The folking.com music archive for album reviews and news

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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SHEILA K CAMERON – With You In My Life (SKC1710CD)

Writing reviews (in words) of albums (music and song) can be a bit like hearing colours -   scarlet - loud and confident, maybe towards being ...
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Dan Whitehouse announces second Glass album

For over 400 years, the glassmaking industry nourished the communities of Stourbridge in the West Midlands, UK, where - thanks to the skills of immigrant ...
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ANDREW COMBS – Sundays (Loose Music)

Andrew Combs’ Sundays, written and recorded under the confines of Covid and in the aftermath of a “mental breakdown”, finds its mono melodic redemption, in ...
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FRITILLARIES – Fritillaries (Pear O’Legs Records)

Bristol based Fritillaries are Hannah Pawson – lead vocals, guitar, banjo and harmonium - and Gabriel Wynne – guitar and mandolin – and this is ...
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Topic announce Sea Song Sessions

Sea Song Sessions is a collection of British maritime folk songs and sea shanties, performed by a collective of some of British folk music’s leading ...
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Chris Cleverley – new single and album to follow

UK Dream-Folk Artist Chris Cleverley's brand new single 'Chlorophyll' presents a stark reminder of the impact of global warming on our fragile natural world. Bedford-based ...
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UNCLE BARD & THE DIRTY BASTARDS – The Story So Far (Angel Air SJPCD650)

I have to confess, I’d never heard of this lot let alone that they’d released enough albums to warrant a compilation. For the similarly uninformed, ...
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Bobby Blue releases new single

Pumping Norteño bass scored Bobby Blue's childhood soundtrack in the small motor town of Bedford, Indiana. An energetic culture-clash forged his home, his factory-worker father, ...
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Iúr Cinn Fleadh bounces back!

Tide of folk music and family fun will flow through Newry this Bank Holiday A fun-filled family festival for all ages – that’s Iúr Cinn ...
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ROBB JOHNSON & THE IRREGULARS – The Mystery Gets Your Number & The Poetry Makes The Call (Irregular Records IRR119V)

It’s a good job we don’t impose a word limit on our reviews or The Mystery Gets Your Number & The Poetry Makes The Call ...
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TARREN – Revel (own label)

The story of Tarren’s debut album, Revel, begins in lockdown, when three established members of the Bristol folk scene began to share compositions online. From ...
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ASHLEY HUTCHINGS – More Songs From The Shows (Talking Elephant TECD477)

The original Songs From The Shows were a pair of Albion Band albums in the early 1990s. It was probably Corunna with Steeleye Span that ...
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Elephant Sessions announce new album

Award-winning indie-folk sensation Elephant Sessions are set to release their highly anticipated fourth studio album on Friday 9th September 2022. Elephant Sessions’ music combines the ...
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Official Folk Albums Chart – July 2022

On Tuesday 2 August the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...
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Reg Meuross launches IndieGoGo For Slave Trade Music Project – Stolen From God

For the last four years, uncovering the stories of the Atlantic slave trade across the South West of England has been the mission of Somerset-based ...
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TRACY CURTIS – Live (Irregular Records IRR121)

Tracey Curtis used to be in a punk band called Shelley’s Children, she plays guitar, sings and writes songs and that’s about all I can ...
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TYLER EDWARDS – A Falling Sky (Mighty Kind Records)

“Morning light used to mean something beautiful, now it seems cruel”, reads the opening lyric to ‘Heroes’, the second single from Tyler Edwards’ upcoming release, ...
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Gretchen Peters – UK tour dates and new live album

2022 marks the 25th year since Gretchen Peters first set foot on a UK stage. And in honour of the occasion, the Nashville-via-New-York star will ...
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LUKE JAMES WILLIAMS – Our Blood Is Red (own label)

Based in Cambridgeshire, Williams is a fairly new arrival on the scene, releasing his debut EP back in 2018, gaining fulsome support from Tom Robinson, ...
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ANTOINE & OWENA – Clockwork Lens (own label 003-2022)

Antoine Architeuthis (not his real name) and Owena Archer write original songs that sound traditional and give traditional songs a contemporary sound. Clockwork Lens is ...
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CANYONS & HIGHLANDS – Canyons & Highlands (BDR 2201)

"Astral Folk". What a simultaneously vague, uncertain – and absolutely brilliant description for this album. Canyons & Highlands (the album) is an instantly accessible delight ...
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Beans On Toast announces 2023 tour dates

Following the runaway success of his extended UK tour earlier this year, the cult hero Beans On Toast has already plotted his return with a ...
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Robb Johnson announces two new albums

Robb Johnson tells us about his new records. Recorded as soon as the 2021 Covid restrictions allowed, The Mystery Gets Your Number & The Poetry ...
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KATIE DOHERTY & THE NAVIGATORS – Flow (Nookton Records NOOKCD01)

The result of exploring the concept of creative flow through work on formative versions of the songs with four community groups in the North East, ...
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DIK CADBURY – Winds Of Change (own label)

Dik Cadbury is a veteran musician, singer and actor. He initially came to prominence as a member of Decameron and has worked as a session ...
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MICKEY JUPP – Up Snakes, Down Ladders (Conquest Music)

