOU ARE WOLF – Keld (Firecrest Records, FC001P)

Diving down from the avian themes of You Are Wolf’s first album, Hawk To The Hunting Gone, Keld is a set of songs of water, ...
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CONNLA – The Next Chapter (Connla)

When you read of the “hottest new band on the scene” you tend to roll your eyes and translate the accolade into “over-egged, fly-by-night, bratpack” ...
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Maverick Festival 2018

Following a milestone 10th anniversary last year, the UK’s first and finest Americana festival is thrilled to announce further additions to its 2018 line up ...
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Korby Lenker – Thousand Springs

For many artists, stepping into a studio to record an album can be challenging enough. But when East Nashvillian Korby Lenker began working on his ...
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PATRICIA VONNE – Top Of The Mountain (MIG 20182 CD)

Patricia Vonne releases Top Of The Mountain, her seventh album on March 23rd. It’s got a variety of styles, which is both its strength and ...
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Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite – new single and album

BEN HARPER AND CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE RELEASE LIVELY NEW SINGLE 'FOUND THE ONE' FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM 'NO MERCY IN THIS LAND’ Gearing up for the 30th ...
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THE MELLOWSHIP – You Belong With Me … (own label)

Born, raised and still based in the West Country, when she was 23 aspiring singer-songwriter Mo Dewdney had a motorbike accident that left her paraplegic ...
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JESS VINCENT- Lions Den (Kostenurka Records)

There have been a few changes in Jess Vincent’s life since the release of Shine back in 2015. She’s become vegan for a start. However, ...
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Gem Andrews – North

Gem Andrews’ powerful new album ‘North’ is an intimate and stirring collection of songs which tackles themes of mental illness, poverty, community and destitution. In ...
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JOHNNY CASH: FOREVER WORDS

Legacy Recordings to Release Johnny Cash: Forever Words, an Album of Cash's Unknown Poems & Other Writings Transformed into New Songs by Contemporary Artists Album ...
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KEITH JAMES talks to Folking.com about forty years in music

This year sees Keith James celebrating his fortieth anniversary as a professional musician. He has followed an unconventional, one might say unique, career path but ...
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GARY MILLER – Mad Martins (Whippet WPTCDB24)

I shouldn’t need to explain about Gary Miller but for our younger readers: Gary was lead songwriter with The Whisky Priests, a very fine (and ...
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WILLOW SPRINGS – Urban Ghosts (S’quare Records SQR1)

Based in Belfast, Willow Springs is essentially a vehicle for singer-songwriter Mark Crockard, Urban Ghosts supported by an assortment of fellow Irish musicians, being his ...
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AURI – introducing a remarkable new trio

Everything begins with a vision. A virtuoso imagination hovering auspiciously in the air, composed of multi-faceted fragments and ideas that gradually become more concrete, slowly ...
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Jon Boden’s intimate bonfire

Jon Boden performed tracks from his recent album Afterglow round a campfire at a secret location in London on 22 March 2018 in preparation for ...
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The Shires added to Towersey line-up

The UK’s biggest country/ Americana act completes Towersey Festival’s massive 2018 line-up Acclaimed British country duo The Shires are the final headline act to be ...
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CAMBRIDGE CITY ROOTS FESTIVAL – Various artists/venues, 22 February – 6 March 2018

The City Roots Festival shakes open its umbrella (and hauls on its snow boots) for a second year of folk and roots events. As before, ...
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IVAN MOULT – Longest Shadow (Bubblewrap Collective – BWR040CD)

Longest Shadow is the heartbreakingly beautiful new offering of original tunes from Cardiff-based songsmith, Ivan Moult. In the ilk of Damien Rice for example, it ...
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IAN SIEGAL – All the Rage (Nugene Records 1801)

Ian Siegal releases All The Rage on March 16th, his eleventh album. Folking.com has already announced the new album so what follows is much more ...
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KEITH JAMES – Captured: The Best Of Keith James (Hurdy Gurdy HGA2927)