Back in the 70s, it seemed that Jupp was set to become a household name alongside fellow pub rock stalwarts such as Nick Lowe and ...
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JOE PUG – Nation Of Heat (Loose Music)

Joe Pug “revisits” his rough diamond (and very popular!) Nation Of Heat record and proves, with Bob Dylan, John Prine, and rough and winding Highway ...
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SINGLES BAR 80 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Hailing from Edmonton and currently living on the indigenous communities of Treaty Six Territory & Unceded Kanien'kehà:ka Territory, Mallory Chipman and Frédrique “Freddi” MacDougall are ...
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MONICA TAYLOR – Trains, Rivers & Trails (Horton Records)

An Oklahoman of Scottish and Cherokee heritage, dubbed The Cimarron Songbird by Jimmy LaFave and Bob Childers, Taylor is a sterling exponent of red dirt ...
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Dandelion reveal first line-up of artists and activity for major free festival in Inverness

Dandelion Festival, a free outdoor music and arts festival celebrating sustainability takes place Friday 2 - Sunday 4 of September Following the success of this ...
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Marianne Faithfull announces major retrospective

UMC announce the release of Songs of Innocence And Experience 1965-1995, the definitive overview of the first 30 years of Marianne Faithfull’s recording career on ...
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MARK MULHOLLAND – Revolutions Go In Circles (Ports of Call Music PCOM2201)

Recorded variously in Bamako, Berlin, New York and France, where he’s now based, over the course of the past few years, Revolutions Go In Circles ...
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Captain Of The Lost Waves completes his trilogy

Captain Of The Lost Waves’ Hidden Gems – Chapter 3 Mysterium Tremendum, the trilogy closer to the critically acclaimed Hidden Gems Chapter 1 and 2, ...
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Brighton And Hove Folk Festival – full line-up

A spectacular line-up includes both legends and fresh talent at Brighton and Hove Folk Festival this year Brighton and Hove Folk Festival has announced its full ...
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DAN WHITEHOUSE – The Glass Age (own label WTK001)

Finding himself stuck in Japan during lockdown, communicating with friends, family and fans back home via digital media sparked in Dan the realisation that we ...
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Cambridge Folk Festival – full details

Cambridge Folk Festival continues its tradition of hosting the biggest international stars in folk and roots music whilst also providing a platform for up and ...
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WINDBORNE – Of Hard Times & Harmony (Wand’ring Feet Records WFR 005)

Of Hard Times & Harmony is a lavishly packaged album, presented in a 78-page book of lyrics, artwork and notes. I’m sometimes suspicious of such ...
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The Magpie Arc headline indoor festival of folk at Cecil Sharp House

The Indoor Festival of Folk is a collaboration between folk/rock band The Magpie Arc and the English Folk Dance and Song Society and features a ...
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YVONNE LYON, GARETH DAVIES-JONES, DAVID LYON – Trace The Line (PM610)

Sometimes collaborations just work: fish and chips, Lillee and Thompson, Dolce and Gabbana, Simon and Garfunkel – the list is long and varied. Add Yvonne ...
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THE GABBARD BROTHERS – The Gabbard Brothers (Colemine/Karma Chief)

Formerly part of Ohio rock outfit Buffalo Killers and sometimes tour members with The Black Keys, siblings Zachary and Andrew, The Gabbard Brothers, have re-emerged  ...
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AMY GODDARD – Rise (own label)

I’ve been listening to Amy Goddard almost since she appeared on the music scene. I admire the narrative skill of her songwriting and her love ...
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Underneath The Stars Festival – 29/30/31 July 2022

Overview Before Campy Sets Off In The Folkmobile The Folkmobile is now fully serviced and raring to go!  I am so looking forward to Underneath ...
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Foy Vance: new album and UK and Irish tour dates

Foy Vance will embark on an extensive European tour later this summer, with the UK dates commencing on August 30 at York Barbican and culminating ...
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MATT NORMAN – Mr Onion’s Serenade (own label MNOR01CD)

Mr Onion’s Serenade is the sort of project that Simon Mayor would have made his own had Matt Norman not thought of it first. Matt ...
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Charm Of Finches return for more UK tour dates

The Australian indie-folk sister duo, Charm Of Finches are back in the UK for 10 more dates in JULY- and just last week released a ...
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BELLA HARDY – Love Songs (Noe NOE13)

For her tenth album Bella Hardy has returned to her beginnings. Love Songs is a mix of traditional songs and her own compositions beginning with ...
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BUSH GOTHIC – Beyond The Pale (Fydle Records Fyd005)

Bush Gothic are a new name to me, but I was instantly attracted to their third album Beyond The Pale by their choice of songs ...
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Levellers announce 2023 acoustic tour

Five years after they set out on their hugely acclaimed 2018 Acoustic Tour, and released its companion album We The Collective, The Levellers will embark ...
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Fèis Rois Ceilidh Trail is back on the road

Two groups of talented young musicians will take to the road once again this summer for three weeks of musical performances the length and breadth ...
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ANNA TAM – Live at The Green Note, Camden Hatching Hares Album Launch 4th July 2022

Anna Tam is a perfect example of “folk” music being a living, breathing tradition.  As Martin Carthy recently said "These songs are always being tweaked ...
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Gate To Southwell Festival – next week!

The 15th Gate To Southwell Festival – one of the East Midlands’ premier music and family events - begins next Thursday July 14th and runs ...
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Amy Goddard announces her new album

Amy Goddard is a well-regarded name on the folk and acoustic scene around Portsmouth, although she grew up in South Wales in the Merthyr Valley ...
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The Official Folk Chart – June 2022

On Tuesday 5 July the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...
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IAN SIEGAL – Stone By Stone (GVIS101)

Multi-award-winning blues musician Ian Siegal recently released Stone By Stone, his fourteenth album in a long, distinguished and feted career: British Blues Awards, Mojo Magazine ...
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Le Vent Du Nord announce July tour dates

The award-winning and highly acclaimed Le Vent du Nord is a leading force in Québec’s progressive francophone folk movement.  The group’s vast repertoire draws from ...
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Wickham Festival – a song by Steve Knightley

The tiny Hampshire village of Wickham has been immortalised in song by Steve Knightley. The Show of Hands singer has penned a special anthem in ...
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RUTH KEGGIN & RACHEL HAIR – Lossan (March Hair Records)

Ruth Keggin & Rachel Hair’s Lossan, with Manx Gaelic voice and Celtic harp, is music that justifies Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge changed perception (after the ...
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WORDS OF A FIDDLER’S DAUGHTER – Ironstone Tales (Under The Eaves UTE 005)

Words Of A Fiddler’s Daughter are The Ciderhouse Rebellion – Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger – and Jessie Summerhayes, she who provides and speaks the ...
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Jesse Terry announces UK tour

Making up for the last two years, Stonington, Connecticut based artist Jesse Terry is excited to announce his first international dates in support of his ...
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KEITH JAMES – Scatterland (self-published)

We don’t often get books to review. However, there was a certain inevitability that Scatterland should come my way given that the earliest verses were ...
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MICHAEL McDERMOTT – St Paul’s Boulevard (Pauper Sky)

If Bruce Springsteen didn’t exist, you’d have to invent him. In which case, he’d be called Michael McDermott. Hailing from Chicago, he made his critically ...
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LEWIS WOOD – Footwork (Grimdon Records GRIDC006)

I don’t usually open a CD expecting to be educated, but Footwork - the debut solo album from Granny’s Attic violinist Lewis Wood - provided ...
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Janice Long bursary scheme is announced

Moseley Folk and Arts Festival has announced a new bursary scheme in honour of renowned broadcaster, and friend, Janice Long. Hello You! The Janice Long ...
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LUTHRIE LOCKDOWN – Stronger Than Before (LL22001CD)

This is just great. Luthrie Lockdown released Stronger Than Before on June 6th.  The title is from the song ‘Stronger’: “I may be broken in ...
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AMY HOPWOOD – Into The Woods (own label)

It won’t surprise you to learn that there are a lot of trees on this album. Trees, wood, forests and their inhabitants, both real and ...
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DAMIEN O’KANE & RON BLOCK – Banjophonics (Pure Records PRCD56)

Banjophobics look away now lest your delicate sensibilities be offended. Me, I like the sound of the banjo as much as the next man but ...
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TINA JORDAN REES – Beatha (own label TJR005CD)

Beatha is the debut solo album by flautist, pianist and whistle player Tina Jordan Rees who is originally from Lancashire but studied in both Limerick ...
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Fisherman’s Friends – film and soundtrack album release

Fisherman's Friends: One and All will be in UK cinemas on 19 August 2022 with the eagerly awaited soundtrack album released simultaneously. The music is ...
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Bella Hardy announces her new album

With her tenth solo record Love Songs, Bella Hardy has returned to the traditional ballads she’s known all her life. Since 2017’s self-written Hey Sammy, ...
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SINGLES BAR 79 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Last year, M G BOULTER released Clifftown, a melancholic concept album about a fictional faded seaside town inspired by his hometown of Southend-on-Sea, Now, accompanied ...
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Suzanne Vega announces 2023 UK tour

Renowned for her erudite and entertaining shows, ahead of her early 2023 tour Suzanne Vega will be headlining at Glastonbury (Acoustic Stage), Cambridge Folk Festival ...
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CUA – Oh Sun Shine Down (own label)

Cua’s Oh Sun Shine Down is (to quote the great band Horslips!) “a warm sweet breath” of modern Irish folk music. And it conjures the ...
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TAMSIN ELLIOTT – Frey (Penny Fiddle Records PFR2206CD)

Tamsin Elliott is a talented multi-instrumentalist, composer and film-maker based in Bristol. She is a member of the quintet, Solana, alongside her brother Rowan who ...
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Ray Cooper – UK tour dates

Ray Cooper returns to the UK in July for a short tour in support of his most recent album Land Of Heroes. Ray Cooper is ...
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Party time at Sidmouth Folk Festival