It's hard to encapsulate a long, varied and distinguished career in two CDs. After all, Keith James is not only an excellent musician and producer, ...
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KATHRYN ROBERTS & SEAN LAKEMAN – Personae (Iscream Music ISCD16)

I enjoyed Kathryn and Sean’s previous album mostly on an intellectual level. Whatever they have been doing since has had an energising effect – perhaps ...
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The 2018 Folking Awards

Welcome to the 2018 Folking Awards and thank you again to everyone who participated last year. The nominations, in eight categories, come from our ever-expanding ...
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ALASDAIR ROBERTS, AMBLE SKUSE & DAVID McGUINESS – What News (Drag City)

“This is proper folk music”, said my wife on first hearing What News. And it is: big songs full of blood, sex, betrayal and murder ...
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RAGING TWILIGHT – Raging Twilight (aRTee Records)

Raging Twilight release their first album, Raging Twilight, on April 16th. It only takes you about 30 seconds of listening to the first track with ...
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PETER KNIGHT AND JOHN SPIERS – Cambridge Junction, City Roots Festival, 6 March 2018

Same venue, different day. In the space of a week, three entirely different acts have made their distinct impressions in this same room. Tonight it’s ...
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Nick Drake to be inducted into the Folk Awards Hall Of Fame

This year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, held at Belfast Waterfront on 4 April, will see singer-songwriter Nick Drake inducted into the Folk Awards Hall ...
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SAM KELLY & THE LOST BOYS – Live at Cambridge Junction, City Roots Festival, 5 March 2018

Battling snow and ice on tour for the past week has clearly taken a toll on this group of musicians (amongst many others no doubt), ...
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Ian Siegal – new album

A studio album from Ian Siegal is always a seismic event. Recent times have seen this award-winning British songwriter put untold miles on the clock, ...
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ED ROMANOFF – The Orphan King (Pinerock Records)

Ed Romanoff released his second album The Orphan King on February 23rd. The style is Americana; the musicians on the album (having worked with Springsteen, ...
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Seán McGowan – interview

In the run up to his debut album release, lyrically dextrous folk-punk troubadour Seán McGowan has shared an intimate new interview and session video. Featuring ...
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CARA DILLON – Live at Kings Place, Kings Cross, 22 February 2018

The venue was stunning. Clean wooden floors, a delicate bar, someone selling programmes (for Barry Cryer in Hall One), what I can only call an ...
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Birds of Chicago release Love in Wartime

Birds of Chicago have been riding a swell of good mojo in the Americana scene since their inception in late 2012. With their new album, ...
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WILDWOOD JACK – Liberty Ship (Ramsgate)

Not to be confused with Wildwood Kin, this is Adam Piggott and Jayne Freeman, a Kent-based husband and wife troubadour twosome whose music, an amalgam ...
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McGOLDRICK, McCUSKER & DOYLE– City Roots Festival, The Junction, Cambridge (27 February 2018)

Even on this icy night, the venue is full, the crowd enthusiastic - a significant portion seemingly also having attended the recent Transatlantic Sessions. It’s ...
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Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman announce new album

Duos come and duos go. And some nurture and fine tune their art and watch it grow into something totally original, captivating and award-winning. Bonded ...
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SADIE JEMMETT – These Days: Live At The Green Note (Mama’s Music Recordings)

Her career effectively launched when famed theatre director Irina Brook used one of her songs as theme for her award-winning show Resonances and the track ...
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Finbar Furey announces new album

Irish folk legend Finbar Furey has announced the UK release of his new album Don’t Stop This Now as March 30th 2018 on BMG UK ...
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JAMES DUNCAN MACKENZIE – Sròmos (own label JMMCD002)

James Duncan Mackenzie is, as you know, piper and flautist with Breabach, one of the finest of the young Scottish bands. James is from the ...
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The Rheingans Sisters – new album

Musicians, composers and folk music scholars The Rheingans Sisters release their third album Bright Field on 23rd March 2018, on Rootbeat Records (RBRCD39). Since their ...
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