Get a best ever value Bulverton-in-One (BiO) or a Big Gig Ticket to squeeze every drop of fun out of the long, memory-filled summer nights ...
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BROOKS WILLIAMS & AARON CATLOW – Ready For The Times (Red Guitar Blue Music RGBM-2201C)

There are many reasons for recording an album: to make a point about the state of the world; to tell a story; to celebrate the ...
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Dandelion Festival reveal full line-up of artists and activity for major free festival in Kelvingrove Park

Dandelion Festival - a free outdoor music and arts festival celebrating sustainability takes place Friday 17 - Sunday 19 of June VanIves, Rachel Sermanni, Sam ...
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THE BLACK FEATHERS – Angel Dust & Cyanide (own label)

It’s been six years in waiting for a second Black Feathers Angel Dust & Cyanide album. Now, to get all biblical (as this music often ...
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Elephant Sessions announce new album

For The Night is the eagerly anticipated fourth album from award winning indie-folk band, Elephant Sessions. From humble beginnings in the Highlands of Scotland, to ...
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Belfast Tradfest announces its full line-up

Belfast TradFest, 23rd - 29th July 2022, returns with a jam-packed week full of traditional music, song and dance, featuring some of the best traditional ...
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CHRIS DOVER – It’s A Difficult World (own label)

An Americana singer/songwriter based in Bradford, accompanied by Anneka Latta on harmonies, bassist Joel Smith and the perhaps not really named Tsar Nicholas III on ...
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EMMA WILSON – Wish Her Well (own label EWMCD01)

Emma Wilson is a north-east based blues singer who has been making waves over the last couple of years - which takes some doing if ...
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STACY ANTONEL – Always The Outsider (own label)

Always The Outsider, the debut album from the San Diego-born, Nashville-based retro Americana singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist explores metaphysical and supernatural concepts (you know, ...
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ANNA TAM – Hatching Hares (TAM Records TAM003)

You can see from the cover illustration what a multi-instrumentalist Anna Tam is. The instrument second from the right is a viola da gamba and ...
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SASKIA GRIFFITHS-MOORE AND CHANDRA CHAKRABORTY  – Live at Royal Albert Hall, South Kensington

Photograph by Tony Birch Together In Love And Separation Album Launch When two performers, who are well respected in their own fields, come together to ...
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Mavis Staples begins UK tour this week

Mavis Staples and Levon Helm mutual love and admiration is on full display on Carry Me Home, the new album which features a mix of ...
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Spooky Men’s Chorale announce UK tour

Many things were missing from the Great British Summer last year - not least there was an unnervingly spooky silence in place of an anticipated ...
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TÉADA – Coiscéim Coiligh – As The Days Brighten (CEFCD218)

Téada have been together for twenty-one years and have recently released their sixth studio album Coiscéim Coiligh - As The Days Brighten. Amongst its claims ...
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The Official Folk Chart – May 2022

On Tuesday 7 June the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...
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Loudon Wainwright III announces his Lifetime Achievement

Loudon Wainwright III has announced his new album Lifetime Achievement, to be released on August 19th.  His first album of new original songs since 2014’s ...
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Ficino Ensemble reinterprets Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs

Ergodos is proud to announce the release of Folk Songs, the new album from Irish chamber group Ficino Ensemble, and Irish vocalist Michelle O’Rourke. The ...
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Tamsin Elliott announces her debut solo album

Frey is the debut solo album from Tamsin Elliott, a Bristol-based folk musician, composer and film-maker, and co-leader of fusion project Solana. Recorded by Alex ...
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Trace The Line: Yvonne Lyon, Gareth Davies-Jones and David Lyon collaborate on new album

Trace The Line is a unique and impressive collaboration between singer/songwriters Yvonne Lyon, Gareth Davies-Jones and David Lyon. The trio, all respected artists and multi-instrumentalists ...
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THE SLAMBOVIAN CIRCUS OF DREAMS – A Very Unusual Head (Talking Elephant TECD474)

This is an album we’ve waited a long time for. I first heard of A Very Unusual Head a couple of tours ago – in ...
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KEVIN McSHERRY – A Place To Stay (own label KMCD02)

Born in London but, for the past four decades, based in Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales, McSherry is a singer, songwriter, former teacher, fell runner ...
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HANNAH RARITY – To Have You Near (own label HR085HYN)

Three years after her debut – it’s taken everyone time to get back into the way of things – Hannah Rarity releases her second album, ...
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BEFORE BREAKFAST – I Could Be Asleep If It Weren’t For You (After Dinner)

Well, The Moody Blues went In Search Of The Lost Chord, but Sheffield based Before Breakfast (cunningly on After Dinner Records!) is definitely in search ...
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Mark Harrison announces live dates

A common thing said to me at the end of shows is 'I don't know why I hadn't come across you before but I'm really ...
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The Chapin Sisters announce UK tour dates

The Chapin Sisters, Lily and Abigail Chapin, are set to return to the UK and win over many a new fan this July with their ...
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CAROL FIELDHOUSE – Continuum (own label CAROLFIELDHOUSE03)

The opening notes of Continuum are enough to make you sit up and take notice. This is Carol Fieldhouse’s second album and her long experience ...
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A triple bill concert of traditional Irish music, song and dance presented by Irish Music & Dance in London (IMDL).

Featuring Clare Friel, Conor Connolly, Marty Barry and Cathal Ó Curráin / Members of The Thatch Céilí Band, with guests Camden Set Dancers / The ...
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Lewis Wood (Granny’s Attic) announces debut solo album

On 24 June 2022, Lewis Wood will release his debut solo album Footwork. After a decade of playing as part of bands, most notably Granny’s ...
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HEIDI TALBOT – Sing It For A Lifetime (own label)

Heidi Talbot’s new album Sing It For A Lifetime bleeds folk beauty, which strays beyond her Irish origin, her Edinburgh home and her long ago ...
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Slambovian Circus Of Dreams announce new album and tour dates

Formed in Sleepy Hollow, New York, in 1998, The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams have played major festivals and venues throughout the US, UK and Canada ...
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Mary Gauthier releases her new album

On June 3rd, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, and now accomplished author, Mary Gauthier will release her new album Dark Enough To See The Stars (Thirty Tigers). Over ...
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LEE ROGERS – Gameblood (Zenith Café/Membran)

Based in Carrickfergus, Gameblood is Rogers’ second album, one that comes sixteen years after his debut, having pursued a  career as an award-winning tattoo artist ...
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BOSUN HIGGS – A Most Particular Vintage (WildGoose WGS439CD)

I’m afraid that I’m long out of touch with the barn dance scene. The pandemic brought it to a shuddering halt but I don’t know ...
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CORNER HOUSE – How Beautiful It’s Been (own label)

A transatlantic quartet comprising Orkney-born fiddler Louise Bichan and Americans Ethan Setiawan on mandolin, cellist and banjo player Casey Murray and frontman guitarist Ethan Hawkins ...
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Before Breakfast announce debut album and tour dates

Before Breakfast, Gina Walters and Lucy Revis, fuse their classical knowledge and rich arrangements with raw expression and layer this with personal storytelling that explores ...
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CHANDRA CHAKRABORTY   SASKIA GRIFFITHS-MOORE -Together In Love And Separation (own label)

If you look at Together In Love And Separation and expect the sort of collaboration in which the two elements hardly interact, I can tell ...
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SINGLES BAR 78 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

CHRIS TAVENER opens his new EP, Easy Ways To Be Happy, talking about existential dread but discovers that the adverts on social media provide ‘All ...
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JAMES EDWYN AND THE BORROWED BAND – Highlights Of The Low Nights (Last Night From Glasgow)

Sometimes you see a little glimmer of a light in the distance. Sometimes, like a glow-worm, it fades if you look too closely or shine ...
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Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow announce new album

A chance meeting a few years ago while on tour in The Netherlands led to the guitar-fiddle collaboration of Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow. When ...
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International Folk Music Awards – full ceremony video

Folk Alliance International's International Folk Music Awards ceremony was on Wednesday and included performances by IFMA winner Crys Matthews, subject of a NY Times feature ...
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JULIE JULY BAND – Wonderland (Aurora Folk Records JJB22CD1)

Wonderland is the third CD from the Julie July Band, and the second to feature all-original material. It also features a relatively new, expanded line-up ...
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Steve Earle announces tribute to Jerry Jeff Walker

On Jerry Jeff – set for May 27 release via New West Records – Steve Earle pays tribute to influential cowboy troubadour Jerry Jeff Walker, ...
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A Celebration of the Life of Julie Felix

Tuesday 14th June 2022   Doors Open 7:00pm The Water Rats, 328 Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross, London, WC1X 8BZ A Celebration of the Life of ...
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Stefan Grossman – vintage 4-CD live set to be released in July

Stefan Grossman was a teacher and music academic, who had studied under the great blues musicians back in the states – an American guitarist who ...
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Third Ear Band – early tracks re-released

Third Ear Band was much more than a standard rock band of Guitar / Bass / Drums variety. The Third Ear Band notional leader, percussionist ...
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SEONAID AITKEN ENSEMBLE – Chasing Sakura (own label SMA03)

There is a story behind Chasing Sakura which I will do my best to summarise. Sakura (cherry blossom) is, in Japan, a symbol of spring ...
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Leaf Hound – rare album re-released

Without doubt one of the greatest, most collectable of hard rock rarities, Growers Of Mushroom – the 1971 debut album by Leaf Hound – has ...
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Anna Tam announces her second album

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Anna Tam gives traditional British songs her own loving personal twist. She sings with a clear bright voice and accompanies herself on ...
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BOO HEWERDINE – Understudy (Reveal 186 CDX)

“Age is just a number” is the opening line of ‘Magnets’, a sentiment that Boo Hewerdine seems to contradict with the rest of the song ...
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ROB LEAR – Strange Days (own label)

A singer-songwriter from the Welsh valleys, Strange Days is Lear’s third album, the follow-up to 2016’s Motorcycle Heart and again produced by Simon Tassano, albeit ...
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FELLOW PYNINS – Lady Mondegreen (own label)

Fellow Pynins’ Lady Mondegreen is an endlessly intriguing and very acoustically melodic Rorschach Ink Blot Test that resurrects and interprets the waters of ancient folk ...
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The Imagined Village reunite for FolkEast

As reunions go they don’t come much sweeter or timely than this. Back in 2012, Suffolk’s inaugural FolkEast festival saw an act described as ‘the ...
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Amelia White announces UK tour

If there were an East Nashville music hall of fame, Amelia White would already be in it. The now-famous scene was in its formative days ...
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RORY MATHESON & GRAHAM RORIE – We Have Won The Land (own label RUMSO3CD)

I doubt the English language has any writing that better describes listening to wordless music than that in EM Forster’s fifth chapter of Howard’s End ...
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Knockengorroch Festival returns next week

Scotland’s longest running greenfield festival is back! Knockengorroch Festival returns to the hills of Galloway with its long-awaited 2020 line-up and new additions for 2022 ...
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PAUL WALKER & KAREN PFEIFFER – Auf Wiedersehen, Me Duck (Crazy Moose Records CM04)

Based in Stoke–on-Trent, in some ways Walker and Pfeiffer are an Anglo-German version of Skinner and T’witch, mixing playfulness with serious social comment. Both sharing ...
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THE AMERICANS – Stand True (Loose Music)

Put simply: America is defined by its endless and very musical frontier. And The Americans’ new album, Stand True, plugs into that wide-open and always ...
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Access Folk recruiting for Consulting Groups

An ambitious 5 year long research project has launched to investigate ways to increase and diversify participation in English folk singing. Access Folk asks: What ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – The Wonderful World Of Depressing Country Music (Righteous/Cherry Red PSALM23110)

How can you resist. As anyone with a passing interest in folk music knows, there are certain gloomy staples in the tradition, primarily maidens being ...
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KATE RUSBY – 30 Happy Returns (PURE PRCO73)

To mark her 30th anniversary in the music business, as she did with 20, Rusby has revisited songs from her past albums, all but three ...
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Gaelic singer Kim Carnie announces her debut solo album

And So We Gather is the impressive debut solo album from renowned Gaelic songstress Kim Carnie, due for release on Friday 17th June. Bringing together ...
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MICHAEL JOHNATHON – AfterBurn (PoetMan Records PMR70032)

Does the man never sleep? Subtitled Folk at Arena Level, AfterBurn, his nineteenth album is the second this year and ranges from a chugging strum ...
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Katherine Priddy – vinyl release and tour dates

As Katherine Priddy hits the road on her headline UK tour, she has announced the vinyl release of her widely acclaimed debut album The Eternal ...
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THE SHACKLETON TRIO – Mousehold (own label)

Comprising Georgia Shackleton (fiddle, vocals), Aaren Bennett (guitar) and Nic Zuppardi (mandolin and banjo), the East Anglian trio pay tribute to the titular  area of ...
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FRAYA THOMSEN – Release (own label 002)

Fraya Thomsen is a Scottish harper, composer, singer and teacher who draws her musical inspirations from far and wide without ever allowing herself to be ...
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Katie Doherty announces new album

Katie Doherty formed the Navigators to explore the depth and strength that three players could bring to her award winning songs. What was unexpected in ...
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Video Wall 23

The world seems to be emerging from the gloom of winter and music is happening all around so here are a few selections from our ...
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The Shackleton Trio announce new album

The unmistakeable sound of The Shackleton Trio is once again showcased on their latest release, Mousehold. Recorded on the edge of Mousehold Heath in their ...
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BOB FREY – Ghost (own label)

Midwest singer-songwriter Bob Frey’s new Ghost album is a sincerely whittled selection of whiskey-soaked and quite wonderful songs that bleed with Gothic folk campfire prayers ...
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JILL JACKSON – Yours Aye (JJR002CD)

Jill Jackson releases Yours Aye on May 6th. Jackson has a twenty year career in the music industry – UK singles charts, performing on Top ...
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NATALIE D-NAPOLEON – You Wanted To Be The Shore But Instead You Were The Sea (own label)

To give her her full name, Natalie Damjanovich-Napoleon is a self-described torch and twang singer-songwriter and poet from Fremantle in Western Australia and was one ...
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KINNARIS QUINTET– This Too (own label KO002CD)

This Too is Kinnaris Quintet’s second album, and it feels like a bright, comforting smile in tough times. That’s not surprising, as the title comes ...
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PAUL BOLGER – Hard Truth (Pillar Stone Productions PPCD002)

Hailing from Waterford in south-east Ireland, Hard Truth is animator, graphic novelist, songwriter and musician Bolger’s second album under his own name (he debuted as ...
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WOLF & CLOVER – Twelvemonth & A Day (own label)

Wolf & Clover are a six-piece band based in Columbus, Georgia. In fact they are all associated with Columbus University and its music schools – ...
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The Shipbuilders announce their debut album

The Shipbuilders exist as a melting pot where the surreal meets the sublime. Since releasing their first EP, Something In The Water in 2016, the ...
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Foolhardy Folk Festival returns in August

Taking place at the beautiful Nottingham Arboretum park in the heart of the city, the cult folk hero and festival veteran will curate a day ...
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Lush Fresh Handmade Sound release all-star triple vinyl album

On May 27 Lush Fresh Handmade Sound and Mark Constantine are proud to unveil Life’s What You Make It, following from the acclaimed compilation albums Self ...
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HÒ-RÒ – New Moon (own label)

Hò-rò New Moon is a really nice sip of Moray’s finest Windswept Wolf Scottish ale, and it also colours (perhaps because of the melodic alcohol ...
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WILLIAM WILLIAM RODGERS – William William Rodgers Sings The Yellow Pages (own label)

His stage name lifted from a line in John Cale’s ‘Paris 1919’ and at times reminiscent of Robert Wyatt, the  refreshingly eccentric singer-songwriter from Birmingham ...
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PAUL BRADY – Maybe So (Proper Records PRPCD162)

I may as well confess that the nearest thing I’ve heard previously to a complete Paul Brady album was probably actually by The Johnstons. Well, ...
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NICK HART – Sings Ten English Folk Songs (Roebuck Records RRCD003)

Following a logical mathematical progression from eight and nine, recorded during the first 2020 lockdown, Hart used the enforced isolation to explore different approaches to ...
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UK Festival exclusive – the Saw Doctors to headline Wickham Festival

The Saw Doctors will celebrate 30 years of touring the UK on August 5th when they play an exclusive summer show at Wickham Music Festival ...
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KESTON COBBLERS CLUB – Alchemy (own label)

Two years on from Siren, the Bromley indie-folk band four-piece formed by siblings Matthew and Julia Lowe and close friend Tom Sweet return, alongside Harry ...
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SARAH MARKEY – Leaving Lurgangreen (own label SMM001)

If I don’t give a CD its first spin in the car chances are that I’ll do so while doing some routine jobs and so ...
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Grace Petrie – UK and Irish tour dates

More than a decade after first emerging, Grace Petrie stands out as one the most important songwriters working in the UK today. After the release ...
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The Canny Band announce their debut album

The Canny Band are Sam Mabbett, Michael Biggins (BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2021) and Callum Convoy. A rare fusion of piano, diatonic ...
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EDWINA HAYES – Ruby Rose (own label TWIRL03CD)

Released last Christmas, this is something of a belated review but, given the ten years between albums (though she was part of The Miles Roses ...
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PETE GOW – Leo (CLUBHOUSE Clubhousecruk0061CD)

While his debut solo album, Here There's No Sirens, didn’t stray too far from the  alt-country path of  Case Hardin, Leo sees a real musical ...
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THE HAAR- Where Old Ghosts Meet (Under The Eaves UTE006)

The old ghosts that are meeting here are the songs. All traditional songs are old by definition but fashions change and most of these enjoyed ...
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BEAU – Al Killem’s Final Show (Cherry Red AKFS1)

It’s been said before but it bears repeating that Trevor Midgley is a sociopolitical satirist cut from the same cloth and of the same mettle ...
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The Homebird Sessions releases ‘A Boy And His Guitar’

This project follows the success of the Show’s first collaborative release in December 2021, ‘The Light’, by Elaine Lennon, Yvonne Lyon and Adriana Spina for ...
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JOE BROUGHTON’S CONSERVATOIRE FOLK ENSEMBLE – Not Leaving Quietly (own label SAECD19)

If you haven’t heard Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Folk Ensemble live you’ve missed one of the great spectacles that folk music has to offer. The fifty ...
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SINGLES BAR 77 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

NINA HARRIES is a singer, composer and double bass player from Northampton. Five years ago she released her debut solo album but most of her ...
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ABIGAIL LAPELL – Stolen Time (Outside Music)

Toronto singer-songwriter Abigail Lapell’s Stolen Time is an (often) intimate collection of lovely tunes that touch countless melodic tributaries that course from deep water folk ...
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Irish Music & Dance in London: A Tribute to Joe Burke

With Anne Conroy-Burke, Eileen O’Brien, Mary Conroy, Deirdre McSherry, John Bowe, Mick O´Connor, Andy Martyn and Seánín McDonagh (accordion) & James Carty (fiddle) with accompaniment ...
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CHRIS BRAIN – Bound To Rise (Big Sun Records, BSR-001)

Bound To Rise is the quietly impressive debut album from Yorkshireman Chris Brain. His songs have a gentleness and ethereality, enhanced by his softly husky, ...
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Bella Gaffney/Painted Sky spring tour

Magpies members Bella Gaffney and Holly Brandon are playing a short tour together in late April, Bella solo and Holly in her side project Painted ...
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EMÉT – Carlin’s Farm (AntiFragile Music)

Born just outside of Derry and now based in Calgary, accompanied by bassist Rónán McQuillan and drummer Matt Sloan, recorded in Belfast, Carlin’s Farm is ...
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BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST – That’s All Folkies! (WildGoose WGS437CD)

Paul Hutchinson and Paul Sartin have been entertaining us with sublime musicianship and comedy for more than two decades while at the same time pursuing ...
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Copperplate Podcast 270 presented by Alan O’Leary

folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his regular monthly instalment of ...
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Boo Hewerdine announces new album and tour dates

Understudy, released on May 27th by Reveal Records, finds acclaimed songwriter Boo Hewerdine in reflective mood with a fatalistic yet joyful narrative running throughout the ...
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THE EXMOUTH SHANTY MEN – Tall Ships And Tavern Tales (WildGoose WGS438CD)

Tall Ships And Tavern Tales is essentially a studio recording of The Exmouth Shanty Men’s stage show, spread across two CDs. It was actually recorded ...
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Conservatoire Folk Ensemble – anniversary tour and album

Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Folk Ensemble - 25th Anniversary Tour and album, Not Leaving Quietly It’s no exaggeration to call the Conservatoire Folk Ensemble the UK’s ...
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GRAEME ARMSTRONG – You Are Free (own label)

Graeme Armstrong’s first solo album, You Are Free, is a gorgeous collection of original and traditional songs from the Scottish Borders. Perhaps, it isn’t for ...
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CERI JUSTICE – Walk In Shadow (own label)

Having released her punchy, rocky debut back in 2019, the Irish-blood Solihull singer-songwriter returns keeping the power still pretty much turned up with her vocals ...
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St Ives September Festival – first concerts announced

Lindisfarne, the legendary folk rock pioneers with unforgettable songs like 'Meet Me On The Corner', 'Fog On The Tyne', 'Lady Eleanor' and 'Run For Home' ...
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YOKO PWNO – Part Machine (Skye Records SRCDX010)

Yoko Pwno released Part Machine on April 1st. This is the band’s second album following 2019’s Artefacts and they’ve added a couple more members on ...
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Chris Cleverley – tour dates and news of new album

Award-winning Altfolk songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist Chris Cleverley unveils glimpses of his first new material in nearly three years, throughout eight performances on his tour ...
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THE WARDENS – Sold Out At The Ironwood (own label)

Does what it says on the tin. The Wardens are wardens, a trio of Canadian National Park Wardens who started playing in 2009.  Sold Out ...
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Fellow Pynins announce new album

Fellow Pynins is an award winning contemporary folk duo with a keen and bucolic sense of vocal harmony and song craft anchored in the balladry ...
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Kinnaris Quintet announce their second album

This Too is the stunning second album from award-winning Scottish trad group Kinnaris Quintet, due for release on Wednesday 4 May. The highly-anticipated record builds ...
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Gigspanner Big Band and Raynor Winn

One of folk ‘s most inventive line-ups is to join forces with best-selling author Raynor Winn this summer for a tour which mines traditional songs ...
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Gate To Southwell Festival announces first names

While last September’s event was a great success – named “the best live event of 2021” by the prestigious RnR music magazine - everyone felt ...
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THE BROTHERS GILLESPIE – The Merciful Road (own label)

Listening to The Brothers Gillespie’s third album, The Merciful Road, I found myself reflecting on why I love folk music. Of course, there are lots ...
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COLIN FOSTER talks to Folking.com

“Colin Foster – who he?” I can hear you asking and it’s a reasonable question. Colin is Merry Hell’s new bass-player, as you might guess ...
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TEMPEST – Going Home (Celtodelic)

Tempest’s new album, Going Home, is alive with Celtic and Scandinavian folk nuances, which are all framed with really nice electric eclectic gusto. It’s just ...
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BAILEY BIGGER – Coyote Red  (Madjack)

Touted as the next big thing from Memphis (though she’s now back living in smalltown Marion, Arkansas), Bigger’s debut album, Coyote Red,  is a hugely ...
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Topette!! – new album and tour dates

Topette!! occupy a unique position in the current folk and traditional music landscape. A collaboration between five highly-regarded individuals from two countries, they’re the kind ...
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PARIS TO KYIV – Prairie Nights And Peacock Feathers (Olesia Productions)

Paris To Kyiv’s still pertinent Prairie Nights And Peacock Feathers was released in 2000, and in their own words, fuses Ukrainian music with “Medieval Slavic ...
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Sarah McQuaid announces Ireland and UK tour dates

With her new live-in-lockdown album The St Buryan Sessions drawing critical raves and appearing on best-of-2021 lists on three continents, Sarah McQuaid is once again ...
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Katherine Priddy announces spring tour dates

Since emerging with her debut EP Wolf in 2018, UK artist Katherine Priddy has quickly become one of the most exciting names on the British ...
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HANNAH SANDERS & BEN SAVAGE – Ink Of The Rosy Morning (Topic TSCD610)

I was captivated from the moment I first heard the single and opening track of this album. The powerful harmonies of ‘Winter’s Night’ set the ...
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Beans On Toast to play Bank Holiday show in Clapham

Beans on Toast will be playing a unique seated show at The Clapham Grand on Thursday 2nd June 2022. English folk hero Beans on Toast ...
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Keston Cobblers Club – new album and tour dates

On April 22nd UK-folk favourite Keston Cobblers Club return with their brand-new album, Alchemy – the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2019 album, Siren ...
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SINGLES BAR 76 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Currently on the English Folk Expo artist scheme, BEN & DOM are an a cappella vocal duo (the former the high notes, the latter the ...
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THE WEATHER STATION – How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars (Fat Possum Records)

The Weather Station’s album How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars simmers with the very personal 70’s folk music purity that (long ...
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